Jillian Ambrose

6 days ago | theguardian.com | Jillian Ambrose |Sarah Butler

The owner of British Gas has suffered a shareholder rebellion after handing its chief executive a multi-million pound pay packet while energy bill payers struggle with record levels of debt. Nearly 40% of Centrica’s shareholders voted against the board’s pay plans at the energy company’s annual investor meeting in Manchester on Thursday, after rising criticism of boss Chris O’Shea’s pay during the energy crisis.

6 days ago | theguardian.com | Jillian Ambrose

Investigators have so far failed to find the root cause of a large fire at a substation six weeks after it left almost 70,000 homes without power and shut Heathrow airport. After an urgent investigation ordered by the government, the National Energy System Operator said it had ruled out any suspicious activity.

6 days ago | theguardian.com | Graeme Wearden |Jillian Ambrose

Introduction: Bank of England expected to cut interest rates todayGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy. The Bank of England is in the spotlight today, as policymakers at the UK central bank set interest rates in the face of a global trade war, and a weak domestic economy. To be honest, there’s not much suspense in the City this time.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jillian Ambrose

Europe’s biggest blackout in over 20 years on the Iberian peninsula unleashed hours of chaos for people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France earlier this week. But in the aftermath it has raised a common question for governments across the continent: could the same happen here? Europe’s political leaders and energy system operators have given assurances that such blackouts are extraordinarily rare, and that European power grids are some of the most stable in the world.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jillian Ambrose

The owner of the Drax power plant has abandoned its annual shareholder meeting after a confrontation with activists who staged a protest against burning trees to generate electricity. The Guardian understands that between 10 and 20 activists were forcibly removed from the London venue after challenging the board of the FTSE 250 energy company on its use of woody biomass at its North Yorkshire power plant.