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About a third of the UK’s dwindling number of domestic energy suppliers are at imminent risk of collapse amid soaring wholesale energy prices, new analysis suggests.

Wind turbines © Provided by The Telegraph Wind turbinesFourteen electricity and gas suppliers are deemed “maximum risk” under their credit score, accountant Price Bailey found, indicating they will find it difficult to access funding.

It comes amid little sign of respite from the high wholesale natural gas prices caused by a global supply crunch, which have already pushed 19 energy suppliers out of business since the start of September.

Natural gas prices have climbed as much as six times since last summer, but Britain’s price cap on energy bills prevents companies from passing those costs on to customers immediately.

Matt Howard, partner at Price Bailey, said: “The energy supply sector is facing complete carnage as we head into the winter months.

“Over a third of suppliers have already gone bust and another third are at imminent risk of going under in the coming months.”

Price Bailey, a top 30 accountant, checked the Delphi credit scores of all the household electricity and gas supply licence holders registered with Ofgem, excluding the Big Six and two whose credit scores were suppressed.

Video: Former energy and climate change Minister: UK has been ‘very complacent’ about gas market (CNBC)

Of the 29 companies checked, it found that 19 had above average credit risk scores, and 14 are deemed maximum risk.

The figures are likely to trigger alarm among regulators, who have already had to transfer more than two million customers to new companies after

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UK Bans Gas Heating

November 9, 2021

UK Bans Gas Heating

Zero Carbon Sooner—Revised case for an early zero carbon target for the UK

November 7, 2021

Zero Carbon Sooner—Revised case for an early zero carbon target for the UK

Cover image: Anthony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ in Liverpool; photographed by Donald Judge / flickr.com (CC-BY 2.0); modified

Summary

This paper is an update of an earlier briefing note[1], revised to take account of new findings from the IPCC’s updated 6^th Assessment Report (AR6). The broad aim of the paper is to establish how soon the UK should aim for (net) zero carbon emissions. The paper first derives a ‘fair remaining carbon budget’ for the UK. It then analyses a variety of emission pathways and target dates for their adequacy in terms of remaining within this budget.

A first key finding is that a target date for zero carbon is not sufficient in itself to determine whether the UK remains within its carbon budget. Policy must specify both a target date and an associated emissions pathway. A second key finding is that the sufficiency of these targets and pathways depends crucially on whether emissions are accounted for on a ‘territorial’ basis or on a ‘consumption’ basis.

For a linear reduction pathway not to exceed the remaining carbon budget the net zero target year would have to be between 2027 and 2032, depending on the accounting framework. For a target year of 2050, the average rate of emission reductions must lie in the range 17-27% if the UK’s fair budget is not to be exceeded. As measured on a consumption basis, these rates would require absolute reductions approaching 95% of current carbon emissions as early as 2030. Consequently, this paper argues in favour of setting a UK target for net zero carbon emissions no later than 2035, with a maximum of around 5% of the mitigation effort achieved through negative emission technologies.

Download

The full working paper is available for download in pdf (1.4MB). | Jackson T 2021. Zero Carbon Sooner…

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People in UK Who Post “False Information” About Vaccines Could be Jailed For Two Years

November 2, 2021

People in UK Who Post “False Information” About Vaccines Could be Jailed For Two Years

New law criminalizes “knowingly false communication.”

Coolpicture via Getty Images

People in the UK who post “false information” about vaccines online could face two years in prison under a new law.

Yes, really.

The Online Safety Bill, described as “the flagship legislation to combat abuse and hatred on the internet” has faced fierce criticism from civil liberties groups for its broad overreach.

The law would create a “knowingly false communication” offence which, according to the Times, “will criminalise those who send or post a message they know to be false with the intention to cause “emotional, psychological, or physical harm to the likely audience”. Government sources gave the example of antivaxers spreading false information that they know to be untrue.”

Given that authorities have deemed all kinds of information about the pandemic and vaccines “false” that later turned out to be true, this is a chilling prospect.

