Consumers should vote with their feet and switch to a different supplier if their power company raises its charges, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said.
In an interview with the Observer, Mr Huhne said people did not have to take price increases "lying down".
He urged people to hit firms "where it hurts" by finding a cheaper supplier.
Scottish Power has this week announced big rises in gas and electricity prices and there are fears the other five major suppliers will follow suit.
Mr Huhne said: "Consumers don't have to take price increases lying down. If an energy company hits you with a price increase, you can hit them back where it hurts - by shopping around and voting with your feet."
Mr Huhne is expected to announce new measures this week to make it easier for smaller companies to compete in the energy market.
He said: "Right now, only one in five people switch suppliers. I want to see more switching, more competition and more companies in the market.
"The big six only have a few minnows snapping at them, who are kept artificially small. By scrapping red tape for small players they can become serious challengers and help keep bills down."
'Deep concern'
On Tuesday Scottish Power revealed price increases of 19% for gas and 10% for electricity from 1 August, affecting 2.4 million households in the UK.
The company blamed the rises on a sharp rise in the wholesale cost of gas.
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has called for talks with the supplier over the move.
He said: "I am deeply concerned at the scale of Scottish Power's price increases and I am seeking an urgent meeting to hear why they think increases of this scale are justified.
"Any fuel price rises have an impact - yet these increases will leave many households, in particular vulnerable consumers, in real, real difficulty."
A spokesman for Scottish Power said the company always co-operated with parliamentary requests and it looked forward to the meeting with Mr Swinney.
full article
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Saturday, 11 June 2011
It's a Swiss Army bike!
This extraordinary new electric bicycle looks sharp and folds out just like a Swiss Army knife.
The creation by Swiss brand Voltitude, has been dubbed the ultimate space saver.
Designed for city-dwellers, the compact 18.5 kilogram bike measures just under two feet in width, 2ft 7in high when folded and 3ft.6in when stretched out.
The bike can be charged by hooking it up to a standard mains socket and takes around four hours to reach full power.
It can reach speeds of around 15 miles per hour and can be ridden for 25 miles before needing to be recharged.
The bike, which is set to sell for around £2,650, is not yet in full production but it can be pre-ordered through the Voltitude website.
full article
Friday, 10 June 2011
Car-hire giants in U-turn over electric fleet
A pioneering scheme to provide cheap, "help yourself" electric cars for Parisian residents and tourists faces a last-minute legal challenge from the traditional car-rental industry.
The first 700 Autolib' cars – based on the city's successful bicycle self-hire operation, which inspired a similar scene in London – will appear in the French capital from December at a modest €5 (£4.40) for the first 30 minutes.
But a pressure group representing large car-rental firms such as Avis and Hertz has belatedly accused city hall of organising unfair and publicly subsidised competition. The administrative tribunal, which hears complaints against public authorities, must decide within weeks whether to abolish the scheme in its present form.
Manufacture of the first Autolib' cars – roughly the size of a Twingo or Mini, and with a battery life of 250 kilometres – has already begun in Turin. The Socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is convinced that the scheme will be a popular and groundbreaking success like his do-it-yourself bike-hire programme, Vélib'.
The small, blue four-seater cars will be available from street or underground docking stations for €5 for the first half-hour for Parisian residents and €7 for visitors. As with the Vélib' bike scheme, long-term rentals will be more expensive. The idea is to offer a "green", cheap alternative for cross-town journeys.
Joining the scheme will cost a further €10 a day, €15 a week or €144 a year. "Autolibbeurs" will use a credit card to pick up a car from a docking station and leave it in a spare place at any other station when finished. Each car will have a radio, a GPS route-finding system and an onboard computer to direct the driver to empty docking spaces.
full article
The first 700 Autolib' cars – based on the city's successful bicycle self-hire operation, which inspired a similar scene in London – will appear in the French capital from December at a modest €5 (£4.40) for the first 30 minutes.
But a pressure group representing large car-rental firms such as Avis and Hertz has belatedly accused city hall of organising unfair and publicly subsidised competition. The administrative tribunal, which hears complaints against public authorities, must decide within weeks whether to abolish the scheme in its present form.
Manufacture of the first Autolib' cars – roughly the size of a Twingo or Mini, and with a battery life of 250 kilometres – has already begun in Turin. The Socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is convinced that the scheme will be a popular and groundbreaking success like his do-it-yourself bike-hire programme, Vélib'.
The small, blue four-seater cars will be available from street or underground docking stations for €5 for the first half-hour for Parisian residents and €7 for visitors. As with the Vélib' bike scheme, long-term rentals will be more expensive. The idea is to offer a "green", cheap alternative for cross-town journeys.
Joining the scheme will cost a further €10 a day, €15 a week or €144 a year. "Autolibbeurs" will use a credit card to pick up a car from a docking station and leave it in a spare place at any other station when finished. Each car will have a radio, a GPS route-finding system and an onboard computer to direct the driver to empty docking spaces.
full article
Government subsidy cut prompts solar outrage
The Government's decision to cut subsidies for solar energy to all but the smallest projects will threaten investment and job creation in the alternative energy sector, environmental and industry groups warned yesterday.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said the change to feed-in tariffs would maintain funding for households to put up panels by diverting them from larger projects.
But campaigners said the decision would kill off schemes planned by schools, housing associations and other community organisations.
Feed-in tariffs were launched in April last year and more than 40,000 installations have registered.
The change, trailed earlier this year, will prioritise domestic and other small solar power installations of up to 50kW, which typically cover several houses and will be unaffected.
Feed-in tariffs for bigger projects will be slashed. Installations between 50 kW and 150kW will get 19p per kilowatt-hour, down from 32.9p, and bigger installations will have their subsidies more than halved.
When the Government announced its review it said it needed to avoid large-scale solar "farms" squeezing out the domestic market. DECC said yesterday that every 5MW large-scale solar scheme would cost about £1.3m a year. That means that 20 such schemes would cost the same as installations for more than 25,000 households.
Friends of the Earth said the consultation had been "a farce" and that the results threatened the creation of thousands of new jobs in the fledgling green energy sector.
full article
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said the change to feed-in tariffs would maintain funding for households to put up panels by diverting them from larger projects.
But campaigners said the decision would kill off schemes planned by schools, housing associations and other community organisations.
Feed-in tariffs were launched in April last year and more than 40,000 installations have registered.
The change, trailed earlier this year, will prioritise domestic and other small solar power installations of up to 50kW, which typically cover several houses and will be unaffected.
Feed-in tariffs for bigger projects will be slashed. Installations between 50 kW and 150kW will get 19p per kilowatt-hour, down from 32.9p, and bigger installations will have their subsidies more than halved.
When the Government announced its review it said it needed to avoid large-scale solar "farms" squeezing out the domestic market. DECC said yesterday that every 5MW large-scale solar scheme would cost about £1.3m a year. That means that 20 such schemes would cost the same as installations for more than 25,000 households.
Friends of the Earth said the consultation had been "a farce" and that the results threatened the creation of thousands of new jobs in the fledgling green energy sector.
full article
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