Energy regulator Ofgem says energy supplier EDF Energy has offered to pay £4.5 million after an investigation revealed that EDF had breached regulations governing the provision of sales information.

Ofgem’s investigation found that EDF sales teams did not always provide customers with complete information during the sales process, for example on some contract terms or on the way in which their monthly direct debits had been calculated, and on how estimates of their annual consumption were calculated.

Ofgem also found that EDF telesales agents sometimes made opening statements in their calls to customers that claimed savings before knowing whether the statements were accurate for the specific customer, and sometimes assumed that the customer was on a standard tariff without checking. This meant the customer might not have had all the information they should have had to make an informed decision.

Ofgem decided that instead of imposing a fine, consumers will better served by EDF Energy making payments to benefit those customers most in need. Ofgem says that had EDF Energy not committed to deliver the package, the penalty would have been higher.

Of the £4.5 million package, £1m will be donated to support the Energy Best Deal public awareness campaign run by Citizen’s Advice. This is aimed at building the confidence of householders across England and Wales to shop around, reduce their bills and get help if they are falling behind with energy payments.

£3.5 million will be used to reduce the bills of EDF Energy customers at risk of fuel poverty, in particular those who are eligible to receive pension credit and the Warm Home Discount.

Ofgem is continuing its investigations into Scottish Power, SSE, and npower. Ofgem took enforcement action in 2008 and 2002 against npower and London Electricity. In 2009 it introduced new tougher licence conditions on marketing in order to improve the performance of suppliers.

Ofgem says today’s escalation in payment reflects the tougher standards, and the fact that Ofgem has had to take repeated regulatory action in this area against a number of suppliers over a number of years.

The Energy Best Deal Campaign has published a series of short films on YouTube that cover shopping around for a better energy deal, energy efficiency, getting help with bills, dealing with sales people, making a complaint and debt and disconnection.

Here is the link: Energy Best Deal Campaign videos

Energy Secretary Ed Davey has announced £3.5m of funding for training assessors and installers ahead of the Government’s flagship Green Deal energy efficiency programme.

Due to begin in October, the Green Deal aims to improve the energy efficiency of millions of commercial and residential properties. The government hopes that the Green Deal will support an estimated 65,000 jobs by 2015. Today’s funding will go towards ensuring that enough people have the skills to assess homes for energy efficiency and to install energy saving measures.

The government says trained, skilled professionals who can assess homes and install insulation are crucial for the success of the Green Deal.

The new training will be administered by the Green Deal Skills Alliance, which is made up of three Sector Skills Councils: Asset Skills, Construction Skills and Summit Skills.

Asset Skills will have responsibility for developing the qualifications for Green Deal Advisors. Asset Skills Chief Executive Sarah Bentley says Advisors will play a crucial early role in the process. She said: “We believe that a qualified workforce will ensure that the best advice on energy efficiency is available to householders and business, and we are delighted this support funding from DECC is available to kick start the delivery of training across England.”

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has contributed £3m to the funding, and has been working with the Green Deal Skills Alliance to ensure that the pledged money is spent where it is most needed. Construction Skills is contributing £500,000 to support the training of installers.

The government also announced a £10m competition to boost innovative energy saving technologies in existing non-domestic buildings.

Mortgage approvals rose to the highest level in more than two years in January, as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a stamp duty “holiday” that ends on March 24th.

First time buyers are currently exempt from paying stamp duty on homes worth up to £250,000, double the usual £125,000 limit. This saves them one per cent tax, worth between £1,250 and £2,500, on a house or flat purchase.

Estate agents and lenders are reporting increased activity among first-time buyers trying to beat the March deadline. According to the National Association of Estate Agents, 23 per cent of overall sales made in January were to made to first time buyers.

Bank of England data showed the number of mortgages approved for house purchase rose to 58,728 in January, the sixth month running that the year-on-year figure has improved. Meanwhile, the property website Rightmove said that asking prices for houses jumped 4.1pc in February, the biggest monthly rise in a decade.

