(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - N.America)
Back in the seventies a fellow named Ben Percy Davis used to stand for election as MP for Hornchurch, representing the Ecology Party.
I used to wonder why he bothered. He invariably lost his deposit and the seat (in those days) swung back and forth between Labour and the Conservatives.
The Ecology Party changed its name to the Green Party and support for the party's ideals seems greater than it was in the seventies. By now, Mr Davis may have played his part in enriching the earth's ecosystem but it would be nice were he still around to hear the news that renewables are now the second largest source of fuel for UK electricity providers, according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DfBE & IS).
In the absence of a quote from Ben Percy Davis, let's turn to Good Energy chief executive Juliet Davenport who was understandably stoked, if that's the right word, by the news.
'The idea that renewables are an unimportant part of our energy mix is now firmly a myth. They are leading the way when it comes to cleaning up the UK's energy, making up over 24% of our electricity supply, having trebled in the last five years.
'With renewables by far the most popular choice for the British public, this new government needs to look at this success and take the lead in keeping us on the path to decarbonisation.'
The DfBE & IS report on the fuel mix of Britain's electricity producers lists natural gas as the main source 32.7% - of fuel, followed by renewables on 28.3%.
King Coal trails in third with 18.9% and nuclear power fourth with 12.9%.
In terms of carbon emissions, coal remains the villain of the piece, generating 910 grams per kilowatt hour, or g/kWh in the jargon, compared to natural gas's 390 g/kWh; renewables and nuclear power both get zero scores in this regard, although the department does helpfully point out a score of 0.007 g/kWh from high-level radioactive waste, which I am pretty sure is not derived from wood chips.
Great news for nuisance callers - the PPI deadline has been extended
In the West End, the play 'The Mousetrap' has been running for what seems like a hundred years at least it does when you are sitting through it but it has a rival for long-running boreathon stakes from the payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal.
The Financial Conduct Authority, possibly after being egged on by phone companies anxious to keep those PPI claim nuisance calls coming*, has extended to June 2019 the proposed deadline for customers to make claims, having previously indicated the cut-off would come in spring 2018.
The banks had been hoping for an earlier deadline so they could draw a line under the whole affair and get back to doing what they doing best, which judging by their activities in the previous decade is bringing the global economy to its knees and getting off very lightly for doing so.
On an unrelated subject, European banking heavyweights Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are to be turfed out of the STOXX Europe 50 index from next Monday.
They'll be back; banks are like cockroaches you just can't get rid of 'em.
Bridging the gulf
Lest the rest of this article continue in sub-Ben Elton 1980s vein, let's turn to the small caps for some happier news.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited's (LON:GKP) share price nudged higher as the company announced that signatories to the restructuring agreement now represent around 82% of the aggregate principal amount of the company's guaranteed notes and some 82% of the aggregate principal amount of the convertible bonds.
The Kurdistan-focused company, in the memorable words of Proactive's oil maven Jamie Ashcroft, is set to be put out of its misery by Middle East-focused Norwegian oiler DNO, which is offering US$300mln in cash and shares for the company.
We'll be sorry to see Gulf Keystone go, as it was one of the most colourful companies around, even if the stock was a bit of a lemon - or lemon Kurdistan if you fancy a laboured pun.
Finally, we return to the subject of ecology, and cleantech outfit Proton Power Systems Plc (LON:PPS), which describes itself as the total power solution provider or the turtle power solution provider, as they pronounce it in the north-east of England.
PPS, not to be confused with PPI, saw its shares soar this morning as it announced plans to segment the business into three trading business units: stationary; mobile; maritime.
The group said it has now established a solid platform for future profitability and that revenue this year should be some 250% higher than in 2015.
* This risible suggestion is made purely for comedic purposes
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.