David Blair's Blog, page 129

Minister backs nuclear power 'renaissance'

The UK must become the 'number one destination' for investment in new nuclear reactors, the energy minister will say on Tuesday

Ofgem fines British Gas £1m

The company has been punished by the energy regulator after misreporting the amount of electricity it supplied from renewable sources for seven years

Whitehall attacked on nuclear links

MPs have accused officials of 'acting as PRs for the nuclear industry' after e-mails showed contacts between civil servants and energy companies

Chris Huhne vs the businessmen

Over the next decade, Britain is expected to spend some £200bn on overhauling its entire energy infrastructure. Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, tries to justify this colossal price tag by pointing to the future opportunities presented by "green growth". He reckons the UK can reap a huge dividend by becoming...

NAO forecasts 'smart' meter savings

The National Audit Office says a plan to install advanced electricity and gas meters in every British household will save consumers £23 a year

Repeat of IEA oil release not ruled out

Nobuo Tanaka says oil market will be reassessed at the end of the agreed 30-day period for the current release of 2m barrels a day

Oil: Differences in Opec magnified

Above themselves: their images projected on an overhead screen, Iran's Mohammad Aliabadi is flanked by Goni Musa of Nigeria (left) and Abdalla Salem el-Badri, Opec secretary-general, at this month's Vienna ministerial meeting. Saudi Arabia is unlikely to heed the quota outcome there

Libya emerges as Opec's big winner

Libya's regime has scored a rare diplomatic success by emerging from this week's Opec meeting with its output quota intact and its seat at the table secure despite pumping scarcely any oil.

No decision at Opec meeting

So, Saudi Arabia really did fail to achieve a consensus at the Opec meeting in Vienna today. Abdalla El Badri, the cartel's secretary general, has just announced that its production policy will remain unchanged and the member countries were unable to reach any agreement on a proposal to raise their output targets. The deep divisions within Opec, particularly between Saudi Arabia and Iran, appear to have become so poisonous that this organisation is incapable of taking any substantive decision.

Latest from Opec

I'm in Vienna, waiting for the outcome of the Opec oil ministers' meeting which began at 10am today. Here's what we know with reasonable certainty so far: