BME:IBE 30 June 2026

UK power outages bring renewed attention to outage minutes as grid upgrade costs reach £89bn

UK power outages bring renewed attention to outage minutes as grid upgrade costs reach £89bn

Outage minutes in Cheltenham and Warrington, flagged by local power-cut reports, put numbers to a risk investors know in British power networks. On Tuesday, the National Energy System Operator said Britain will need around 89 billion pounds in grid investment in the 2030s—53% more than the 2024 plan. Network charges already stand at about a quarter of a typical domestic power bill. National Grid said a high-voltage line fault was reported in Cheltenham at 10:37 a.m. on June 27, hitting the GL53 area. Early local reports put 1,791 properties off supply, then a GloucestershireLive update raised that figure to 2,117. All power was back by 12:57 p.m., according to Cheltenham Times.
June 30, 2026
UK energy price cap increase pushes gas and debt questions for utility investors

UK energy price cap increase pushes gas and debt questions for utility investors

UK households are now facing higher bills, but the squeeze is showing up more in how utilities calculate the cap and handle debt than just higher wholesale prices. From Wednesday, Ofgem’s old typical use measure puts the average direct-debit dual-fuel bill up £221 to £1,862. Most of that increase—£183—comes from gas. Electricity is up about £39, and standing charges are nearly unchanged. For investors, the split means that drops in spot oil and gas prices won’t translate right away into lower bills. Cornwall Insight’s price-cap model, using figures as of June 29 and updated Tuesday, set the October-December cap at £1,849.15 using current average consumption, a fall of just £12.85 from £1,862 in July-September. Based on Ofgem’s new lower-use metric,
June 30, 2026