For example, claims that vaccines are not fully effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19 would have once been deemed “false,” but that position is now a proven fact.

The bill would also change the current stricter standard of “indecent” or “grossly offensive” content to the much broader definition of “harmful effect” when deciding if a post or a message is criminal.

This is more in line with UK hate speech laws that determine whether an act of hate speech or a “hate incident” has been committed not on the basis of whether or not it actually happened, but on the basis of the supposed victim feeling like they’ve been targeted.

“The new offences will include sol-called “pile-ons” where a number of individuals join others in sending harassing messages to a victim on social media,” reports the Times.

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From Press Freedom To Prison Systems, Everything Assange Touches Gets

October 30, 2021

From Press Freedom To Prison Systems, Everything Assange Touches Gets

Listen to a reading of this article:

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The US appeal of a British court ruling on the Assange extradition case has concluded, and the judges will probably not have a decision ready until at least January—a full year after the extradition was denied by a lower court. Assange, despite being convicted of no crime, will have remained in Belmarsh Prison the entire time.

During that time the judges will be weighing arguments they’d heard about the cruel nature of the US prison system, which formed a major part of the reasoning behind Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s rejection of the US extradition request. They’ll be considering the draconian policy of Special Administrative Measures, whose victims are cut off from human contact and from the outside world. They’ll be considering the brutality of the supermax ADX facility in Florence, Colorado whose inmates are kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, and where Assange could easily wind up imprisoned despite the prosecution’s flimsy assurances.

Assange probably never set out on this journey with the goal of calling attention to the abuses of the US prison system as his foremost priority, but, as is so often the case with anything his journey touches, those abuses keep getting pulled into the light of public awareness anyway. His case is now no longer just about press freedom, US war crimes, corrupt governments collaborating to stomp out inconvenient truth tellers, and the malfeasance of US alphabet agencies, but about the abusive nature of the US prison system as well.

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‘Gamechanger’ Hearing As US Seeks Overturn Of Extradition Ban

October 27, 2021

Julian Assange In Court For ‘Gamechanger’ Hearing As US Seeks Overturn Of Extradition Ban

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who still languishes in London’s high security Belmarsh Prison, will appear in court on Wednesday and Thursday for a key hearing that could prove to be a potential gamechanger.

The court will decide among other things whether the US Justice Department’s assurances that he won’t face cruel confinement in the US should be extradited are convincing enough to overturn a prior ban on extraditing him. This is precisely what the US is seeking to do after gaining an appeal following the January decision of the High Court which said he’d be facing the American federal prison system’s strict, harsh confinement, likely at a place like ADX Florence supermax.

Ahead of the start of this week’s proceedings, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said it woudl be “totally unacceptable” and “unthinkable” for the London court to reverse the prior decision, lifting the extradition ban.

“It is unthinkable that the High Court will come to any other decision but to uphold the magistrates’ court decision. Anything else is totally unacceptable,” Hrafnsson said.

“It would be such a stain on the system in this country that I certainly hope there will be enough pressure and realization of how devastating it would be for this country if somehow the judge comes to the decision of reversing the magistrates’ court decision.”

Also not helping the case of the US prosecutor is the recent devastating Yahoo News investigation exposing details of an alleged CIA plot to either assassinate or kidnap Assange, and render him to US soil by force. Both Assange’s legal team and his family – especially his fiancé – have lately pointed out that the CIA revelations alone destroy Washington’s case and standing:

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This is not 1997

October 26, 2021

This is not 1997

Not that minimum wages are anything new. The USA introduced its Federal Minimum Wage as far back as 1938; although today each state sets its own rate. And the general consensus is that minimum wages help raise wages in general with little or no impact on employment as a whole. The broad theory being that by increasing wages at the bottom – where people’s propensity to spend is higher – we increase demand across the economy. As the economy grows, demand for labour increases and forces wages up still further. And so, demand rises and promotes further growth.Although introduced to the UK by a Labour government, the National Minimum Wage is closer to the Tory approach to economic policy. This is because it passes the costs onto someone other than the state immediately. In this case, Britain’s employers. Labour governments, in contrast, have generally sought the politically easier approach of passing costs onto future generations via public borrowing… which was often the better policy if a combination of inflation and growth served to lower the real cost of the debt even as the state’s ability to repay it became easier.

