The UK’s last coal-fired power station closed on the 30th of September, nearly 142 years after the world’s first coal-fired power station was built in London, by Thomas Edison.

“It’s a really remarkable day, because Britain, after all, built her whole strength on coal, that is the industrial revolution,” said Lord Deben – the longest serving environment secretary.

The point of no return

In 2008, the UK established its first legally binding climate targets and in 2015 the then-energy and climate change secretary, Amber Rudd, told the world the UK would be ending its use of coal power within the next decade.

Dave Jones, director of global insights at Ember, an independent energy think tank, said this really helped to “set in motion” the end of coal by providing a clear direction of travel for the industry.

But it also showed leadership and set a benchmark for other countries to follow, according to Lord Deben.

“I think it’s made a big difference, because you need someone to point to and say, ‘There, they’ve done it. Why can’t we do it?'”, he said.

In 2010, renewables generated just 7% of the UK’s power. By the first half of 2024, this had grown to more than 50% – a new record.

The rapid growth of green power meant that coal could even be switched off completely for short periods, with the first coal-free days in 2017.

You can watch how Britain is generating electricity today, at Gridwatch

OVO has agreed to pay a total of £2.37 million in compensation and redress payments after Ofgem identified a number of failings in how the supplier handled customer complaints.  

The regulator identified that 1,395 OVO customers were affected by issues including lengthy delays in addressing complaints, in some cases up to 18 months, and delays actioning the Energy Ombudsman’s decision when complaints were progressed.  

OVO will pay £378,512 in compensation directly to affected customers and has also paid an additional £2 million to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme in recognition of the severity of consumer detriment caused.  

Affected customers will be contacted directly by OVO, and do not need to take any action. 

Following Ofgem’s intervention OVO has increased its complaint handling resources, enhanced its complaints management system and improved its case management processes to make sure senior colleagues have oversight of complaints. 

Jacqui Gehrmann, deputy director of retail compliance at Ofgem, said: 

“Energy is an essential service. When things go wrong, it can cause consumers a lot of distress. In this case OVO failed to adequately protect and respond to their customers when it was needed most. This is not acceptable. 

“We are committed to driving up standards for consumers across the board, and this action serves as a reminder to all energy companies that we will not hesitate to take swift and definitive action when they fail to comply with the rules.” 

The regulator identified key areas of improvement including upgrading its complaint handling system and addressing resourcing issues. Ofgem then asked OVO to provide a plan on how it would address and resolve these issues. 

The Energy Ombudsman commented: 

“We welcome today’s news that following compliance engagement between Ofgem and OVO, consumers will be compensated for OVO’s failures to implement the remedies set by the Energy Ombudsman. 

“Our role is to resolve disputes between consumers and energy suppliers, providing independent and impartial decisions that ensure fair outcomes. These decisions are legally binding, and suppliers are required to implement them within 28 days. While the majority of resolutions are carried out on time, there are instances where consumers face unacceptable delays.

“It is reassuring to see that this investigation is now concluded, and that OVO has reviewed and improved its systems and procedures.”   

The current round of the Household Support Fund started on the 1st of April, and is due to end on the 30th of September, or once funds are exhausted, whichever is sooner.

Through this scheme, Local Authorities are provided with funds from central government, and are able to deliver programmes of support for some residents. During Round 5 we have been delivering financial support for low-income, vulnerable residents in Halton, Sefton and Wirral.

We would like our referral partners to note that, due to high demand for the scheme, we can no longer accept referrals for financial support for non-prepay customers in either Halton or Sefton. Referrals for Wirral residents will continue until further notice.

We can still accept referrals for fuel debt, and help with heating, in all areas, but we will assess client eligibility for alternative sources of funding, as these aspects of Household Support Fund have also now been fully allocated, apart from Wirral, where applications for fuel debt reduction will continue until further notice.

We were pleased to read in the news this week that government intends to launch Round 6 of the Household Support Fund, to run from October through to March 2025. We will provide a further update in due course, to confirm whether this will lead to a relaunch of these aspect of our support vulnerable residents. In any event, there may be a gap between Round 5 closing and Round 6 launching, while our Local Authority partners agree details with government.