Tight supply margins will mean balancing the market will be “very expensive” if the coming winter is harsh, according to analysis by consultancy firm EnAppSys. There will be roughly twelve and a half hours of negative supply margins over the season, the analysis predicted, with seven hours falling during National Grid’s winter period, and another five and half hours falling in the ‘shoulder’ months of October and March. EnAppSys also forecast 85 hours of supply margins below 2GW, with more than half coming in the shoulder months. By comparison the firm calculated last year that the margin would be greater than 2GW all the way through the 2015/16 winter, apart from during just two hours when it would average 1,500MW. The analysis was conducted by taking last year’s availability figures, modifying them to take account of the opening and closing of plants this year, and then matching them against last year’s demand profile. Among the losses are Longannet and Ferrybridge, which were both shut down in March; Eggborough, which has exited the market but has a supplemental balance reserve (SBR) contract; and Rugeley, which Engie has confirmed is being closed down this month. The two gains are Carrington combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, which is currently undergoing commissioning and is expected to come online over the summer, and Keadby CCGT plant which was reopened in November after being mothballed. EnAppSys said the negative supply margins do not equate to blackouts as they do not take account of up to 2GW of smaller plants potentially available through the Short Term Operating Reserve or the roughly 3.5GW of capacity available through the SBR. A number of new small-scale distributed generators which received capacity market contracts may also be available, it said, although they are likely to provide no more than 300MW of additional capacity. Despite this, the analysis said the tight margins are likely to make keeping the system in balance “very expensive” if there is a harsh winter. It noted that system prices tend towards £1,000/MWh when margins drop below 1GW and typically reach £2,000/MWh when margins are negative, and said margins going negative by more than 1GW will lead to the SBR being called up and the system price hitting £3,000/MWh. Estimated monthly hours of low margins over winter 2016/17 Source: EnAppSys The research said: “These high system prices will feed back into the wholesale market. High prices are not a bad thing – they encourage people to build power stations and engage with demand response. However, some small suppliers may not survive the winter.” Last month National Grid issued a Notice of Inadequate System Margin (NISM) – the second time it had done so in a year. The highest price paid to a supplier during the NISM period was £1,250/MWh. Source link

Many years ago, when me and my Mrs first started looking for a flat to rent together, our only experience of dodgy landlords was my even dodgier impression of Rigsby from Rising Damp. “Ahhh Miss Jones” – still got it. Anyway, we found our first ‘palace’ together. It was the ground floor of a terraced house in a part of town that prompted my mum to buy us extra locks for a house moving gift and was owned by a Machiavellian old bugger that I’m just going to refer to as Mr S. Not that I imagine he’d ever read this, he was knocking on 80 when he was our landlord and having to fork out for a computer would probably have made his head spin faster than the unusual electicity meter he had kindly fitted for us. Despite looking like something from a Werthers Original advert, Mr S was a crafty old sod that loved money. While inspecting the flat and signing all the forms (reading them, exactly the same way that you don’t with iTunes terms and conditions) I asked if we could have a look in the back yard. After worrying about the state of the fences I spotted an old Raleigh bike leaning against the bin. Noticing I was looking at it, Mr S asked me if I had a bike. “No, I don’t actually Mr S” I said. “I havent ridden one in years.” “You never forget!” he chuckled and signaled for me to get on it. I rode around the back yard for a bit, much to the amusement of my wife and leaned it back against the bin. “You want it?” Mr S asked me. “You’d be doing me a favour, I don’t know what to do with it?” “Honestly? Are you sure?, I mean, yes I’d love it thanks. Thanks very much Mr S that’s great!” I beamed at my wife. “My pleasure son.” said Mr S and we all went inside to finishing signing everything. We moved in and the following week, Mr S turned up on the doorstep to collect the rent. I handed over the agreed amount and it was as this point Mr S informed me that it was £20 light. £20? You know, for the favour I’d done for him by not making him remove the last tenants bike from my garden. He’d bloody sold it to me without me realising. This was only the begining. Our damp problem in the back room was referred to as a ‘water feature’ in one heated argument and when we complained about a massive ants nest on the property in the summer he just laughed and said “I should charge you more for pets.” After enduring his wily ways, surpise inspections and erratic rent collections for 8 frustrating months, we parted company. Losing the deposit (as expected) because we didnt give him the required notice and just wanted to get out, but it was worth it. And that was that. Although Mr S was MY worst landlord ever, he probably wasn’t THE worst, as we’ll see… Katia Goremsandu The 65-year old Bulgarian currently stands accused of being Britain’s worst landlord after she was convicted of an impressive seven housing offences in eight years — all while receiving thousands of pounds in housing benefit from her tenants. Goremsandu currently tops the Ministry of Justice’s record of landlords prosecuted for providing poor quality or unlicensed homes, however, she claims she has been persecuted by her local council and her properties are deliberately vandalised by tenants envious of her wealth. Goremsandu is the director of a property company registered in Kensington. Company records list her address as an apartment in a rather fetching Georgian villa in Bayswater, west London. At the time of writing, she owns eight properties in the capital, three of them run-down bedsits in the north London borough of Haringey, most of which have been financed with buy-to-let mortgages. In an interview with the Guardian she said: “The mentality of a homeless person or the person who doesn’t have work or a property is ‘why should [the landlord] have [a property] and I don’t. And they bash it, they break it. It is a well-known fact. It is a state of mind. They punish you for being a landlord.” we are the victims and we cannot take any action against the tenants. My places are vandalised periodically, alarm systems are broken. It is a war between the landlords and the tenants and they begrudge the fact that we have property.” My health has deteriorated and my finances have suffered. I am being victimised and harassed. That is the God’s honest truth.” Fergus Wilson The notorious Fergus Wilson, who kicked out 200 families on benefits from his properties to replace them with Eastern European migrants, once said coldly of his decision: “I have taken the decision to evict all families with more than two children and also three-generation households. Most of our houses in Ashford go to childless couples. However, after a couple of months there are four, five, six children and I have to evict the family. The tenancy has been taken by deception. We have had a number of eastern European families slip in under the radar with four, five and six children. We have had no British tenants with three or more children for some weeks. They have been evicted as I took the decision to no longer take housing benefit cases. All those British tenants with three or more children have long gone. We’ve found [migrants] to be a good category of tenant who don’t default on their rent.” Mr Wilson once told Channel 4: “I feel sorry for battered wives who have come to us because we’re very much consigning them to go back to their husbands to be beaten up again.” Nicholas Van Hoogstraten Infamous businessman and property magnate Nicholas van Hoogstraten gives most dodgy landlords a run for their money. A judge in

