Michael Pollitt and David Reiner recorded a podcast “A ‘tough sell’: why it is so difficult to address climate change on a global scale” as part of the “Cambridge Judge Business School Debate” series. This podcast focuses on energy policy – the nature of the challenges, the difficulty in addressing climate change, and a few bright spots surrounding wind and solar power. To listen to the podcast or to view the transcript please click here
Category Archives: op-ed
S. Littlechild latest submission to CMA
Stephen Littlechild has responded to the CMA’s invitation to comment on its proposed review of the Prepayment Charges Restriction Order 2016. In his response “Providing for a transition back to a competitive retail energy market” he suggests that the CMA phase out the prepayment meter tariff cap by December 2020 rather than leave a “cliff… Continue Reading
Article “Europe should learn from California’s carbon trading” by R. Ritz and A. van Benthem
Robert Ritz, EPRG Assistant Director, University of Cambridge, and Arthur van Benthem, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, published an article “Europe should learn from California’s carbon trading” in The Hill on 5 September 2018. The full text of the article can be read here Continue Reading
Op-ed “Don’t backpedal on the CO2 price floor” by A. van Benthem and R. Ritz
Robert Ritz, EPRG Assistant Director, University of Cambridge, and Arthur van Benthem, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, published an article “Don’t backpedal on the CO2 price floor” in the leading Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant on 7 August 2018. To read the article in Dutch, please click here Continue Reading
Op-ed “Europe needs a minimum price on carbon emissions” by R. Ritz and A. van Benthem
Robert Ritz, EPRG Assistant Director, University of Cambridge, and Arthur van Benthem, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, published an article “Europe needs a minimum price on carbon emissions” in Handelsblatt Global, on 25 July 2018. The full text of the article can be read here. Continue Reading
Op-ed “Evaluating the case for supporting renewable electricity” by D. Newbery
David Newbery published an article “Evaluating the case for supporting renewable electricity” on Vox Cepr Policy Portal on 20 July 2018. To read the article, please click here Continue Reading
S. Littlechild latest submission to CMA
Stephen Littlechild has made a further submission to the CMA investigation of the SSE-Npower merger, suggesting that divestment to smaller suppliers of some 740,000 long-standing Npower domestic energy customers on Standard Variable Tariffs would address the CMA’s recently identified theory of harm associated with a loss of rivalry in the setting of default tariff prices | PDF… Continue Reading
Comment “Competition, Regulation and Price Controls in the GB Retail Energy Market” by S. Littlechild
Stephen Littlechild’s paper “Competition, Regulation and Price Controls in the GB Retail Energy Market” is a revised and updated version of his July 2017 lead article in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Network, which summarises and appraises the last decade of UK retail energy market regulation. The revised paper has been submitted to Utilities Policy. The full text can be found here The… Continue Reading
Op-ed “Can Sovereign Wealth Funds Mitigate the Negative Impact of Volatility?” by K. Mohaddes
Kamiar Mohaddes and Mehdi Raissi’s paper “Can Sovereign Wealth Funds Mitigate the Negative Impact of Volatility?” is published in Economic Research Forum Policy Brief #31 in March 2018. The full text can be found here Continue Reading
S. Littlechild latest submission to CMA
Stephen Littlechild has made a submission to the CMA investigation of the SSE-Npower merger, suggesting that the two companies agree to divest long-standing customers on Standard Variable Tariffs to smaller suppliers in the domestic energy market. He identifies ten respects in which this would increase competition, which is particularly important in present circumstances | PDF… Continue Reading
K. Mohaddes quoted in Albawaba News
Kamiar Mohaddes was quoted in the article “Reneging on the Nuclear Deal Will Isolate America, Empower China, and Distance Europe” by Eleanor Beevor, on Albawaba News, on 28 February 2018. The article also makes a reference of Kamiar’s work “Country-Specific Oil Supply Shocks and the Global Economy: A Counterfactual Analysis” that was written together with… Continue Reading
S. Littlechild latest submission to BEIS
Stephen Littlechild and other former energy regulators of the UK submitted a written evidence to the BEIS Select Committee on pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft domestic gas and electricity (tariff cap) bill in November 2017. The full text can be found here. On 12 December 2017, S. Littlechild gave evidence in person during the Select Committee meeting. The written… Continue Reading
Comment “Will The Market Delivery Security of Gas Supply? The Case of the UK and Italy” by C.K.Chyong
