SSE is a winner in the great grid upgrade. Who is looking out for consumers and small businesses? | Nils Pratley
It is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to upgrade the UK electricity network”, gushed Martin Pibworth, the chief executive of SSE, and you can understand his excitement.The great grid upgrade has put a rocket under his share price.SSE’s shares soared 17% on Wednesday as the group laid out plans to spend the phenomenal sum of £33bn – more than the company’s current stock market value – over the next five years.That’s terrific news for SSE shareholders, but the stock market’s enthusiasm will do nothing to quiet two big worries about the sprint to upgrade the electricity grid.Has the regulator Ofgem – under orders from the government to get the upgrade done by 2030 – had to throw gold in the path of SSE, Scottish Power and National Grid Group, the trio behind the overall £80bn network investment programme? And what does it all mean for electricity consumers – households and businesses – who will fund this upgrade through their bills?From the point of view of SSE’s shareholders, the worry was that the mighty step up in spending, including £27bn alone on electricity networks, would have to be backed by a hefty issue of new shares.
In the event, the company reckons it needs only £2bn of new equity, coupled with the same again from disposals.Those are trivial sums in the context of the size of the plan and, crucially, the progress SSE is now predicting in its earnings and dividends.Even while spending at an unprecedented pace, SSE thinks it can boost its dividend to shareholders at an annual rate of 5%-10% all the way to 2029-30 – not bad for a regulated utility.And the prize at the end is a much larger regulated asset base, the crucial figure used for setting network charges.Has Ofgem been too generous? Well, at the moment its price control determinations for 2026-31 are merely at the draft stage – the final version comes next month.
But it took a crew of energy suppliers at a Commons select committee last month to spell out the reality that the £80bn programme, with the charges front loaded to give the networks confidence to invest, would have an impact on bills.“If we continue on the path we are on, in all likelihood electricity prices are going to be 20% higher – even if wholesale prices halve,” said Rachel Fletcher, the director of regulation at Octopus Energy, pointing to rising “non-commodity costs” such as gas and electricity network charges.The government and Ofgem’s argument is that the spending is necessary to correct historic underinvestment, to pave the way for the grid to handle more renewable generation and to prepare for a projected doubling in electricity usage by 2050.That’s what Pibworth, in a similar vein, means by the “once in a generation” nature of the programme, complete with lots of jobs on the way.Nobody doubts that chunky spending of some size is necessary.
A prime target in the grid upgrade clearly has to be a reduction in the wasted billions that arise from constraint costs, the payments to windfarms (often in Scotland, SSE’s patch) to turn off because the grid locally is overloaded,But there are still fair questions to ask about whether the full £80bn needs to be spent in just five years, and – crucially – how the front-loaded nature of the charges to bills will affect consumers and small businesses from next April,Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionIn a speech last week, Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, the owner of British Gas, set out the arithmetic,He said: “Ofgem proposes significant upfront investment, leading to higher network charges,This raises major concerns about affordability for consumers and businesses – particularly the SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] – the backbone of our economy.
“These transmission costs risk significant bill increases early next year – £42 rise for domestic customers, and businesses face increases of 70% on average and some will see these [network] charges doubling next year,For businesses, this average 70% rise in network costs could translate to increases of 5%-10% in their total bills,”He makes a fair point,Energy transition is happening but these are not trivial sums, especially for businesses, which sit outside the price cap,It’s about time Ofgem and the government acknowledged them more openly.