Mike Pollard, a team member at ForgeFix managed to complete the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon for charity. Mike is the national sales manager for the fixings, fastenings and power too accessory distribution company. He managed to complete the 26 miles 385-yard marathon in 5 hours, 40 minutes and 41 seconds. He managed to come 492nd in his age category, 60-64. Overall the 62-year-old was 34,384th overall out of a total of 40,382 runners that participated in the event. It is thought that this was the highest number of entrants they’ve seen at the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon. Mike’s amazing efforts were rewarded as he managed to raise £3,600 for his charity, Alzheimer’s Society. In order to further support the charity, it is said that he completed the course while dressed as a giant forget-me-not flower which is an integral part of the logo for Alzheimer’s Society. Mike gained sponsorship from a number of different businesses from the building and DIY industry as well as his family and friends. Sponsorships came from businesses such as Toolbank, DEWALT, Wera, Broadfix, Roughneck Biz Power Tools and his own company ForgeFix. Andyfreight, the haulage and warehousing company used by a number of companies in the DIY industry also sponsored Mike for his efforts; as did PB Curran and OGL Computer, the leading IT solutions provider to the trade sector. The businesses sponsored a petal on Mike’s flower costume. Mike Pollard chose Alzheimer’s society to run the marathon for because of his own experiences of dementia. Mike’s long-term partner Julie was diagnosed at 55 with early onset dementia; and at the moment she can’t drive, read or write and is in need of 24-hour care. The total number of people that are being affected by dementia is increasing, expecting to reach one million by 2021. For his next fundraising attempt, Mike is planning on cycling the Way of the Roses which is 170 miles on a coast to coast route from Morecambe to Bridlington, taking place between the 12th and the 14th of May. Mike also plans on cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats for the charity in 2018.  Mike also has a just giving page for those wanting to show their support.

Trimo, one of Europe’s leading suppliers in building envelope solutions, has announced its partnership with upcoming architectural event, Vision 2017. Hosted in London at Olympia Central on the 6th and 7th June, Vision attracts professionals from across the built environment including architects, contractors, designers, property developers and more, to gain an insight into innovative product and building solutions. Vision 2017 is a free-to-attend CPD Certified event, which brings together some of the best designs and leading professionals across Europe to meet and exchange ideas of innovation. The two-day event promises over 70 hours of international educational content across its five theatres, with a pre-planned Meetings programme to enable visitors to search and connect with exhibitors. There will also be the opportunity to schedule meetings with exhibitors of choice during the event, for a further productive approach. Across the event, Trimo will be showcasing some of its bestselling products including Qbiss One and Trimoterm, presenting their exciting features, installation case studies and live demonstrations. As well as being an event partner alongside the likes of BIM and RIBA, Trimo has provided its unique, high-tech façade surface technology ArtMe, to be used as shell panelling for Vision’s CPD Theatre. The CPD Theatre will be used throughout the event, as a hub for guest speaker seminars, including Trimo representatives. Trimo’s UK and Overseas Marketing Manager, Viviane Williams comments “We are proud to be announced as partners of Vision 2017; an event which is set to unite professionals across the construction industry. As an industry leader, we are excited to not only network with fellow attendees,  but to also learn from continental businesses and offer solutions to challenges in the market today.”