British energy firms fear collapse as Europe’s gas crisis sees prices surge 250%

Published

4 years ago

September 20, 2021

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Aman Sharma | Getty Images

LONDON — Britain’s energy industry could be headed for a significant shakeup, industry insiders have warned, as countries all over Europe grapple with an unprecedented crisis in the power sector.

Wholesale gas prices have spiked across the region, with the U.K. being hit particularly hard.

The front-month gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, a European benchmark for natural gas trading, gained on Monday to trade at 73.150 euros ($85.69) per megawatt-hour, hovering close to the record high seen last week.

Since January, the contract has risen more than 250%.

In the U.K., day-ahead energy prices for Monday reached an average of 291.18 euros per megawatt-hour, according to energy analysis firm LCP Enact. However, the maximum price for the U.K. on Monday could be as high as 1,083.78 euros per megawatt-hour, LCP Enact’s analysis showed.

Impact for energy firms

Robert Buckley, head of relationships and development at Cornwall Insight, told CNBC that the crisis was being caused by a “cocktail of pretty potent things” that were outside of suppliers’ control.

These included strong competition for natural gas deliveries between Europe and Asia, some outages at U.S. production facilities and a tightening of EU carbon market rules, as well as various other factors.

“All suppliers will be finding it very tough at the moment,” Buckley said. “Some of them are bigger and more resilient than others. But scale doesn’t equal automatically resilience.”

He added that “it looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better” in terms of suppliers leaving the British electricity and gas market.

“[Suppliers are] caught between this rapture of the rising energy price wholesale market and the default tariff cap, and depending on who you who you believe, this is anywhere up to £200, £250 below what a market related cost would be at the moment, so that’s 20% of the total bill,” he said, referring to a cap on consumer energy prices in Britain. “That’s -20% of gross margins. Very few [companies] can sustain that for any length of time.”

Meanwhile, Bill Bullen, founder of U.K. supplier Utilita Energy, warned that surging wholesale prices would inevitably lead to more insolvencies in the energy sector.

“We’re heading back to an oligopoly at this rate and going backwards,” he said in an email Monday.

According to a report from Cornwall Insight, in the fourth quarter of 2010, the six largest energy firms supplied 99.5% of the domestic energy market in the U.K. By the second quarter of 2021, that figure had fallen to 69.1%.

“I wonder how it will look at the end of Q3 2021,” Bullen said.

Start-up Bulb, the country’s sixth-largest supplier, is seeking a bailout, while four smaller competitors recently ceased trading, the BBC reported.

According to industry body OGUK, wholesale energy prices have surged with a 70% rise since August alone. “OGUK predicts that UK North Sea output will roughly halve by 2027 unless new fields are opened, making the U.K. even more reliant on imports,” Will Webster, the organization’s energy policy manager, told CNBC via email.

A spokesperson for British energy regulator Ofgem told CNBC in an emailed statement. “This is a global issue … Ofgem is working closely with government to manage the wider implications of the global gas price increase.”

Political fallout

Governments are keen to take action to stop the crisis hitting consumers too hard.

The British government is considering bailout loans for energy suppliers, according to local media reports. Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng met with British energy companies on Monday, in what he said was an effort to “ensure that any energy supplier failures cause the least amount of disruption for consumers.”

Seeking to reassure the public on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the pricing crisis as “temporary,” Bloomberg reported.

The U.K. has limits on how much suppliers are able to charge consumers for energy, with price caps reviewed by the government every six months.

In a note on Monday, Eurasia Group warned the continent’s soaring energy prices were also beginning to have political ramifications across the wider region.

Spain’s government released a decree this week to cap retail energy prices. Eurasia analysts speculated that if more EU member states imitate Spain, prioritizing cheap energy above the green transition, the EU’s credibility as a climate leader could be damaged.

“If Madrid’s actions find imitators across the EU this winter, the bloc’s efforts to push for more ambitious climate action at the upcoming global talks in November may suffer,” they said in Monday’s note.

Environment

$250M Series B raise boosts XPeng AeroHT flying car ambitions

Published

44 mins ago

July 18, 2025

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0M Series B raise boosts XPeng AeroHT flying car ambitions

Xpeng Aeroht secures additional $100m in Series B funding

Chinese carmaker XPeng is getting perilously close to bringing its AeroHT consumer eVTOL concept to market, thanks to a $250 million Series B round that’s set to accelerate the company’s modular “flying car” production plans.

XPeng subsidiary AeroHT had its first successful proof of concept test flight ahead of the brand’s annual 1024 back in 2023, where the company unveiled a pair of flying car designs. The X3 is an actual flying “car” that can drive, park, and take off on its own, and a second, modular eVTOL that folds up into the back of an electric van called the Land Aircraft Carrier.

That vehicle pair, shown at CES in January, was set to begin production this year, with the eVTOL component set to begin production in 2026 – and that’s looking a lot more likely thanks to the new infusion of capital!

