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Another price rise announcement by a utilities company could place Britons under increased financial pressure, it has been suggested.

Earlier this month, ScottishPower stated that gas and electricity costs on its standard tariff are to increase by 15 and 14 per cent. Resulting in bills rising by 89 pounds and 53 pounds respectively, uSwitch reported that the moves will affect just under half (44 per cent) of the 5.2 million customers of the energy firm. Adding an extra 141 pounds on to costs, the price comparison website suggested that the typical dual fuel household energy bill is now set to rise from 959 pounds to 1,100 pounds. The increases came into effect on Saturday (February 2nd).

Following on from such a price increase, homeowners may not just find that they have problems in meeting demands for payment on utility bills but also discover their capacity for repaying other monetary constraints such as loans, credit and store cards, mortgages and transport costs is diminished.

Commenting on the announcement, Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch, claimed that the decision by ScottishPower to increase its costs was not a surprising one following recent hikes by a number of fellow energy companies, such as British Gas and EDF Energy, in recent weeks.

Energy Tags: wind+power" rel="tag">wind power, alternative energy

The cost of using fossil fuels to make energy for our nation is getting to be an economic burden on our middle class and country. Using Oil for fuel in our cars is causing significant problems with monetary outflows. Burning coal is polluting the air and that is a challenge to our health and environment. Luckily there is some good news on the way.

More: continued here

A significant number of consumers may find that their finances will come under further pressure, it has been suggested.

From Friday January 18th, EDF Energy is to increase its standard tariffs for both electricity and gas. Costs for the former are to go up by 7.9 per cent, or an average of 28 pounds, while electric bills are set to increase by 12.9 per cent - the equivalent to 74 pounds Overall, it is thought that more than half (59 per cent) of the company's 5.5 million customers will be affected. Following on from the increase, the typical dual fuel energy bill will rise by 100 pounds, taking it from 907 pounds to 1,007 pounds.

And although the announcement will mean those patrons of EDF, which is the fifth largest energy company, may witness an increase in their utility bills, it is also possible that pressure on other constraints on their spending will rise. This could lead them to develop problems in meeting demands for payment on areas such as loans, mortgages and credit cards.

Commenting on the decision, Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch, stated that homeowners are once again facing an "inflation busting price hike at face value" without a detailed explanation as to why this has taken place. She said: "This is blatant cashing in on loyalty. All people really want to know is whether they are being treated fairly or not but, with household energy bills heading back up over 1,000 pounds, they cannot afford to hang about waiting for an answer. Consumers must take action now and move to a cheaper energy deal if they want to protect their household from the impact of higher energy bills. By not switching consumers could waste savings of up to 325 pounds."

The price comparison website went on to claim that following the moves, EDF Energy will now be the second most expensive utilities supplier in Britain, coming behind npower, which has also reported a price hike in recent days. Following the recent announcement uSwitch pointed out that it is the latest in a series of increases by the firm. Between 2004 and 2006, the energy company has put up its dual fuel by 73 per cent or 409 pounds. And although it cut its gas prices by ten per cent last year, it was reportedly one of the last firms to do so, as this week's announcement "completely wipes out" the 2007 decrease. More on Homeowners Must Take Action Against Energy Bill Increases

solar tax credits extended

Well we can argue till the cows come home about whether the financial crisis bailout bill is going to work or if it is good for America but one thing is for sure the solar power industry is doing a dance today. Included in the bill that passed the Senate the other day and went before the House today, where it passed, was a rider that includes an extension of the 30% federal investment tax credit for residential and commercial solar installations for the next eight years. This is a huge boost for the solar industry which is trying to get a foothold in what could only be called "trying times".

Many of us may not like the add ons to the bailout bill but his is one that needed to be passed for the solar industry to grow and become a factor in growing the

Here is the full press release from SEIA:

Federal Solar Tax Credits Extended for 8 Years, US Poised to Become Largest Solar Market in the World

October 03, 2008

Industry Leaders Forecast Dramatic Growth in the U.S. Solar Market by 2016 with Extension of Credit

WASHINGTON – Today, by a vote of 263 to 171, the U.S. House of Representatives passed historic legislation that extends the 30-percent federal investment tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations for 8 years. This landmark legislation is part of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, designed to address the U.S. financial crisis. It is the most significant federal policy ever enacted for the solar industry. President Bush has vowed to sign the bill into law. The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday night.