This was no doubt the outcome desired by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown when they were elected in 1997. After two decades of suppressed wages – first under James Callaghan, and then under Thatcher – and despite the deregulation of the City of London and the increasing revenues from North Sea oil and gas, it was hoped that a legal minimum wage would generate the growth needed to lift people out of poverty. In neoliberal terms, it would “make work pay.”

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Deleted Government Report Celebrates How Public Loves to “Conform”

October 24, 2021

Deleted Government Report Celebrates How Public Loves to “Conform”

Climate change technocrats plan on using same methods that convinced public to obey lockdown.

Alex Segre via Getty Images

A deleted government report exploring how to make the public alter its behavior to accept the new ‘green economy’ reveals how COVID-19 restrictions have created a population with a “deep set reverence” for authority and a “powerful tendency to conform.”

The report was inadvertently published by the British government before being hastily pulled down, but numerous journalists were able to retrieve its contents.

The document explored how to weaponize behavioral psychology to ‘nudge’ the public into supporting measures and adopting behavior without them explicitly knowing they’re being manipulated.

The investigation found that the same techniques the government used to force people into accepting lockdown could be used to make them change their lifestyles in the name of preventing climate change.

Under the heading “principles for successful behaviour,” the paper noted;

“Government statements, actions and laws powerfully shape perceptions of normative and acceptable behaviour. For instance, even with public criticism being high, many still perceived government approval as the yardstick for safe behaviour during COVID-19 ‘we’re allowed to do this now [so must be safe]…’. This reveals, for many, a deep set reverence for legitimate government authority, regardless of one’s personal political views.”

While PR stunts such as having officials vaccinated live on television worked to convince people of the narrative, elite hypocrisy (public officials violating lockdown rules) was found to cause significant damage to public trust.

“Perceived hypocrisy can do a lot to undermine efforts to build public engagement and support. This was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic when prominent authority figures broke guidelines, leading to measurable reductions in public compliance as well as shifting attitudes.”

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Coal Generation In UK Jumps As Wind Speed Drops

October 17, 2021

Coal Generation In UK Jumps As Wind Speed Drops

Coal met some 3 percent of the UK’s electricity demand on Friday morning, reaching its highest level of Britain’s power generation in one month, amid lower wind speeds this week and an outage at a gas-powered plant, Bloomberg reports.

The last time the UK generated 3 percent of its electricity from coal was in early September when low wind generation reduced renewable power supply and triggered the massive spikes in UK wholesale electricity prices.

Utility Uniper fired up its coal-powered plant in Ratcliffe early on Friday, while the gas-fired plant in Pembroke, Wales, operated by RWE, suffered an unplanned outage.

Over the past week, gas has consistently accounted for the largest share of the UK’s electricity generation, according to data from National Grid ESO. For example, on Wednesday, gas produced 44.8 percent of Britain’s electricity, more than wind with 19.2 percent and nuclear with 12.6 percent.

Surging natural gas prices and warm and still weather in September forced the UK to fire up an old coal plant that was on standby in order to meet its electricity demand.

The UK has pledged to phase out coal-fired power generation by October 2024.

UK power company Drax could have its last two coal-fired plants in the country operating beyond the 2022 deadline it had set for closure if the UK government asks it to keep them operational amid the energy crisis in the country and the whole of Europe.

“If the government wants us to rethink our plans, we need to talk to them in the next few months,” Drax’s chief executive Will Gardiner told the Financial Times at the end of September.

Last week, the UK government committed to decarbonizing the country’s electricity system by 2035.