Australian supermarket wheat crackers taste test: ‘All the reviewers knew which one was the real deal’
Nicholas Jordan risks it for the biscuits, sampling 19 wheat crackers in the driest taste test yetIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI’ve been wanting to write this article for over a year but I’ve been too intimidated and confused to start. There are several hundred supermarket products that could be called a cracker. Imagine a taste test with 100 versions of the same thing. Do I have the stomach space or mental bandwidth to process that much? Otherwise, how do I decide what’s in or out? Even if I did, how do I rule what is a cracker or not? How do you determine the criteria for tasting something rarely eaten on its own? Do you rate the crackers for deliciousness or compatibility? Are those two things even that different?Then there’s the anxiety of spending several days agonising over all that, and conducting a taste test only to arrive at the conclusion that Jatz are great. Do people want to read an article about why Sir Donald Bradman is better than whoever the second-best-ever cricketer is?Instead of answering all those questions, I could just have a lovely afternoon making my way through 17 kinds of chocolate or many iced coffees
Same sheet, different dish: how to use up excess lasagne sheets
I’ve accidentally bought too many boxes of dried lasagne sheets. How can I use them up? Jemma, by email This is sounding all too familiar to Jordon Ezra King, the man behind the A Curious Cook newsletter. “It’s funny Jemma asks this,” he says, “because I was in this exact same situation earlier this year after over-catering for a client dinner.” The first thing to say is there’s no immediate rush, he adds: “It sounds obvious, but you can keep the boxes for a long time.” Fortunately for Jemma and her shopping mishap, however, lasagne sheets are also flexible, and their shape doesn’t have to dictate what you do with them
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for chilli crisp topped noodles with tofu and cabbage | Quick and easy
I make variations of stir-fried mushrooms and tofu with noodles (or rice) all the time, but this one, topped with a homemade peanut chilli crisp oil, has gone straight to the top of my repertoire. And the chilli oil couldn’t be easier to make, plus there’s enough to stash in the fridge for the week to come – spoon over eggy crumpets, fried rice or cheese on toast.Prep 20 min Cook 15 min Serves 2-32 tbsp sesame oil5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced150g shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped280g firm tofu (I like Tofoo), cut into 1cm cubes15ml soy sauce½ sweetheart cabbage, roughly chopped 200g straight-to-wok udon noodles Sea salt, to tasteFor the chilli crisp oil50ml neutral oil – I use mild olive oil5g chilli flakes 50g salted peanuts, left wholePut a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat, then add one tablespoon of the sesame oil. Stir-fry the ginger, garlic and spring onions for 30 seconds, then add the mushrooms and fry, stirring, for two minutes more. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then stir in the tofu and fry for two minutes on each side
The nut secret: 14 easy, delicious ways to eat more of these life-changing superfoods
A handful of nuts a day can help manage obesity and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. Yet most of us don’t get enough. Here’s a no-fuss guide to getting your 30g a dayThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more
How to make the perfect beer cheese soup – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …
Beer and cheese, two ingredients that don’t immediately scream soup to much of the world, are the cornerstones of one such midwestern speciality, particularly beloved in Wisconsin, with its prominent dairy and brewing industries. Beer soups are also found from Alsace to Russia (and, indeed, Wisconsin has a significant northern European heritage population). The cheese, however, appears to be an inspired American addition (though, seeing as Germany boasts both beer and cheese soups, I’m prepared to stand corrected), playing off the bittersweetness of the beer to produce a richly flavoured dish that’s perfectly suited to harsh midwestern winters. That said, it’s a treat on a cold day wherever you are.(Note: this is not to be confused with German obatzda, while a thicker version is a popular hot dip in Kentucky, in particular
Lilibet’s, London W1: ‘Pure joy, high drama, camp as heck’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
My new favourite restaurantUntil last week, Punk Royale was easily the strangest restaurant I’ve been to all year. “We’re all wacky here!” cried those Scandinavian punks with pans, as covered in my review here a month or so ago. But they’ve already been usurped by a spot in a repurposed office block less than half a mile away.The fabulously bizarre Lilibet’s opened her doors with little or no fanfare in mid-September, beckoning us into her world of strange. Behold the antique fireplaces, the floral chairs and wallpaper, the multitude of gilt-framed, 18th-century French paintings, the pretty etched glassware, the monogrammed napkins, the tall dinner candles
Peter Archer obituary
Marianne Rigge obituary
Abuse by UK’s ‘most prolific sex offender’ was ignored at Medomsley detention centre, report finds
Experts concerned over health effects of high-dose nicotine pouches as sales soar in UK
‘I don’t want anyone to suffer like I did’: the intersex campaigners fighting to limit surgery on children
Private care providers in three English regions make £250m in three years