UK businesses are hopeful Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey will cut levies from their electricity bills in his budget after being told that help with energy costs is the government’s top priority for firms, according to industry leaders familiar with the plans.

UK water customers should see a drop in their bills next year as the industry regulator continues to crack down on utilities that miss performance targets.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s push for greater control of England’s troubled water industry could come with a hefty price tag of about £105 billion, according to a new industry-commissioned analysis.

The UK is considering cuts to its flagship program to upgrade millions of homes, as it seeks more than £2 billion ($2.6 billion) in energy-department savings to help fund higher defense spending.

The UK’s South East Water Ltd. applied for permission to restrict non-essential water use by businesses in Sussex as drought conditions deepen in the region.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government will scrap limits on state ownership of England and Wales’s major water companies, opening the door to greater public ownership as part of an overhaul of the troubled industry.

A planned UK data center has proposed relying mainly on gas generators for power while it waits at least a decade for a firm connection to the electricity grid, raising objections from local residents.

Thames Water’s senior creditors are preparing to write off more debt and put more money into the utility in a renewed effort to avoid the UK government taking temporary control.

The Conservative minister who launched privatization of England and Wales’s water industry said he never anticipated companies such as Thames Water becoming so heavily indebted, blaming regulatory failures for the current crisis.

Thames Water is pressing on with plans to restructure its massive financial load, even as pressure mounts on the UK government to temporarily nationalize the beleaguered utility.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is keeping radical intervention at Thames Water on the table even as he considers a separate plan to give local mayors a greater role in overseeing the troubled industry.

The UK needs as much as £70 billion ($94.5 billion) of investment in its power grid by early next decade, with delays to upgrading aging infrastructure threatening to add billions of pounds to customer bills.

The UK needs as much as £70 billion ($94.5 billion) of investment in its power grid by early next decade, with delays to upgrading aging infrastructure threatening to add billions of pounds to customer bills.

Britain is heading into winter with soaring gas prices, high household bills and a slim fuel buffer to cushion it from another energy shock that could stoke inflation.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the water industry “stands as a leaking monument” to what he sees as the failure of decades of privatization in Britain, signaling he’s open to nationalizing the industry.

The UK government may extend energy bill support to more of the neediest households, as rising gas prices undermine Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s attempts to bear down on the cost of living.

The UK will become the latest European country to sell plug-in solar panels, with Argos Ltd. and UKSOL Ltd. offering them as early as Thursday and other shops following in the coming weeks.

The UK has ruled out an immediate move to put Thames Water into special administration, pulling back from the prospect of swift action signaled by allies of Prime Minister Andy Burnham before he took power.

The UK will look at watering down its zero-emission vehicle sales mandate, a win for automakers that have been pushing new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to bring forward a review of the targets.

Creditors of Thames Water have told the UK government it would cost £40 billion ($53.8 billion) more than previously thought to nationalize England’s water companies, in a bid to stop Prime Minister Andy Burnham taking extreme steps to give the public more control over the industry.