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Energy Crisis-UK Industry Could Grind to a Halt

October 12, 2021

Energy Crisis-UK Industry Could Grind to a Halt

British Army Begins Deliveries To Ease Fuel Crisis

October 4, 2021

British Army Begins Deliveries To Ease Fuel Crisis

Last week, British Army personnel were on standby as service station pumps ran dry across the country, forcing vendors to ration sales as a shortage of truck drivers strained supply chains of major oil and gas suppliers. AFP reports Monday that as many as 200 military tanker personnel have been deployed to alleviate the energy crisis.

Troops in military fatigue were spotted across London and southeast England, delivering various fuel grades to gas stations to alleviate fuel shortages.

“More than half of those who have completed training to make fuel deliveries are being deployed to terminals serving London and the south east of England, demonstrating that the sector is allocating drivers to areas most affected in this first phase from Monday,” a UK government spokesperson said.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the fuel crisis is abating, and signs of stabilization were materializing.

“While the situation is stabilizing, our Armed Forces are there to fill in any critical vacancies and help keep the country on the move by supporting the industry to deliver fuel to forecourts,” Wallace said.

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), representing 65% of the country’s independent service stations, welcomed the news of military supporting efforts to resupply service stations but warned the soldiers were likely to have minimal effect.

PRA chairman Brian Madderson said 20% of the fueling stations in London and southeast England were out of fuel, and the rest of the country had adequate supply.

For two weeks, long queues of motorists at gas stations extended into city streets as people panic hoarded fuel due to the uncertainties of shortages.

The Looming Energy Crisis: People Are Going To Die This Winter

October 1, 2021

The Looming Energy Crisis: People Are Going To Die This Winter

For many months myself and many of the investors I work with have become increasingly concerned at the growing instability and insecurity of energy markets. The 4 times spike in Gas prices this year has been a shocking wake-up call, highlighting energy insecurity in Europe and particularly the UK. Gas prices will remain elevated for months to come. The consequences are going to be brutal – and fatal for some.

Energy – whether derived from fossil fuels, nuclear or renewables – is a commodity and the critical thing about commodities is: “You can’t print commodities like you can print money. The rules are not the same,” says my good friend and head of commodities at Shard, Ashley Boolell.

Commodities are volatile and dangerous. Oil has doubled in recent months. But the thing about Gold, Silver, Palladium and copper prices is; no matter how volatile they are, they are simply investment opportunities or traps, and are unlikely to kill us.

Energy is different. It can kill us.

That was conclusively demonstrated earlier this year in Texas. A swift series of winter storms crashed the Texan grid when gas infrastructure failed in the cold, renewables weren’t delivering, and the deregulation of its energy system had delinked Texas from both US power Grids – making it difficult to import energy. Over 200 people died as a result of power outages.

Fast forward to this winter, and the UK and Europe are in the direct firing line of the coming energy storm. The security of energy supplies has never looked less certain. In the UK, neglected storage means we have the capacity to story 3-4 days of Gas…

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UK Energy Crisis Shows Danger of Net Zero Emissions Policies: Aussie Senator

September 30, 2021

The United Kingdom from space. (Anton Balazh/Adobe Stock)

UK Energy Crisis Shows Danger of Net Zero Emissions Policies: Aussie Senator

The push for Australia to legislate a net zero emissions target has spurred discord from some government officials who firmly believe the climate policy could harm Australia’s energy security and industry amid the UK’s own unravelling energy crisis.

Australia has faced criticism for not setting a 2050 net zero target—a goal already undertaken by many of the world’s developed countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

But Nationals Senator Matt Canavan suggested that the UK’s unfolding energy crisis is a direct consequence of its “net zero” emissions plans via a shift to so-called renewables and banning coal power.

“The UK has been trying to reach net zero. They’ve passed legislation to do that,” Canavan told 2GB radio. “They’re not there yet, but they’re on the path. And already down that path, they are seeing a situation where industry is being asked to shut down just to keep the lights on.”