A comment by Chi Kong Chyong regarding the recent price hike in the UK and Europe due to gas supply shortages “Having a market-based solution to a security of supply event, such as the recent one, means that the cost of meeting these unexpected events is as low as possible, while the price for… Continue Reading
C.K. Chyong quoted in PenzaNews Agency
Chi Kong Chyong was quoted in the article “US anti-Russia sanctions may have negative impact on European energy security” in PenzaNews Agency on 4 August 2017. “While the exporters of gas – Russia and USA – are looking for more customers in the oversupplied market environment, European energy security is at odds: European gas markets are… Continue Reading
Presentation “Economics of Gazprom’s gas export strategies to Europe” by C.K. Chyong
Chi Kong Chyong gave a presentation “Economics of Gazprom’s gas export strategies to Europe” at Eurasian Natural Gas Infrastructure Conference in Milan on 30 May 2017 | PDF Continue Reading
Op-ed “Consequences of Gazprom’s commitments on Central and Eastern European gas markets” by C. K. Chyong
Chi Kong Chyong published an article “Consequences of Gazprom’s commitments on Central and Eastern European gas markets” on Euractiv website on 11 May 2017. ‘Brussels must look deeper into whether its current regulatory system can provide energy security and fair competition across European gas markets, writes Chi-Kong Chyong‘ The full text can be found here Continue Reading
C.K. Chyong submission to DG COMP regarding Gazprom commitments concerning Central and Eastern European gas markets
Dr Chyong submitted his comment to the European Commission, Directorate General for Competition in response to the antitrust case AT.39816 — Upstream gas supplies in central and eastern Europe. The full text can be found here. Further details of the DG COMP’s Antitrust case inquiry can be found here. Continue Reading
M. Pollitt quoted in articles dedicated to BEIS Committee Session on Post-Brexit
Michael Pollitt was quoted in several articles which appeared after BEIS Committee Session on How important is long-term access to the EU’s Internal Energy Market post-Brexit? that took place on 21 March 2017 in the House of Commons. David Blackman “Battery prices could soar post-Brexit“, Utility Week, 22 March 2017 George Ogleby “Can the UK become a… Continue Reading
S. Littlechild latest submission to the House of Lords
Stephen Littlechild and other former energy regulators submitted written evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee in response to the inquiry that is investigating the economics of UK Energy Policy. The full text can be found here. Further details of the Committee’s inquiry can be found here. Continue Reading
Article “Is cheap oil really good for the global economy?” by K. Mohaddes
Kamiar Mohaddes, EPRG Associate Researcher, published an article “Is cheap oil really good for the global economy?” in Financial Times on 14 July 2016. To read the article, please click here. Continue Reading
S. Littlechild’s latest submission to Energy and Climate Change Committee
Stephen Littlechild and other former energy regulators of the UK submitted a paper to Energy and Climate Change Committee for Committee’s oral hearing on the CMA energy market report that took place on 5 July 2016. The full text can be read here Continue Reading
D. Newbery’s latest contribution to DECC, 10 March 2016
David Newbery’s latest contribution to DECC “How do we get to an electricity market with government making as few decisions as possible by 2025?”, 10 March 2016. To full text can be found here. Continue Reading
S. Littlechild’s latest contributions to CMA Provisional Decision on Remedies
Stephen Littlechild’s latest response to CMA Provisional Decision on Remedies from 11 April 2016 and Supplementary Submission on Provisional Decision on Remedies from 20 April 2016. Continue Reading
Article “The Folly of Hinkley” by S. Taylor
Simon Taylor, Director of the Master of Finance Programme, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and EPRG Associate Researcher, published an article “The Folly of Hinkley” in Prospect magazine on 21 April 2016. To read the article, please click here. Continue Reading
Article “What is needed for battery electric vehicles to become socially cost competitive?” by D. Newbery and G. Strbac
The article “What is needed for battery electric vehicles to become socially cost competitive?” by David Newbery and Goran Strbac was published on ScienceDirect website on 6 April 2016. To read the article in PDF, please click here. To access the online version (available till 26 May 2016), please click here Continue Reading
Comment on Future of Nuclear Industry, House of Commons Select Committee, by S. Taylor
Simon Taylor, Director of the Master of Finance Programme, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and EPRG Associate Researcher, was invited to the House of Commons Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change to give evidence on the future of the Nuclear Power and Hinkley Project industry on 23 March, 2016. To listen to the recording, please… Continue Reading
