Octopus is set to become the UK’s second biggest energy supplier after it announced plans to buy Shell’s household gas and electricity business.

The company, which started as a challenger to traditional suppliers, has climbed the rankings of the energy firms and now only Centrica-owned British Gas lies ahead of it.

Founded in 2015 by businessman Greg Jackson, Octopus will supply energy to almost 6.5m customers following the deal.

The acquisition, which also includes Shell Energy’s German business, comes less than a year after Octopus took on 1.5m customers from Bulb after its collapse into administration.

The deal needs regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year.

The Competition and Markets Authority declined to comment on whether it will investigate.

Chief executive Jackson said: ‘Octopus has proven that it delivers game-changing service while innovating and investing relentlessly towards a cheaper cleaner energy system.’

Consolidation in the energy sector has ramped up over the last few years with Octopus emerging as one of the major players.

Many smaller suppliers collapsed in the autumn and winter of 2021 under the pressure of soaring wholesale gas prices, with millions of customers snapped up by surviving businesses. The biggest casualty of the crisis was Bulb, which had been Britain’s seventh biggest energy supplier.

E.On bought N Power in 2019 and Ovo Energy, founded by Northern Irish businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick in 2009, purchased SSE in January 2020.

Ovo Energy’s and Octopus’s trajectories are similar.

Both were founded by British entrepreneurs as challengers to the established suppliers and have gone on to become two of the major players in the UK’s energy market.

Shell Energy entered the UK domestic energy market when it bought First Utility in 2018. The oil giant announced in June that it had put its British and German domestic energy business up for sale, exiting the household energy supply sector after just five years.

It followed a strategic review of the division under chief executive Wael Sawan, who was appointed in January this year.

In May, it was reported that Ovo and Centrica were among those also interested in bidding for the company.

Shell Energy customers in the UK will be transferred to Octopus following the deal’s completion and will not face any disruption to energy supply.

Shell is also winding down its home energy retail business in the Netherlands but said it does not plan to exit the home energy markets in Australia or the USA. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said that the ‘deal suits the strategic objectives of both firms’.

‘Shell exits a market that has seen low returns for energy providers, thanks to soaring wholesale energy costs and increased regulatory and political pressure in the form of caps on the prices that suppliers can charge their customers,’ Mould said.

He added: ‘Providing the transaction gets regulatory approval, this is another step for Octopus to cementing its position as a leading supplier in the UK energy supply market, following the failure or withdrawal of many rivals and its purchase of Bulb in 2022.’

The deal also includes 500,000 UK broadband customers.

Octopus does not currently have a broadband division and said it could not comment on plans for those customers until after the deal receives regulatory approval.

James Mabey, an analyst at analysis provider Cornwall Insight, said: ‘This marks the second major customer book acquisition by Octopus Energy in the last year, after the transfer of Bulb’s customers.

‘The transfer of Shell’s customers will represent an increase in customer numbers on a similar scale. The acquisition will see concentration in the domestic supply market taken to its highest level since early 2016.’

What to do if you’re a Shell Energy customer

The deal is expected to complete in the final three months of 2023 following regulatory approval so Shell customers have been advised to sit tight.

In time they will be transferred to their new account with Octopus, together with their existing direct debits and all customer credit balances are protected.

Natalie Mathie, energy expert at Uswitch, said: ‘Until any takeover is done and dusted, the business will operate as normal. 

‘Customers can be reassured that whatever happens, their credit balances will be protected and no action is required from them.

‘Shell Energy’s decision to exit the market is disappointing, as it has been a well-backed challenger to the larger energy suppliers.

‘It is important that there is strong competition between firms in the longer term, so suppliers cannot rest on their laurels when it comes to service quality and price.’ 

What about broadband customers?

Peter Ames, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, said: ‘While many eyes will be on how the Shell Energy takeover by Octopus will affect its energy customers, around half a million people also get their broadband through the company.

‘A question mark remains over the future of Shell Energy Broadband and whether Octopus will use this acquisition to venture into telecoms. 

‘For the time being at least, we are being told that customers won’t see a drop in service or an increase to their bills.’

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton laughed and said ‘no’ when asked Tuesday if she would consider running for the White House again. 

‘No, no,’ Clinton said on Morning Joe between chuckles. ‘But I am certainly going to be active in supporting women running for office and other candidates who I think should be reelected or elected, both women and men.’

