Energy Roundup: April 2024
Welcome to our first issue of Energy Roundup. Each quarter, we’ll bring you all the latest news, views and insights to help you navigate the ever-changing complexities of the energy industry.
UK power and gas markets
The year has started with some relief for customers as UK power and gas prices have generally been going down, but they're still higher and more volatile than before the energy crisis.
Europe has had back-to-back mild winters in recent years and less demand for energy, which means we’re less susceptible to supply issues. This, along with more LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and nuclear power from France, has increased European stability. In fact, we left winter with record storage levels this year.
However, the global gas market is still delicate, with demand recovering around the globe, whilst geopolitical risks still pose supply uncertainty.
Our Wholesale Market Services experts closely monitor any changes in the market. Stay informed on the latest developments by signing up to our next Power Market webinar.
Power Market Webinar
Thursday 23 May at 2 pm
Join James Chaplin, Senior Manager of Curve Trading, for the next instalment of power market updates. James will help you navigate the current developments in the UK power market and provide an outlook on future prices.
Register here
A brief outlook of non-energy costs
While energy costs are fairly straightforward, non-energy costs can be more complex. They include a range of government and third-party charges to cover the cost of transporting your energy.
BSUoS
Balancing Service Use of System (BSUoS) charges reflect the day-to-day operational costs of balancing the transmission system. The cost of BSUoS is influenced by the wholesale cost of electricity, with National Grid required to pay market-reflective rates to generators to provide generation, should the system require it.
The high wholesale prices over the past year have seen a corresponding spike in balancing costs, which are then recovered from consumers via the BSUoS charge on energy bills.
With the potential escalation in geopolitical tensions or adverse weather conditions leading to tariff adjustments, the short-term risk persists. In the long term, balancing the Grid will become more challenging with increasing intermittent generation from sources like offshore wind farms, which will likely drive up BSUoS costs.
TNUoS
Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges recover the cost of installing and maintaining the transmission system. National Grid released the final TNUoS tariffs for 2024/25 in January, reflecting a decrease of around £200m compared to the previous year, attributed largely to temporary tax relief on investments set to expire in early 2026.
However, the need for grid expansion to accommodate renewable projects like offshore wind farms and support increased electrification of transport and heat suggests higher TNUoS costs could be coming in the future.
BSUoS and TNUoS are just two of many different non-energy costs. For more information, sign up for our next Monitor webinar.
Monitor (NECs explained) webinar
Thursday 13 June at 11 am
Join us as we take a deeper dive into our second Monitor in 2024, the quarterly report covering non-energy costs. In this webinar, our experts will share more detailed updates on how the current non-energy costs impact businesses.
Register here
Energy in the news
This past quarter, we have seen many regulatory changes in the energy sector, with a focus on better transparency and driving the transition to Net Zero. Here are our top three:
TPI Code of Practice
Last October, the Retail Energy Code Company (RECCo) published a voluntary Third-Party Intermediary (TPI) Code of Practice for non-domestic energy brokers.
This code sets out guidelines to help business customers who use TPIs manage their energy. Right now, only a few non-domestic TPIs have signed up to the Code.
RECCo is working on a system to check and approve TPIs, aiming to make it mandatory for energy suppliers to only work with TPIs that meet the code's standards. Whether the code becomes mandatory is still subject to consultation with industry experts and approval from Ofgem. If approved, this change could happen by the end of the year. However, DESNZ is also planning to consult on TPI regulations, which could potentially supersede this.
Most TPIs should find it relatively easy to align with the code's standards. Energy suppliers are already responsible for ensuring TPIs comply with many aspects of the code.
Market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS)
The MHSS programme is an Elexon-led initiative that will see all domestic and business customers settled on half-hourly electricity consumption data. This is a crucial step towards achieving Net Zero, creating a more flexible energy system in Britain.
Set to be implemented in 2026, MHHS aims to:
- Make billing more accurate using half-hourly data, meaning that;
- Consumers save money on their energy bills (Ofgem estimates savings between £1.6bn and £4.5bn by 2045)
- Build on the smart meter rollout to better support businesses in managing their energy consumption
- Encourage reduced usage during peak demand periods
To participate and benefit from the MHHS programme, many business sites will need to switch from a Non-Half-Hourly meter to a Half-Hourly meter (such as smart or advanced metering).
If you are an EDF customer and are interested in upgrading your meter, please book an appointment here or get in touch.
Keep an eye out for more updates on MHSS from us soon.
REMA (Review of Electricity Market Arrangements): what does it mean for businesses?
The electricity system in Great Britain uses several markets to buy and deliver power to consumers. To ensure we have the right arrangements in place to support GB’s net zero ambitions, the government is therefore carrying out a widespread review of how it all works - REMA.
If your business uses a lot of energy, you should be aware of these potential changes.
- The latest REMA consultation (published 12 March) confirmed that the Government is keen to retain Contact for Difference (CfD) style support for renewable generation but is still considering a range of reform options.
- The Government is also retaining a Capacity Market, but likely reform over time into an “Optimised CM”, with bespoke support for new low-carbon dispatchable generation.
- Perhaps most notably, the Government has, however, ruled out a move to nodal pricing - but continues to explore zonal pricing vs a reformed national market with stronger locational signals.
- The second REMA consultation closes on 7th May 2024, and we expect the Government to publish a summary of responses in the summer. However, final decisions on REMA are not expected until next year, well after the General Election.
Keep an eye out on our channels for further updates on REMA.
A view from EDF Business Solutions’ Director, Matthew Nunn
Listen as Matthew Nunn, Director of EDF Business Solutions, discusses what's been happening in the first quarter of the year at EDF and gives his insight into the future of the industry in Q2 and beyond.