Article “Hinkley Point is a costly mistake, but only France can pull the plug” by S. Taylor
Simon Taylor, Director of the Master of Finance Programme, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and EPRG Associate Researcher, published an article “Hinkley Point is a costly mistake, but only France can pull the plug” in The Guardian on 14 March 2016. “Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, once boasted that British customers would… Continue Reading
S. Taylor quoted in “What’s the (Hinkley) Point?”, The Economist, 27 February 2016
The new book ” The Fall and Rise of Nuclear Power in Britain” by Simon Taylor was featured in the article What’s the (Hinkley) Point? published in The Economist on 27 February 2016. To read the article, please click here Continue Reading
K. Mohaddes quoted in “Pouring Oil on Troubled Stock Markets”, Financial Times, 27 January 2016
Kamiar Mohaddes was quoted in an article “Pouring Oil on Troubled Stock Markets“, published by David Sheppard and Neil Hume in Financial Times on 27 January 2016. “People are seeing the impact of a massive oversupply of oil in the price and perceiving it as coming from the demand side, ” – K. Mohaddes The full… Continue Reading
Comment on Effect of El Niño on CCTV by K. Mohaddes
Kamiar Mohaddes, EPRG Associate Researcher, was invited as a panelist on the programme The Heat: El Niño and its Global Effects broadcast on 21 January 2016 on CCTV America. To view the programme, please click here Continue Reading
Comment on effects of El Niño on BBC by K. Mohaddes
Kamiar Mohaddes, EPRG Associate Researcher, was interviewed by BBC World Service on 30 December 2015. The interview covered Dr. Mohaddes’s recent research on El Niño and its economic effects around the world. The interview can be found here (5:36 min onwards) Continue Reading
Article “Don’t Blame the Abundance of Oil” by K. Mohaddes
Kamiar Mohaddes, Lecturer and Fellow in Economics, Girton College, University of Cambridge, and EPRG Associate Researcher, wrote a blog “Don’t Blame the Abundance of Oil” that was published in Huffington Post on 25 November 2015. The full text can be found here Continue Reading
Comment “Response to CMA on Supplemental Remedies” by S. Littlechild
Stephen Littlechild and the other former energy regulators recently submitted their response to CMA on Supplemental Remedies. In their response they argue that prohibiting Standard Variable Tariffs would overrule customer preferences. It would be better to promote more competition for SVTs. They also propose an alternative way forward, to recognise that the extent of Ofgem’s… Continue Reading
Comment on effects of El Niño on CCTV America by K. Mohaddes
Kamiar Mohaddes, EPRG Associate Researcher, was interviewed by CCTV America News Channel on El Niño’s weather related impact on world business. His research on the topic was also mentioned in The Economist. To view the interview, please click here. To read the article, please click here. Continue Reading
Comment “Snakes and Ladders: price controls and markets. What might the CMA’s provisional findings mean for retail markets in utility services?” by S. Littlechild
Stephen Littlechild, Fellow at Judge Business School and EPRG Associate Researcher, addressed the Indepen Forum on 29 September 2015 which was on the theme”Snakes and Ladders: price controls and markets. What might the CMA’s provisional findings mean for retail markets in utility services?” The full text of his opening remarks can be found here. Continue Reading
Op-ed “Nord Stream: The Sequel” by C.K. Chyong and D. Reiner
Chi Kong Chyong and David Reiner published an article “Nord Stream: The Sequel” on 12 August 2015 in EUobserver, an independent online newspaper covering EU affairs and based in Brussels. “The proposal to expand Nord Stream comes amid difficult negotiations on Turkish Stream, which, in December, replaced South Stream as the main transit proposal for… Continue Reading
D. Reiner and C. K. Chyong quoted in “Nord Stream 2 Expansion to Face Political Hurdles”, Interfax Energy, 7 August 2015
David Reiner and Chi Kong Chyong were quoted in an article “Nord Stream 2 Expansion to Face Political Hurdles“, published by Annemarie Botzki on Interfax Energy website on 7 August 2015. “Nord Stream 2 would be cheaper because it is closer to the new Russian production base in Yamal, which would lower the cost of shipping gas to… Continue Reading
Op-ed “Russia’s Gas Pipeline Strategy and Europe’s Alternatives” by C. K. Chyong
Chi Kong Chyong published an article “Russia’s Gas Pipeline Strategy and Europe’s Alternatives” on EurActiv.com – the leading online media on EU affaires, on July 3, 2015. “Strained relationships between EU and Russia due to the Ukrainian conflict forced Gazprom, Russia’s state gas monopolist, to abandon the idea of controlling pipelines “from wellhead to burner tip”. Gazprom’s new… Continue Reading