The former secretary of State also tore into Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was ‘acting out his own insecurities’ on the people of Ukraine. 

‘It’s so heartbreaking to me that Putin is acting out his own insecurities, his own resentments and grievances against the people of Ukraine,’ Clinton told Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski.  

‘Waging a war against a smaller state that is totally unprovoked as we have seen, really tells us everything we need to know about Putin,’ she continued. 

Brzezinski asked Clinton how she thought Putin’s invasion of Ukraine would end.  

‘I don’t know how it ends, but I think that probably the person who was most surprised that it is still going on is Vladimir Putin,’ she said. 

‘The level of defense and determination that the Ukrainian people are showing, starting with their president, President Zelensky, going all the way down to, you know, grandmothers and young women taking up arms for the first time to defend their families and their communities – is tragic but inspiring,’ Clinton continued. 

‘And I hope that the world will stay with Ukraine while they try to protect their homeland, and all that they hold dear, including freedom and democracy,’ the former secretary of State added. 

She also pointed out that even though the war is happening ‘far away.’ 

‘It is a war taht will affect what kind of world we’re going to live in,’ Clinton pointed out. ‘And that’s why I hope everybody understands why we should be supporting the Ukrainian people going forward.’  

As Tuesday marked International Women’s Day, Brzezinski asked Clinton what was motivating the women of Ukraine to be so resilient. 

‘I think first of all, it is shock,’ Clinton answered.

‘You know, two weeks ago, these people, especially these women, they were taking care of their babies, they were planning their weddings, they were going to work, they were continuting their education,’ she said. ‘And because a leader of a much larger country on their border decided that he wanted to stamp out their way of life, they are now fleeing for safety or standing up against that military force.’   

She suggested that because the Ukrainians were fighting ‘not for an ideology, not for a dictator,’ but for their way of life, they’ve been able to hold Putin’s forces off. 

‘And you can at least as of now, you know, stop this evil force from just wiping you out and ending the way that you had thought about what life would be for you and future generations,’ she said. 

Clinton called it resilience ‘born out of danger and pain.’ 

The Clintons have been wading back into politics as the November midterm elections approach, but as she said Tuesday morning, is not expected to run for the White House a third time.  

Conservatives, however, don’t seem to be able to believe Clinton’s political ambitions are done.  

At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando late last month, attendees who participated in the event’s annual straw poll said that Clinton was the most likely Democratic nominee in 2024, despite Democratic President Joe Biden being in office.

Of those polled, 22.1 per cent said Clinton would be the Democrats’ 2024 nominee, while 16.8 per cent said it would be former First Lady Michelle Obama  – who’s never expressed a desire to pursue elected office. 

In third place, came Biden with 13.6 per cent of the vote.  

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refused to say whether she will support President Joe Biden‘s 2024 re-election bid during a Sunday television interview.

The New York Democrat was grilled on the issue by CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash but would not give a straight answer, instead insisting she was fixated on November’s midterm elections.

The 79-year-old president ‘is seeking a second term,’ his friend and ally Senator Chris Coons said on Fox News Sunday. 

But it appears that he’s already losing support from a growing faction of the Democratic Party, particularly young people and progressives, who believe he is too old and out of touch to lead today’s America.

Ocasio-Cortez, a leader in the progressive movement, answered with an uncomfortable laugh when asked point-blank if she’ll get behind Biden. 

‘You know, if the president chooses to run again in 2024 – I mean, first of all, I’m focused on winning this majority right now, and preserving a majority this year in 2022,’ Ocasio-Cortez said.

‘So we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I think if if the president has a vision – that’s something certainly we’re all willing to entertain and examine when that when the time comes.’

Bash observed: ‘That’s not a yes.’

‘Yeah, you know, I think we should endorse when we get to it, but I believe that the president has been doing a very good job so far,’ the congresswoman offered.

However she still only went so far as to say she would ‘take a look at’ Biden’s pitch when he formally declares his candidacy for 2024.

‘Should he run again, I think that I – you know, I think it’s – it’s, we’ll take a look at it,’ Ocasio-Cortez laughed.

‘But, right now, we need to focus on winning a majority, instead of a presidential election.’

The congresswoman’s name has been floated multiple times as a potential Democratic presidential contender, though she’s still three years shy of the minimum age requirement for the office.

