Britain’s Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is resisting pressure from gas companies to scrap the energy price cap and offer government bailouts to firms facing the prospect of going bust this winter.
He said it would not be fair to “throw taxpayers’ money” at businesses, many of whom he claimed were suffering due to poor leadership.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, he batted away reports warning that dozens of energy groups could collapse before the end of 2021.
He said the number of firms which would be likely to exit the market over the coming months “could be worse than” the annual loss of five to eight companies.
Yesterday Mr Kwarteng held crunch talks with the bosses of energy firms to find a solution to record gas costs.
Following the summit, a joint statement was issued by Mr Kwarteng and Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley confirming they had taken a unified position over the price ceiling continuing, saying it must “remain in place”.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Kwarteng said he is abiding by three key principles when trying to tackle the crisis, following crunch talks with energy leaders yesterday.
His first priority is to ensure customers, particularly the elderly, have access to gas over the colder months. Secondly, he is standing firm on his stance against any bailouts for gas firms.
He told Sky News: “I don’t think we should be throwing taxpayers’ money at companies which have been - let’s face it - badly run.”
He added: “I don’t want to prop up failing companies, I don’t want there to be a reward for failure, I don’t think the taxpayer should be propping those up.”
And thirdly, he insisted the energy price cap is here to stay, which he said had “forced companies to innovate”.
On Monday night, Mr Kwarteng and Mr Brearley said: “Central to any next steps is our clear and agreed position that the energy price cap will remain in place.
Mr Kwarteng had earlier told MPs the cap saves 15 million households up to £100 a year, adding: “It’s not going anywhere.”
The Daily Telegraph reported that some companies present at the meeting – attended by the likes of Scottish Power, Octopus, E.ON and EDF – called for the cap to be scrapped amid fears more firms could collapse, with four having already gone bust.
Some analysts have reportedly predicted the number of UK energy companies could be drastically reduced over the coming months, leaving as few as 10 if the gas crisis continues.
The energy price cap, which follows a review in August, is already set to rise.
Mr Kwarteng also pushed back against calls to scrap green levies, which fund renewable energy subsidy schemes, to ease pressure in the industry.
He said the policy had been a “British success story” and said the UK had been “very successful at moving away from fossil fuels, to renewable sources of power”.
He said that he accepted that some people may already struggle to heat their homes due to the cost, but that would not be down to a scarcity of supply of gas.
Mr Kwarteng said it was a “myth” that supply could run out and added: “What I said yesterday was the security of supply is not an issue. We’ve got lots of diverse sources of gas.”
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Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
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What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