While some developers have criticised the stamp duty holiday as being too little to boost the housing market, mortgage lenders say the tax holiday has made a difference. According to Santander, 170,000 first-timers have saved a total £319 million since the concession was introduced.

Property industry campaigners are hoping that the Chancellor will extend the stamp duty holiday when he presents the 2012 Budget on March 21st, just three days before the stamp duty concession for first-time buyers is due to end.

Battersea power station the landmark Grade II listed former power station on the south bank of the River Thames is being put up for sale with a global marketing campaign this week.

The power station, Europe’s largest brick building, is known around the world because of its appearances in the Beatles film Help! and Pink Floyd’s Animals album cover, where it was shown with an inflatable pink pig floating above it. It stopped operating in 1983 and has been left empty for almost 30 years as successive developers have failed to make a success of redeveloping the site. I toured it 20 years ago and it is an extraordinary building, vast inside, with beautiful 1930′s-style control rooms with beautiful tiles and bakelite controls.

Now the power station is being marketed as “The Last Major Regeneration Site in Central London”. The site has planning permission for a £5 billion development of homes, offices, hotel, retail and leisure facilities.

Stephan Miles-Brown, Head of Residential Development, Knight Frank, says: “This is the first time Battersea Power Station (BPS) has ever been offered for sale on the open market. As one of the UK’s most recognisable landmarks, Knight Frank anticipates considerable interest in a scheme that is among the most exciting in the world today. BPS is as iconic as the Chrysler Building in New York or the Eiffel Tower and familiar to people who may have never even been to London.”

The power station is located within the Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea Opportunity Area – the largest regeneration zone in central London. The scheme approved by Wandsworth Council proposes the full restoration of the power station at an estimated cost of £150 million, plus a £200 million contribution towards the Northern Line Extension from Kennington via Nine Elms that would connect the power station to the Tube network.

Knight Frank say they hope to sell it by the autumn. They have not given any pricing guidelines.

If you think you might be interested, here are the people to contact: Knight Frank site

The typical rent in England and Wales rose to £712 a month, according to LSL Property Services, which owns chains Your Move and Reeds Rains.

LSL said the increase, though small at 0.1%, was the first rent rise in the month of January since its records began in 2008. It was the first month-on-month increase since October.

LSL said average London rents were now £1,032 per month. Rents rose the fastest on a monthly basis in the West Midlands and South West, where they increased by 1.8% and 1.5% respectively.

Rental arrears also remained high in January, according to LSL, with 10.7% of all rent late or unpaid at the end of the month.

The government is urging people on low incomes to find out home energy grants to help them cope with freezing temperatures and rising fuel bills.

Letters have been sent to 675,000 homes across England to raise public awareness of the government grants that are available to help with fuel costs.  The mailshot was concentrated on areas where there are high levels of fuel poverty, including Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and County Durham.

Pensioners and people on very low incomes can get money off having their heating system repaired or replaced, or their lofts insulated.

The government runs three schemes to help with energy costs:
Warm Front:  This scheme provides grants to pay for boiler repairs, new central heating systems and insulation work. Those eligible can apply for up to £3,500 towards the cost of the work or up to £6,000 for homes not connected to mains gas. The scheme is targeted at people on certain income-related benefits and living in properties that are poorly insulated and/or do not have a working central heating system. Applicants must own their home or rent it from a private landlord.

The Warm Home Discount: This scheme is intended to help some two million low income and vulnerable households with their energy bills this year. It automatically gives a £120 fuel bill discount to about 600,000 of the most vulnerable pensioners.

Cold Weather Payments: These payments  are  paid to pensioners who receive pension credit or people on income-related benefits who meet certain criteria, during periods of severely cold weather. Since the start of this winter’s Cold Weather Payment season, DWP has paid an estimated £27.8m to more than 1.1m customers across Great Britain through Cold Weather Payments.

The current freeze has seen daytime temperatures fall four or five degrees lower than average for February – which is traditionally the coldest month of the year.