Rachel Reeves to raise windfall tax on low-carbon electricity generators
Rachel Reeves is poised to raise the government’s windfall tax on low-carbon electricity generators to help limit UK household energy bills, the Guardian understands.The chancellor is ready to hike the levy introduced in 2022 to target the excess profits made by the owners of older renewable energy and nuclear plants as electricity market prices soared after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.She could announce the plans to raise the so-called electricity generator levy as early as Tuesday, alongside a consultation on “radical” proposals to permanently weaken the link between soaring gas market prices and the cost of Britain’s electricity for the long term.Executives across the industry have been told to expect contact from officials on Monday to set out the government’s determination that electricity costs should be protected from the surge in gas markets and be set more often by cheaper renewable sources.Currently, the overall price is set by the most expensive source of power, which is usually gas power plants.
This has led to a surge in electricity market prices across Europe, but particularly in countries such as the UK that rely on gas.The plans to increase the generator levy – which applies to nuclear, biomass and renewable energy projects built before 2017 – will be used to raise Treasury funds to help shield consumer energy bills in the short-term while the government consults on long-term plans to reform the wholesale market.The government is also expected to consult on plans to shift older, low-carbon projects subsidised by the government’s renewables obligation scheme on to the newer set-price contracts, which provide electricity at a guaranteed price.The industry was put on alert after Reeves said on the sidelines of the IMF conference in Washington DC on Thursday that the government was considering “quite a big change” to weaken the link between gas and electricity costs that was “absolutely the right thing to do”.Her comments caused shares in SSE to fall more than 6% on Friday to the lowest level since the war in Iran triggered a surge in global energy prices that pushed the company’s market value to an all-time high last week.
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, closed down 5% and Drax fell 3%,The companies are in line for higher revenues due to the sharp rise in energy market prices since the Iran war began seven weeks ago,Under the electricity generator levy, the generators currently face a 45% tax rate on electricity sold at market prices above £75 a megawatt hour,The levy is due to expire in March 2028,The electricity market price surged from around £74/MWh to over £100/MWh as the conflict in the Middle East escalated last month, and officials fear they will climb higher if the disruption stretches into winter.
The government is understood to be considering plans to call on the UK’s legacy low-carbon projects – such as nuclear plants and older wind and solar farms – to sign up to the same contracts used by new projects at a set price agreed with the government.The proposal was first put forward by analysts at the UK Energy Research Centre in April 2022 to protect the UK’s electricity costs from surging gas prices.They said it could save between £4bn and £10bn a year if market prices remained high.A separate proposal set out by the Stonehaven consultant Adam Bell, the government’s former head of strategy at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, includes the “radical step” of removing gas plants from the market and holding them in strategic reserve to be fired up when needed without distorting the overall cost of electricity in the wholesale market.Bell said the plan, which could take £80 a year off energy bills, would be “a transfer of value from producers to consumers to a degree we haven’t seen for 20 to 30 years” by helping consumers to benefit from the energy transition.
Sources told the Guardian there was “consternation” over the plans, which could spell a fundamental reform of energy markets to weaken the link between gas market prices and electricity costs at a time of increased risk and volatility.The government declined to comment.
Baumgardner shines after New Zealand’s Daniels seizes unified crown in jarring upset
On a night when Alycia Baumgardner showed why she’s considered one of boxing’s hottest properties, it was a longshot from New Zealand in the co-main event who threatened to steal the show.Baumgardner retained her WBO, IBF and WBA junior lightweight titles early Saturday morning at the Theater at Madison Square Garden with a commanding 10-round unanimous decision over South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin in the headline bout of the first US card staged by Most Valuable Promotions Women, the nascent women’s boxing platform launched by boxer-influencer Jake Paul.The 31-year-old Ohio native, fighting out of Dallas under crack trainer Derrick James, dominated Shin for five rounds before turning back a furious rally to win a wide verdict by scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 99-91. (The Guardian had it 98-92.)But Baumgardner’s sixth title defense in the 130lb division, where she’s held at least one belt since 2021, was nearly upstaged by the fight before it
Supercharged GOAT-level swim‑genius Adam Ramsay-Peaty is the Messi of breaststroke | Barney Ronay
The Austrian philosopher and novelist Robert Musil once wrote a lengthy meditation on human capacity based around seeing the phrase “a racehorse of genius” in a newspaper sports section. Musil was disturbed by this idea. His basic question was: can a horse really be a genius?If we are to ascribe the label of genius to a horse, based on its ability to run fast and successfully eat oats, where does this leave the unmapped capacities of the actual human genius? What is consciousness? What is a human? Should the question in fact be: will there ever be a human of sufficient genius they are able to actually perceive the genius of a horse?As a small contribution to this discourse, I would suggest that if there really is such a genius among us they are unlikely, from my own lived experience, to be a sports writer. Also, horses are nice.The reason for mentioning this here is that I don’t think you really appreciate how good Adam Ramsay‑Peaty is at the breaststroke
Alycia Baumgardner beats Bo Mi Re Shin to retain unified junior lightweight title – as it happened
That’s all for tonight. Thanks as always for following along and be sure to check back later for a full report.No surprises here. Alycia Baumgardner has retained her WBA, WBO and IBF junior lightweight titles by a 10-round unanimous decision. Two judges scored it 98-92 while a third had it 99-91
Gout Gout waves off rivals to claim 100m national junior title in style
Gout Gout has blitzed the field but fallen short of breaking the 10-second barrier while winning the 100m at the Australian athletics junior championships in Brisbane on Saturday.The 18-year-old took time to get his motor going before settling into his stride and chasing down the early leaders to cross the line first in a time of 10.21sec with a legal tailwind of +0.5m/s.Gout left plenty in reserve as he eased up and waved to the crowd before finishing ahead of Zavier Peacock who clocked 10
Lancashire to put matches behind paywall; Rew sparkles for Somerset on rain-hit day – as it happened
Somerset’s James Rew was a shot of ginger on a rainy Championship day. He purred the last ball of the evening to the rope with a perfect high elbow, to finish unbeaten on 77. With innings of 64, 122 and 48 already this season, Rew’s average is 100 – numbers to lighten an England selector’s step. Thirteen wickets fell around him, with Jake Lehmann (76), who has stepped into James Vince’s boots, again top-scoring for Hampshire. There were three wickets each for Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton
O’Sullivan and Trump no-shows spoil mood before World Snooker Championship
Neither former world champion was at obligatory event as two British prospects look forward to moment in spotlightIf there were any doubt remaining that Ronnie O’Sullivan retains a gravitational pull on the world of snooker, few moments hammered home the point better than Friday’s launch of this year’s World Snooker Championship when the seven-time champion became the story without even being there.The first ball will not be potted in Sheffield until Saturday morning and the first headline has been generated by a player not in action until Tuesday. When the traditional photo of the world’s top 16 took place as usual outside the Crucible on Friday afternoon it did so without two of the sport’s biggest names in O’Sullivan and Judd Trump.Both were a no-show at the press event that the seeded players are contractually obliged to attend, with the reasons for their absence unclear. It could yet lead to disciplinary action from the authorities: not that either will be hit too hard financially
From Lee Cronin’s The Mummy to Zayn: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Lost Federico García Lorca verse discovered 93 years after it was written
Stephen Colbert on Trump’s Vatican feud: ‘Damn, the pope just read you for filth’
‘Packaging evil into something funny’: is making fun of Trump now just ‘clownwashing’?
A statue of Queen Victoria, memorial trees and a swimming pool: Judi Dench’s garden – in eight poignant items
Kimmel on Trump’s AI images: ‘Someone’s been looksmaxxing!’