Utility Week articles from April 2008

Utility Week archives from April 2008

WATERFirms should work to ten-year capex plans.(News)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... by Roger Milne The water sector's price control regime in England and Wales should be restructured to involve a ten-year capital expenditure programme and a five-yearly price-setting review for operating expenditure, according to a...

Open for business.(Features)
April 4, 2008... Water competition started in Scotland on 1 April . Wics chief Alan Sutherland tells Steve Hobson the benefits have been immediate Alan Sutherland, the chief executive of water regulator the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (Wics),...

ENERGYBarnet CHP to be fuelled by piped rubbish.(News)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... A [pounds sterling]4.5 billion regeneration scheme proposed for Barnet, London, includes plans for a combined heat and power plant that would burn waste fed to it by an underground vacuum collection system. Municipal waste collected from...

Features.
April 4, 2008... Pressure for more price rises later this year as SSE increases bills The fuel poverty picture looks set to get worse. First, Scottish and Southern Energy has announced that it will raise prices for its domestic gas and electricity...

News.(Northumbrian Water Group PLC is fined for polluting a stream)(Office of Gas and Electricity Markets' figures show that more than five million energy customers switched in 2007)(sales and earnings of Good Energy Group )(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... Northumbrian fined Northumbrian Water has been fined [pounds sterling]3,000 plus [pounds sterling]1,906.75 costs at Sunderland Magistrates' Court after polluting a stream with sewage at South Hetton in County Durham. The company pleaded...

The customer is king.(Early Section)(Business Stream)
April 4, 2008... As Business Stream enters Scotland's competitive water market, Gordon Todd stresses the importance of resolving customer debt issues quickly Business Stream, the new company operating in Scotland's recently deregulated non-domestic water...

Features.(Fenno-Skan)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... Making a connection: initial contracts have been signed for the Fenno-Skan 2 Finland to Sweden interconnector. The project will see the installation of a 800MW, 500kV subsea cable in a link between southern Finland and Sweden. The cable will...

News.
April 4, 2008... GAS Centrica considers Irish Sea storage Centrica has announced that it is considering developing a major new offshore gas storage project in the Irish Sea. If commissioned, the [pounds sterling]350 million project would be...

Death penalties.(Features)
April 4, 2008... New laws effective this week make it easier for companies to be prosecuted for causing someone's death . Adrian Bever spells out the dangers On 6 April, long-awaited change to corporate manslaughter legislation comes into force. First...

Features.(Conference notes)
April 4, 2008... THE 4 April Competition in water: is the Scottish model exportable? Hertford regulation seminar featuring Wics chairman Sir Ian Byatt, Oxford 4-5 April Final two days of IWO annual conference, Cambridge 7-11 April ...

Features.
April 4, 2008... ELECTRICITY Dong looks to vehicles to sell power Dong Energy plans to develop a new market for its wind-generated electricity by joining a US-based environment organisation to offer electric cars to Danish customers "at attractive...

Features.
April 4, 2008... ENVIRONMENT Electricity generators switch to gas Electricity companies switched from coal to gas-fired supply in 2007, according to regular Energy Trends figures published by the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform...

Features.(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... PAN-UTILITY Agency eases abstraction reporting Changes in the reporting process for companies abstracting water should streamline the system and make it more consistent, according to the Environment Agency. The agency said the...

ENERGYGdF close to signing Italian partner.(Features)
April 4, 2008... Gaz de France (GdF) and Rome utility are close to agreement on a 50:50 energy marketing joint venture in Italy. Few details are yet available, but the commercial partnership will involve selling both gas and electricity across the...

ENERGYTraders fearful about loss of firm capacity.(Features)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... European energy traders have said they are "extremely concerned" about changes in cross-border auction rules they say are a "step backward" in developing a European energy market. The European Federation of Energy Traders (Efet) said the...

Dealing with water debt beyond PR09.(Early Section)
April 4, 2008... Four best practice methods can be used to boost water firms' revenue management and collection, say Robert Stait and Rob Sheldon Debt recovery in the water industry has changed significantly in recent years. Commonly seen in the past as...

ENERGYEndesa battle ends with [euro]12bn asset deal.(Features)
April 4, 2008... by Janet Wood Eon's bitter battle with Enel and Acciona for Spain's Endesa finally ended last week when the companies agreed terms on which Eon would buy some of Endesa's assets. Eon agreed to abandon its takeover attempt in April 2007...

Features.(RWE AG acquires stake in north-west Russian genco TGK-2)(International Organization for Standardization creates an expert committee charged with drafting global guidelines on better utility billing)(European Union's emissions trading could cost Finnish industry [euro]10 billion in 2013-2020)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... RWE in Russia RWE has acquired a 33.5 per cent stake in north-west Russian genco TGK-2. The German group and local firm Sintez paid [euro]251 million for the former government holding, and will also take part in a further share offering...

