The threat of artificial intelligence stoking greater inequality and sparking a financial crash provided a stark background to discussions as business leaders, regulators and policymakers gathered in Davos. Twin warnings about the potential threats of AI from the International Monetary Fund and the powerful Basel banking committee helped to set a cautious tone as 2,800…

Britain will be at increased risk of blackouts under Ofgem plans to cut investment in energy networks, the boss of National Grid has claimed. John Pettigrew warned that power lines in parts of the country would start to “decay” after the energy regulator rejected its proposals to bill consumers for replacing them. “It is deeply…

The north coast in Sutherland will be blighted by a “wall of turbines” if wind farm proposals are approved, critics told a planning inquiry yesterday. Thirteen turbines would be built five miles south of Strathy, between a 33-turbine wind farm and the site of an approved scheme for 39 more. Another 23 are being considered…

There’s growth in green energy. When the SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust listed its shares in December 2018, it was worth £100 million. Fast-forward to today and it is worth more than £700 million and is a potential candidate for inclusion in the FTSE 250 in the next index reshuffle. If there’s scepticism, too, about…

British Gas has reported its lowest profits in memory after Britain’s biggest energy supplier was hit by the government’s price cap on energy bills. Operating profits at British Gas plunged 71 per cent to £137 million while Centrica, its parent group, said operating profits fell 35 per cent to £901 million as it was also…

1 Whitehall is wasting tens of billions of pounds by paying over the odds for goods and services, using out of date IT systems and skimping on the maintenance of schools and hospitals, government auditors say. Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, says that departments could save up to £8 billion a year…

Britain’s biggest energy supplier has agreed to pay out £1.73 million after failing to inform hundreds of thousands of customers that it had changed their top-up payment provider. British Gas will avoid a fine from the energy regulator as it compensates those affected. Ofgem said the bungled switch, which took place last winter, hit vulnerable…

The technology show CES may be dominated by the big business of TVs, computers, chips and cars, but the colour and soul is provided by the start-ups seeking funding for their innovations. Sometimes, however, their pitches stray into the bizarre. Here are some of the more left-field ideas that were on display in Las Vegas…

SSE’s first big foray into offshore wind came at the expense of the Phillips-Davies family Christmas. It was 2007 and Alistair Phillips-Davies, then an executive director of the energy group, was in Canada and by coincidence staying at the same resort as his colleague Gregor Alexander. “We both spent the entire Christmas and new year…