Over the last 50 years, the UK has weaned itself of coal generation and become more dependent on gas as its primary source of electricity generation—much of which is imported from Europe.

Further, heavy investment into renewables over the last decade has also boosted wind output, contributing to 24 percent of total generation in 2020.

Epoch Times Photo — The United Kingdom’s coal, gas, nuclear and renewable energy consumption from 1965 to 2019. Source: Our World in Data. (The Epoch Times)

However, the UK has recently experienced a 400 percent spike in gas prices, and a 250 percent price rise for electricity after a confluence of unforeseen factors throttled the country’s supply—including record low wind levels, a fire at a major France-UK electricity interconnector, nuclear plant outages, and a gas shortfall sweeping Europe.

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UK To Deploy Reserve Tanker Fleet And Military To Ease Energy Crisis

September 29, 2021

UK To Deploy Reserve Tanker Fleet And Military To Ease Energy Crisis

Gas stations in English metro areas are running dry after six days of buying panic worsened shortages caused by insufficient truck drivers. For days, the UK government has contemplated the use of military truck drivers to replenish gas stations. Now there’s word the government’s reserve tanker fleet will be operational on Wednesday afternoon, and military truck drivers will be coming online in days.

On Wednesday, Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said the government’s Reserve Tanker Fleet will be on the road by this afternoon to boost deliveries of fuel to gas stations. The force is comprised of civilians and will provide logistical capacity to the fuel industry.

“A senior defense source says troops are set to start driving fuel lorries to petrol stations later this week after the Ministry of Defence approved an official request for assistance.”

Kwarteng elaborated today on the plan to field upwards of 150 soldiers to deliver fuel.

“The last few days have been difficult; we’ve seen large queues. But I think the situation is stabilizing; we’re getting petrol into the forecourts. I think we’re going to see our way through this,” he said.

The Petrol Retailers Association, which oversees about 5,500 independent petrol stations, said 37% of its members’ stations were out of fuel on Tuesday.

A shortage of approximately 100,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers caused supply chain stress through the petrol industry – there’s plenty of fuel at refiners. Still, the issue has been the lack of drivers to transport fuel to gas stations.

Besides calling in the military, the world’s fifth-largest economy has begun to issue temporary visas to 5,000 foreign HGV drivers.

The shortage of drivers has fractured supply chains as an energy crisis has also rippled through power markets and the food industry. The scenes playing out in the UK over the last six days are reminiscent of the chaos of the 1970s.

Millions of Britons Could Face ‘National Shortage’ of Turkeys This Christmas

September 28, 2021

Brian Taplin feeds the free-range Norfolk Black organic turkeys on Laverstoke Park Farm, on their final day before being killed for the Christmas Day table, in Overton, England, on Dec. 12 2006. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Millions of Britons Could Face ‘National Shortage’ of Turkeys This Christmas

Trees and toys also at risk, suppliers say

Millions of Britons could face a “national shortage” of turkeys, toys, and trees this Christmas due to a lack of skilled European employees following Brexit, according to the chair of a farming association.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) last month said the UK is facing a shortage of around 100,000 HGV drivers, which along with Brexit, has been further exacerbated by people leaving the industry as well as the pandemic, which halted driver training and testing for nearly a year.

As a result, food supply chains have been drastically disrupted, leading to shortages across some UK supermarket shelves.

Kate Martin of the Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association (TFTA) told the PA news agency that Christmas could see a “national shortage” of turkeys on the UK’s supermarket shelves, driven by the declining supply of skilled European workers.

While small British farms that use local workers have been less affected by the undersupply, supermarkets are likely to see the worst of it, the TFTA said.

“This year it’s looking like there is a national shortage of turkeys when we’re talking about supermarket shelves, rather than buying direct from your farm,” Martin said.

“It is the supermarket shelves that will be emptier on turkeys this year than they have been before, only because there have been less turkeys placed on the ground, only because the big processers know that they will not get them processed.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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