On the other end, however, a growing number of Democrats are speculating that Biden may be too old.

That even includes David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s former chief strategist who would have worked with Biden in his capacity as the ex-president’s running mate.  

‘The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,’ Barack Obama’s former campaign strategist David Axelrod told the New York Times in a Saturday report.

The political veteran said Biden ‘doesn’t get the credit he deserves’ for leading the country through the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which he again ascribed to the president’s elderly stature.

‘He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality,’ Axelrod said.

Other Democrats were more blunt about their doubts in Biden’s candidacy.

‘Democrats need fresh, bold leadership for the 2024 presidential race…that can’t be Biden,’ a member of the Democratic National Committee from North Carolina said.

A Miami DNC member suggested the president ‘should announce his intent not to seek re-election in ’24 right after the midterms.’ 

Nearly all 50 Democratic officials interviewed by the Times feared a Biden re-election campaign would not help their party against Republicans, who are expected to make sweeping victories in the coming midterms.

While grateful for Biden’s victory against Donald Trump in 2020, many of the interviewed Democrats, many of whom asked to remain anonymous, said the troubles facing the president’s administration have dealt a major blow to his party.

Among the big ticket issues are record-high inflation that’s the heighest its ever been in more than 40 years, surging gas prices – which hit $5 per gallon on Saturday, the lingering pandemic and the possible end of federal abortion rights as the Supreme Court is poised to end Roe V. Wade in the coming weeks.

Also stinging was Biden’s failure to pass his $1.8 trillion Build Back Better agenda and voting rights expansion, which faced opposition from his own party, and the chaotic U.S. military exit from Afghanistan last summer.

The question remains of who would be poised to replace Biden in this highly polarizing political climate as Democrats fear Trump might launch his own re-election campaign for 2024.

Few of those interviewed by the Times said they did not expect Vice President Kamala Harris to run.

Harris has faced her own failures in office, primarily through the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border despite her being appointed as the border czar.

Many of the interviewed Democrats instead touted U.S. senators Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Corey Booker, as well as U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Texas gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke.

Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager in 2020, said it would be best for a younger Democrat to run.

Shakir told the Times that while he believed Biden could beat Trump in a 2024 rematch, the outcome could be different if Republicans instead nominate a rising star in their party, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

‘If it’s DeSantis or somebody, I think that would be a different kind of a challenge,’ Mr. Shakir said.

Howard Dean, the former DNC chairman, echoed the need for a fresh face and revealed he had coted for the 40-year-old Buttigieg in the 2020 primary.

‘The generation after me is just a complete trash heap,’ Dean told the Times.

New Shell boss slams brakes on going green: Eco fury as energy giant announces oil production won’t be cut until 2030

By Calum Muirhead For The Daily Mail

Updated: 17:16 EDT, 14 June 2023

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Shell to hike dividend by mammoth 15% as oil giant’s new boss pledges to return more cash to investors

• Chief exec Wael Sawan  plans to ‘create more value with less emissions’
• Oil giant recommits to becoming a zero-emissions company by 2050 

By Mike Sheen For This Is Money

Updated: 08:28 EDT, 14 June 2023

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BUSINESS LIVE: GDP grows by 0.2% in April; Shell reveals 15% dividend hike; Robert Walters issues profit warning

By Live Commentary

Updated: 03:04 EDT, 14 June 2023

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BUSINESS LIVE: Watchdog bans three Shell adverts; Banks face new APP fraud reimbursement rules; Gatwick charging proposals probed

By Live Commentary

Updated: 02:51 EDT, 7 June 2023

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 89, slammed Republicans in a Thursday statement insisting that her absence from Capitol Hill was not the reason for a slowdown in judicial appointments.

Her age and frailty have been the subject of Washington rumor and calls for her to step down have accelerated during her two-month absence as she recovers from shingles.

But anyone looking for clues to when she might return will not find them in her press release.

‘While the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced eight strong nominees during my absence, I’m disappointed that Republicans on the committee are blocking a few from moving forward,’ she said.

‘I’m confident that when I return to the Senate, we will be able to move the remaining qualified nominees out of committee quickly and to the Senate floor for a vote.’

Feinstein sits on the powerful judicial committee, and some Democrats have worried aloud that her absence will stall the Biden administration’s effort to install liberal judges.

Not so, according to her office, which said the work went on.