AeroHT at CES 2025

Xpeng Aeroht raised $150 million in Series B1 funding last August, before launching its Series B2 funding round. The most recent announcement that the company has secured an additional $100 million in its Series B2 funding round brings the total amount raised to more than $750 million, with a $1B pre-revenue valuation.

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CNEVPost reports that company aims to establish itself as a commercial pioneer in urban air mobility ahead of a potential IPO – and may get there sooner than later, thanks to several hundred pre-orders at the $280,000 projected price.

Electrek’s Take

flying car Dubai — AeroHT sixth-generation X3 flying car; via XPeng.

Scooter Doll said it best, writing, “this footage (of the AeroHT test flight) is as scary and concerning as it is exciting and awe-inspiring.” Which is to say that these things are real, they seem like they’re getting built, and they seem like they’ll sell well enough to convince at least one or two remaining boomers that the flying car they’ve been promised their whole lives is – finally! – coming to market.

Here’s hoping.

SOURCE: Xpeng, via CNEVPost; gallery photos by the author.

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This metro Atlanta factory roof is now a solar record-breaker

Published

2 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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This metro Atlanta factory roof is now a solar record-breaker

Atlanta largest rooftop solar — Photo: © Beaulieu International Group

Flooring manufacturer Beauflor USA just turned on the biggest rooftop solar system by capacity in metro Atlanta — and it’s now powering part of its Georgia factory.

The new 1,040 kW system in Cartersville officially beats metro Atlanta’s previous rooftop solar record of 1,034 kW. The new array produces enough energy to power more than 100 homes. The system is expected to cover about 10% of Beauflor’s electricity needs and cut its carbon emissions by about 920 metric tons annually.

“This solar installation represents our commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices while making sound business decisions,” said Emile Coopman, continuous improvement manager at Beauflor. He added that the system is designed with room to grow: “This is the first step toward more renewable energy.”

The company partnered with Cherry Street Energy to install the nearly 2,000-panel system, which was completed in less than four months. Cherry Street invested $1.8 million into the project and is covering all construction and maintenance costs through a 30-year energy procurement agreement. Beauflor will buy solar power directly from Cherry Street, allowing it to avoid upfront capital costs while still lowering its energy bills.

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“As Georgia’s manufacturers ramp up production amid rising costs for grid energy, sophisticated operators seek ways to quickly and sustainably address their energy needs,” said Cherry Street CEO Michael Chanin. “On-site solar with no capital expense delivers just that: reliable, affordable electricity.”

Chanin added that the system’s power output is especially impressive: “The previous record-holder for metro Atlanta’s largest rooftop solar required over 4,000 panels. We’re using less than 2,000 to reliably generate even more power.”

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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Block shares soar 10% on entry into S&P 500

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Block shares soar 10% on entry into S&P 500

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc. and Square Inc., listens during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, on Friday, June 4, 2021.

Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Block shares jumped more than 10% in extended trading on Friday, as the fintech company gets set to join the S&P 500, replacing Hess.

It’s the second change to the benchmark this week, after S&P Global announced on Monday that ad-tech firm The Trade Desk would be added to the S&P 500. Trade Desk is taking the place of software maker Ansys, which was acquired by Synopsys in a deal that closed Thursday.

Hess’ departure comes just after Chevron completed its $54 billion purchase of the oil producer, prevailing against Exxon Mobil in a legal dispute over offshore oil assets in the South American nation of Guyana.

Block will officially join the S&P 500 before the opening of trading on July 23, according to a statement from S&P. Stocks often rally when they’re added to a major index, as fund managers need to rebalance their portfolios to reflect the changes.

Most alterations to the S&P 500 take place during the index’s quarterly rebalancing. However, in the case of the closing of an acquisition, a company can be removed from the index and replaced off schedule. Last week monitoring software company Datadog took Juniper Networks’ place in the S&P 500 as part of the index’s quarterly change.

Block’s addition brings further tech heft to an index that’s been steadily moving in that direction in recent years, reflecting the market cap gains of companies across the sector. Block, which gained popularity as Square due to the rapid growth of the company’s payment terminals, has expanded into crypto, lending and other financial services.

Founded by Jack Dorsey in 2009, Square changed its name to Block in 2021 to emphasize its focus on blockchain technologies.

Block shares are down 14% this year, underperforming the broader U.S. market. The Nasdaq is up more than 8%, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%. Still, with a market cap of about $45 billion, Block is valued well above the median company in the index.

In May, Block reported first-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations on Thursday and issued a disappointing outlook, leading to a plunge in the stock price. Block’s forecast for the second quarter and full year reflected challenging economic conditions that followed sweeping tariff announcements by President Donald Trump.

“We recognize we are operating in a more dynamic macro environment, so we have reflected a more cautious stance on the macro outlook into our guidance for the rest of the year,” the company wrote in its quarterly report.

The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the close of regular trading on Aug. 7.

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