“This bill is a major step in our long journey toward energy independence and ensures that solar energy will be a significant part of America’s energy future,” said SEIA president Rhone Resch. “This long-term extension of the solar tax credits will create a domestic solar industry with hundreds of thousands of jobs while providing clean, affordable, carbon-free energy to millions of American families, businesses, and communities.”

More on Bailout Bill Includes Solar Tax Credits

Energy Tags: alternative energy, alternative

Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers back technology and utility veterans in making renewable energy price competitive with fossil fuels

AlwaysOn GoingGreen Conference, DAVIS, Calif.—Sept. 10, 2007—Ausra Inc., the developer of utility-scale solar thermal power technology, has secured more than $40 million in funding from Silicon Valley venture capital firms Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers (KPCB). The company has assembled a world-class team of solar power scientists, power project developers and financiers to make reliable, large-scale solar thermal power a reality today for electric utilities.

"Worldwide, the electric power industry creates 40 percent of total carbon emissions, and electricity use is rapidly growing. Ausra's technology serves a critical need for utilities seeking large-scale affordable sources of clean power to meet the dual challenges of economic growth and carbon constraints," said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures and Ausra investor and board member. "Ausra's technology replaces smoke with mirrors by eliminating fuel use for power generation, and sets a new benchmark for the cost and scale of solar power."

Ausra's power plants drive steam turbines with sunshine. Locally manufactured solar concentrators made of steel and glass focus sunlight to boil water, generating high-pressure steam that drives conventional turbine generators. New thermal energy storage systems using pressurized water and low cost materials will provide for on-demand generation day and night. Ausra's core technology, the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar steam generation system, was originally conceived in the early 1990s by founder David Mills while at Sydney University. Mills later worked with Graham Morrison to develop the idea between 1995 and 2001.

Ausra aims to expedite the utility industry's transition to clean energy, helping utilities meet renewable portfolio standards while keeping rates low and the power on for consumers day and night. "Economic development around the world, coupled with recognition that carbon emissions must rapidly be eliminated, has created an enormous market opportunity for companies that can deliver solar power at large scale and at reasonable cost," says KPCB Partner and Ausra investor and board member Ray Lane. "Solar thermal power is the main event in renewable energy, and Ausra has the deep expertise and a simple, yet effective, design to fully capitalize on the opportunity to deliver the majority of our future power needs."

"We had been working on a wide range of alternatives and kept finding that simpler, cheaper approaches outperformed higher-temperature, more sophisticated designs," says Ausra Chairman David Mills. In 2002, Mills and Morrison founded Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd. in partnership with Ausra CEO Peter Le Lièvre, and SHP built a successful trial 1 megawatt system in 2004 for Macquarie Generation in New South Wales. A following 38 megawatt CLFR solar field is expected to be complete by 2009.

It was Ausra Executive Vice-President John O'Donnell who brought the founders and investors together in October 2006. They clicked, and Ausra was formed in late 2006 to take the technology to large-scale commercial deployment in the U.S. and worldwide. Le Lièvre recalls, "We found in Khosla Ventures and KPCB a vision that matched ours – a deep understanding of the market and fearlessness about bringing a fundamentally new technology to large scale."

Mills is known internationally for his academic advancements in non-imaging optics, solar thermal energy and concentrator systems. Morrison ran Australia's premier solar test facility and is an expert at both solar collector and solar radiation modeling. Le Lièvre has 20 years of experience as an industrial designer specializing in technical development and financing new ventures. Chief Development Officer Robert Morgan and Chief Commercial Officer Glen Davis are recognized power industry experts, having come to Ausra after significant careers with AES and their consultancy Agile Energy. Together, Morgan and Davis have nearly half-a-century of experience in working with utilities to build and manage large-scale power projects around the world.

About Ausra Ausra, Inc. develops and deploys utility-scale solar thermal power technology to serve global electricity needs in a dependable, market-competitive, environmentally responsible manner. Located in Palo Alto, Calif., Ausra is a privately held company funded by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. To learn more about Ausra and solar thermal power in general, visit www.ausra.com.

Energy Tags: solar thermal power, alternative