Tice breaker
Keeping the Lights On , Issue 1657
richard-tice.jpg
GAS BAG: Richard Tice has pledged to overhaul the way energy companies operate
By 'Old Sparky'…
RICHARD TICE, deputy leader of Reform UK (and "a world-renowned energy expert", shurely? Ed) has "formally warned" electricity generators against taking part in AR7, the troubled seventh round of auctions for renewable energy subsidies (Eye 1654).

This is because his party, if it got into government, would "look to strike down all contracts signed under AR7 or future auctions". Industry commentators say this cannot be done. So what does it all mean?

Subsidies fall into two main categories: outright government largesse, and bungs delivered via contracts. The former is subject to being revoked or windfall-taxed, as happened recently to recipients of earlier types of subsidy for windfarms, solar and the like who were minting money during the energy crisis.

However, a decade ago the generators persuaded ministers to give new bungs with the protection of contract law.

Difference maker
Based on pioneering work by French firm EDF's lawyers working on the rapacious electricity contract for its Hinkley Point nuclear plant (Eyes passim ad nauseam), the new "contract for difference" (CfD) subsidy contained a clause indemnifying generators against "discriminatory change in law".

Reform would presumably argue that striking down contracts after Tice's "formal warning" would constitute "foreseeable change in law" – another contractual definition which, in some circumstances, might work for them. But m'learned friends would fancy making a windfall of their own if that were tried.

If Reform really intends to proceed as Tice says, it would need to pass primary legislation to revoke CfDs. But what kind of signal would that send to the investing world if a potential Reform regime were effectively to announce that a government-backed contract wasn't worth the paper it's written on? The relative sanctity of contract law has long been a major UK economic advantage.

Stunt man
Just a political stunt? Tice has subsequently wound his neck in a bit. But it might still have tangible and immediate impact: for producers, uncertainty of any kind usually ends up pushing up prices.

Much of energy secretary Ed Miliband's policies depend on the results of the AR7 auction, the new bung prices from which will not be announced for several months. The auction process has many moving parts and, knowing that subsidy amounts are set to rise strongly, Miliband has been deliberately muddying the waters by playing accounting tricks.

It will be difficult to detect a "Tice effect" in the prices: but any uncertainty is unhelpful.

COLUMNISTS
Issue 1657
agri brigade
With Bio-Waste Spreader: "As the world continues to warm, academics are warning that producing enough food to feed the global human population is becoming so difficult that food prices are rising due to shortages created by droughts and heatwaves, and therefore contributing to 'climateflation' (where the cost of living is increased by climate change). But, as readers of this column will be aware, the British government is showing no sign of listening…"
medicine balls
With MD: "The biggest mystery of the trial of Lucy Letby is why her defence chose not to call its expert witnesses to the stand – and MD may have the answer. In trials reliant on complex expert evidence, both sides may agree to a joint pre-trial meeting of experts, to identify points of agreement and disagreement, record reasons for disagreement and produce a joint signed report to be served on the court…"
signal failures
With Dr B Ching: "Richard Branson has donned rose-tinted specs as Virgin presses for consent to compete against Eurostar. 'Virgin is driven by the urge to fix businesses that aren't working', ran the headline on Branson's recent Times comment piece, which explained how Virgin had 'transformed rail' by introducing tilting trains, trebling services, boosting passenger numbers and topping satisfaction surveys. He didn't mention…"
eye tv
With Remote Controller: "For the umpteenth time since a Leeds University student was murdered in Perugia 17 years ago, her family is again enduring clickbait pieces, reeking of ChatGPT research, asking: 'Who killed Meredith Kercher?' The cue is The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, an eight-part drama based on the memoir of Kercher's roommate, an American student, who was convicted (along with two others) of the murder of Kercher, jailed, was cleared on appeal, saw the acquittal repealed then reinstated before eventual final exoneration…"
music and musicians
With Lunchtime O'Boulez: "Even if there's a slowing in the decline of students taking arts subjects at school, it's still a decline. Candidates for A-level music this year declined by a further 1.4 percent, falling to almost half the figure for 2010 when the Ebacc was introduced. As Eye readers will know, Ebacc devalues music to the point where many state schools no longer teach it…"
in the city
With Slicker: "Rising stock market lifts all boats but raises highest those on yachts. The super-rich have more of their wealth linked to shares, so the post-Covid stock market boom has fuelled even greater inequality. Growth may be missing from the UK economy, but stock markets hit record closing highs last month. The FTSE 100 index is up 11 percent this year and 26 percent over the past three years..."
eye world
Letter from Laayoune
From Our Own Correspondent: "Irony is strangling our century-long quest for a Western Sahara free of occupation. First irony: as London and Paris scuttle after Madrid in recognition of Palestine, they underwrite Morocco's 1976 takeover of our country following the death of General Franco and colonial Spain's sudden withdrawal. Second irony: the UN process to enable our self-determination is steered by a so-called Group of Friends…"
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