Comment on Catherine Waddams’s blog post: “A Regulator’s Price Comparison Website is Not Sensible” by S. Littlechild
Comment on Catherine Waddams’s blog post: “A Regulator’s Price Comparison Website is Not Sensible” by S. Littlechild – Full Text Continue Reading
Article “‘Goldilocks’ Energy Price Limit Doesn’t Bear Scrutiny” by S. Littlechild
Stephen Littlechild, Fellow at Judge Business School and EPRG Associate Researcher, published an article ‘Goldilocks’ Energy Price Limit Doesn’t Bear Scrutiny in The Telegraph newspaper. “Two cheers for the Competition and Markets Authority’s provisional findings in its energy market investigation. The first is for its comprehensive assessment of which aspects are a problem and which aren’t.… Continue Reading
C.K. Chyong quoted in “Deeper Reforms Needed for Ukrainian Gas Market”, 12 June 2015
C. K. Chyong was quoted in an article “Deeper reforms needed for Ukrainian gas market” published in ICIS website newsletter – the world largest petrochemical market information provider that covers Energy among other subjects. “The Ukraine’s new gas market law will have little impact on the transparency and efficiency of the country’s gas sector if… Continue Reading
Article “Electrical Energy Storage – Economics and Challenges” by M. Pollitt and K. Anaya
Michael Pollitt and Karim Anaya published an article Electrical Energy Storage – Economics and Challenges in Energy World Magazine in April 2015. The full text of the article can be found here. Continue Reading
Comment: “UK Energy Policy after the 2015 General Election” by Michael Pollitt
Comment: “UK Energy Policy after the 2015 General Election” by Michael Pollitt – Full Text Continue Reading
Op-ed “Brussels Blames Gazprom for Its Own Failings” by Pierre Noel
Pierre Noel, senior fellow for Economic and Energy Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore and Associate Researcher at EPRG, published an article “Brussels Blames Gazprom for Its Own Failings” in Financial Times on 29 April 2015. “The Russian state-owed company stands accused of anti-competitive practices allowing it to charge “unfair prices” in several… Continue Reading
C.K. Chyong quoted in “EU Importing More Russian Gas Ahead Of Winter “, Montel, 16 April 2015
Chi Kong Chyong was quoted in an article on Montel website – key information provider for the European energy markets in Norway, – on reasons behind increasing purchases of Russian gas by European Union. “European buyers are playing “intertemporal arbitrage” whereby they dry up gas in their storage facilities and re-inject them when Russian gas prices are lower in… Continue Reading
C. K. Chyong quoted in “Never Ending Story Of Opportunities: Caspian Blue Energy Is Salvation For EU”, Eurasia Review, 20 April 2015
Chi Kong Chyong was quoted in Eurasia Review, an independent on-line journal and think tank, on possibilities and challenges for Caspian countries, like Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, to be gas suppliers to the EU. The article also appeared in AzerNews and New Europe. “Azerbaijan is perhaps the only supplier in the region able to respond to the EU’s gas… Continue Reading
C.K. Chyong quoted in “Turkish Stream Project Success Promises Benefits, Profits To Many South-Eastern EU States”, PenzaNews, 10 April 2015
Chi Kong Chyong was quoted in PenzaNews, an independent on-line news agency in Penza, Russia, on possible perspectives and benefits for Europe by using different gas suppliers, and on the outcomes if Turkish Stream is built in full. “Co-existence between the two (gas suppliers from Russia and Azerbaijan) is not an issue, at least for Europe as the clients… Continue Reading
Op-ed “Time for ‘tough love’ in EU-Ukraine energy relations” by C.K. Chyong and D. Reiner
CK Chyong and D. Reiner published an article “Time for ‘tough love’ in EU-Ukraine energy relations” in Europe’s World policy journal. Published every 4 months, Europe’s World is the only independent Europe-wide policy journal, produced in association with some 150-plus leading European think tanks and academic institutions. “If the EU is too forgiving in its… Continue Reading
Article “Power to the Poor” by M. Bazilian
Morgan Bazilian, Lead Energy Specialist at the World Bank and Associate Researcher at EPRG, published an article on world energy poverty in Foreign Affairs magazine. “Some two billion people lack electricity outright or have poor-quality service, and nearly three billion rely on dirty fuels, such as firewood and animal dung, for cooking and heating. Nearly 90 percent of… Continue Reading
C.K. Chyong quoted in “How’s European Gas Race Going?”, AzerNews, 17 March 2015
Chi Kong Chyong was quoted in AzerNews, daily newspaper in Azerbaijan, on his perception about different suppliers of gas to Europe, including Caspian Region, as a solution to EU energy problem due to the crisis in Ukraine. “The Turkish Stream is as about bypassing Ukraine as it is about foreclosing competition from Caspian gas, particular coming from Azerbaijan and… Continue Reading