‘The Senate has confirmed 21 district and circuit court nominees during Senator Feinstein’s absence, including seven this week,’ it said.

Anyone wanting clues will have to try harder. One pointer was spotted in Sen. Chuck Schumer’s notes this week. 

The Senate Democrats’ held a news conference on Tuesday where he did not address Feinstein’s absence, but a shot of Schumer’s notes showed he had an update from the senator. 

‘I spoke with Sen. Feinstein yesterday. We are both hopeful she can return next week,’ the document read. 

A Schumer spokesperson said: ‘It was in his notes, and he would have said if someone asked.’ 

The senator has been absent for nearly two months since she was hospitalized in early March. Her absence on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee has held up President Biden’s judicial nominations as Republicans refuse to give the nominees a majority vote to get confirmed.

Feinstein’s office would not confirm a timeline for her return. 

‘Senator Feinstein continues to make progress in her recovery, however, we don’t have a timeline yet for her return to Washington which is dependent on her medical team saying it is safe to travel,’ the spokesperson said. 

On Tuesday the Senate Judiciary Committee held a high-profile hearing where Democrats eviscerated the Supreme Court’s lax ethics rules and some Republicans agreed the high court needed to do more to offer transparency and confidence on conflicts of interest and free perks.

Chair Dick Durbin had urged Chief Justice John Roberts to testify or appoint another member of the court to do so. But without Feinstein he could not subpoena the justice, who refused to comply. 

Meanwhile New York progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that it was time for 89-year-old Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein to retire, amid a lengthy absence from Congress due to ill health which has disrupted Democrats’ efforts to confirm liberal judges.

AOC is the latest member of Feinstein’s own party to call for her to go, and she shrugged off complaints that such messages were sexist.

‘I think criticisms of that stance as ‘anti-feminist’ are a farce,’ she wrote on the new social media platform Bluesky.

Democrats including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand have dismissed such calls as sexist because they say men of the same age would not face the same demands. 

But there is no getting away from it – Republicans have refused to help Democrats replace Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee while she is away. 

‘Her refusal to either retire or show up is causing great harm to the judiciary – precisely where repro rights are getting stripped,’ wrote AOC, as she made the case that Feinstein was hurting women’s rights. 

‘That failure means now in this precious window Dems can only pass GOP- approved nominees.’

It follows similar comments she made in April, after weeks of speculation about Feinstein’s frailty.

‘I think what we’re seeing is really concerning, and I think whenever a member’s health and ability to serve us brought into the spotlight, it’s very unfortunate, it’s very sad,’ she told CNN.

‘But I do think that what is happening right now, and the impact that the continued ability to serve is having on our ability to fill the courts, the impact that this is having on people’s access to abortion care, I think this is something that is — it is unfortunately something that I think it is appropriate to consider.’

It follows a ruling in Texas that threatened access to mifepristone, a common abortion pill, handed down by a conservative judge appointed under Donald Trump.

Even before shingles, the Senate’s oldest member was prone to concerning bouts of forgetfulness – with staff having to remind her about where she stood on bills and once forgetting that she had already announced her retirement in 2024. 

California Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee are already locked in a race for her seat. 

In the meantime, allies in her own party have helped fend off calls that she should go.

‘Senator Feinstein has been a champion for California for 20 years,’ former House Speaker and fellow octogenarian Pelosi told CBS News. ‘She deserves that respect to get well and be back on duty.’

Men would not face the same calls, she added. 

‘It’s interesting to me. I don’t know what political agendas are at work that are going after Senator Feinstein in that way. I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way,’ she added.

But her absence comes at a critical time with Democrats’ holding the slimmest of Senate majorities. 

The Senate is due to hold a hearing Thursday on raising the debt ceiling, after the House passed a Republican bill last month that would increase the borrowing limit but only if it came with big spending cuts.

Any bill needs 60 votes to get through the Senate, and Feinstein’s absence reduces Democrats’ leverage by one vote. 

Treasury may lose out over BP and Shell windfall tax: Profits at oil giants set to plunge following slump in energy prices

• BP profits expected to have fallen by a third from £5bn last year to £3.4bn 
• Shell is predicted to see its profits ease slightly lower to around £7bn 

By Francesca Washtell, Financial Mail On Sunday

Published: 16:50 EDT, 29 April 2023 | Updated: 05:35 EDT, 30 April 2023

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