Power groups are lambasted

By JONATHAN PRYNN FOR MAILONLINE
Updated:

 

NEW energy regulator Callum McCarthy has launched another bruising attack on the electricity generators, accusing them of threatening jobs and living standards by rigging the wholesale power market.

He said generators are increasingly manipulating the market — the so-called Pool — to boost the price of electricity.

January had seen more sudden increases in the price, known as “spikes” than ever before.

Over the month, there were 180 occasions when the marginal price rose over £60 per megawatt hour, the official definition of a spike, compared with 234 in the fourth quarter of last year and just 11 in the last quarter of 1996.

The figure is particularly marked because January was a period of mild weather and low fuel prices.

Former merchant banker McCarthy, who has im-pressed ministers with his robust approach to the generators, is also consulting on two measures to reduce the scope for manipulation.

Last week the Pool announced its own steps to stop abuse of it, but McCarthy said that if these steps prove inadequate, “we will bring forward more fundamental changes to meet the underlying shortcomings”.

Major commercial electricity users have complained of “crippling” electricity prices this winter, which have added an earned an estimated £90 million extra revenue for the generators.

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