What are these walls made of?(News)(Scottish Water PLC)
April 4, 2008... The arrival of water competition for Scottish business customers has seen Scottish Water split into retail and wholesale operations. The dividing line is not entirely clear cut physically or geographically, since retail subsidiary Business...

News.
April 4, 2008... Commuter man ponders faulty engine? That's what this photograph seems to be telling us. In fact, it is meant to celebrate Danish energy company Dong's partnership with a US company to market eco-friendly cars. The great man is not sure this...

News.(Southern Water PLC comes with an innovative way of getting its sustainability messages across to school kids)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... Laugh? I nearly cried. Southern Water has come up with an innovative way of getting its sustainability messages across to school kids. Enter stage left the Facepack Theatre Company with an award-winning show called The Drips. Disconnector knows...

ENERGYFuel poor targets 'abandoned'.(Features)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... by Roger Milne Ministers have been accused by their own advisers of "giving up" on the government's legally binding target to end fuel poverty among vulnerable households by 2010. The charge was levelled by the Fuel Poverty Advisory...

Network interrupted.(Features)
April 4, 2008... Under new rules, customers will compete for interruptible contracts, and the discounts that go with them . Roger Milne explores the new regime Interruption arrangements are changing for larger customers connected to gas distribution...

ELECTRICITYIncreased investment for Nordic grid.(Features)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... Nordel, the central co-operative organisation for Nordic transmission system operators, has launched a new Grid Master Plan 2008 (GMP-2008) to eliminate price differences within the Nordic region's primary power production and distribution...

News.(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... WATER Yorkshire to look at flood drainage Yorkshire Water is to investigate more fully the role of its drainage system after Ofwat published a report into last summer's floods. The report said the effectiveness of the drainage...

PAN-UTILITYFirms agree to cut waste from streetworks.(News)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... A group of utilities has signed up to reduce the amount of construction waste going to landfill and increase the use of recycled and stabilised materials in streetworks. The agreement, brokered by Waste & Resources Action Programme, is...

Features.
April 4, 2008... Switching doesn't tell the whole story What are the key indicators of a healthy market? The number of customers switching supplier is certainly one, and on that basis the UK energy market is in rude good health. With customers switching at...

Features.(Letter to the editor)
April 4, 2008... Sir: I want to clarify some points following an article in Utility Week on the Barking power station project, in which you claim that the LDA's scheme is not pioneering. While you are correct that Battersea power station had a district...

Energy market probe posers.(Features)
April 4, 2008... Ofgem has just announced the terms of its probe into the energy supply market. It expects to complete its study by the end of September, at which point it may make a market investigation reference to the Competition Commission under the...

WATERNI businesses first to switch to water bills.(News)(Northern Ireland Water)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... Northern Ireland Water (NIW) started billing all non-domestic customers this week after the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation approved a scheme of charges. An estimated 110,000 non-domestic customers will now pay directly...

News.
April 4, 2008... PAN-UTILITY Province 'must be more sustainable' Northern Ireland is "not environmentally sustainable" and all the utilities contribute to the problem, according to a consultation on sustainable development and the regulator's role...

Features.
April 4, 2008... INTERVIEW Ofgem chairman Sir John Mogg on formulating a fuel poverty action plan and wider industry issues ELECTRICITY How proposals for a new offshore transmission regime are shaping up EUROPE The Renewables Directive...

Features.
April 4, 2008... ELECTRICITY Norway to grab hydro power assets Norway's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has presented the long-awaited and highly controversial Hydro Power Ownership Reversion Bill to the national parliament. The bill advocates the...

ELECTRICITYTime to justify nuclear power.(News)
April 4, 2008... by Janet Wood Business Secretary John Hutton kicked off a "justification" process for new nuclear power plants last week by saying that the government's belief that the country needed new nuclear power was "strong and unshakeable". ...

News.
April 4, 2008... ENERGY Ofgem probe will cover wholesale Ofgem's probe into the competitiveness of energy supply will include the relationship between retail and wholesale prices and the impact of vertical integration and long-term forward contracts on...

News.(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... electricity Ofgem kicks off fifth price review Ofgem said there would be "profound changes" to electricity distribution networks over the period 2010 to 2015, as it set out its priorities for price controls for the period. In a...

Cold comfort.(Early Section)(energy companies will have to use their expertise to ensure that levels of customer debt )
April 4, 2008... Energy companies will have to use all their expertise to ensure that levels of customer debt do not rise as fuel prices bite, says Janet Wood Big jumps in energy prices in the past couple of years have brought many more people into the...

