We received the sixth report from the Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group (JESS) recently (May 06), this follows the fifth report published way back in November 04. In the third paragraph of the report they state:
In a market-based system such as the UK’s, the provision of adequate energy supplies to meet demand […]
The Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks has recently responded to a letter from energy awareness organisation PowerSwitch. The letter directly addresses peak oil, dismissing peak before 2030 provided the necessary investments are made. On discovery he believes the decline in discovery since the sixties was due to lack of drilling in the Middle East […]
As fuel prices rise everyone seems to be talking about the price we pay at the pump. However it also seems that many people don’t really understand how that price comes about. Hopefully this short piece will help.
There are three main components to the price at the pump:
Price of the product
Excise duty
Value Added […]
Jess isn’t the name of my cat but rather the UK government’s Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group (JESS).
This organisation was set up in July 2001 by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) to “to assess risks to the UK’s future gas and electricity […]
It has been apparent since the summer of 2005 that gas supplies this winter were going to be tight. Despite this the UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks had the audacity to state that the country was “awash with gas” when the evidence showed the situation to be tighter than ever.
Events are transpiring against us […]
One of the most significant decisions facing the UK this year is what to do about the ageing fleet of nuclear power stations. The UK pioneered civilian nuclear power generation with a young Queen Elizabeth II opening the world’s first public grid connected power station on 17th October 1956. Calder Hall’s four 50MW […]
Well what do you know, gas prices are up again. The BBC report:
22% rise from British Gas (about 55% of market)
14.7% rise from EDF (London Energy, Seeboard and SWEB)
15% rise from Scottish Power (UK’s 5th largest supplier)
This of course shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone reading this but there are a few […]
I’ve recently been working on a response for the DTI’s current consultation: Our Energy Challenge - Securing clean, affordable energy for the long-term
More about that later but I just wanted to mention this graph from the document projecting the levels fuel poverty:
This is the second most detached from reality projection I have seen from Government […]
Last month I wrote about the question submitted to the EU Commission by Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas where she asked directly about the Commissions position regarding peak oil. The reply describes early peaking as “no more than a theory” and as such the Commission has no plan to address it.
Here is the full […]
The BBC reported today what could be regarded as little more than a political historic curiosity but when considered against the situation we find ourselves in now makes an interesting point. Previously secret governments papers, released under the 30-year rule illustrate the then concern within government for a devolved and potentially independent Scotland. […]