News.(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... WATER Costs principle in Ofwat's sights Ofwat has signalled that it will mount a determined assault on the costs principle in a forthcoming paper on competition, due for publication this spring. The warning came as Ofwat published...

WATEROfwat confirms use of menu regulation.(News)
April 4, 2008... by Janet Wood Water regulator Ofwat has confirmed plans to use "menu regulation" during the coming asset management period. In a new document setting out the framework for the 2009 price review, it recast the proposal as a capital...

Nuclear is UK's new North Sea.(Features)
April 4, 2008... Parliament went on recess, but not before warnings on energy security and bullish noises about nuclear Parliament has just begun its Easter recess, but that did not mean an end of term atmosphere in the Palace of Westminster. Quite the...

ENERGYUK will pay the price for dearth of biomass.(News)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... The cost to the UK of meeting European targets on renewable energy will be higher than for other countries because of its lack of access to cheap biomass, according to a new analysis by Poyry Energy Consulting. The analysis, for the...

News.
April 4, 2008... Credibility on the line "Credible nuclear operators" have until 9 April to contribute to a "prioritisation" process run by Berr, intended to slim the number of designs being licensed by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. Four of...

ELECTRICITYRWE makes proposal for European grid firm.(Features)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... by Simon Jones RWE chief executive Jurgen Grossmann has proposed the creation of a European grid operator with network companies from France and the Benelux countries. RWE would have a major stake in the cross-border grid firm, which it...

History in the making.(Features)(Scottish Water )
April 4, 2008... Scotland has broken new ground with the introduction of a competitive water market for businesses . By Steve Hobson The introduction of competition in the water industry in England and Wales in December 2005 was widely - and accurately -...

WATERCustomer switches as Scots market opens.(News)(Brief article)
April 4, 2008... by Janet Wood and Steve Hobson One customer switched water supplier on 1 April, the first day of competition in the Scottish business water market. Aquavitae was the market entrant to win a customer. It took on Time Capsule, a sports...

Features.
April 4, 2008... Water costs too much for too many Water and sewerage bills are rising higher and faster than some people can afford - and the government needs to resolve the problem. Customer charges in England and Wales are on average 42 per cent higher...

News.
April 4, 2008... ENERGY New advice on low carbon schemes Planning and energy organisations have produced a best practice guide for local authorities and developers involved with community energy schemes and distributed generation. The guide...

PAN-UTILITYTask force to address metal theft.(News)
April 4, 2008... A national task force to address metal theft is to be set up by a working group of the Association of Chief Police Officers. Metal theft is thought to cost the UK at least [pounds sterling]360 million a year. Last year, metal theft at...

A year of living dangerously.(Early Section)(Conference notes)
April 4, 2008... Janet Wood reports from Utility Week's conference on managing consumer debt, where the message for the industry was stark Debt is only going to get worse. That was the message from Gillian Key-Vice, director of regulatory affairs at...

GASOfgem agrees Xoserve fees methodology.(News)
April 4, 2008... Ofgem has approved the charging methodology developed by Xoserve, the agency set up by National Grid, which invoices shippers for use of the gas transportation system and manages the change of supplier process. The agency is now jointly...

Taking the direct route.(Early Section)
April 4, 2008... As debt has gone up, the number of people on direct payment schemes has gone down. But the government has no plans to expand third party deduction schemes, says Cathryn Bullimore With five of the six big energy suppliers announcing...

The personal touch.(Early Section)
April 4, 2008... Customers get into debt with their utility suppliers for all manner of reasons - sometimes through their own fault, and sometimes not. Rob Sheldon looks at how to manage indebted customers Utility companies are continually reviewing their...

To whom it may concern.(Features)(communication strategy of public utility companies)
April 11, 2008... The importance of telephone communications is well understood, but what of the written word? Robert Ashton runs through the top ten irritations Over 85 per cent of utilities have failed to develop a clear strategy on how they communicate...

PAN-UTILITYAntitrust costs could rise with new directive.(Features)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The exposure of European Union utilities to antitrust actions taken by the European Commission would be increased if a new white paper from Brussels becomes legislation. The Commission's Directorate General (DG) for Competition wants...

News.(terrorism)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Terrorist targets: the trial of eight men accused of planning to blow up passenger planes heard claims that the alleged plotters were also considering attacks on nuclear stations and oil and gas terminals, including Bacton, the landfall of the...

ENERGYDanish power companies favour biomass.(Features)
April 11, 2008... Dong Energy and Vattenfall Danmark are assessing the capital costs of converting their coal-fired power stations in Denmark to biomass-firing, it has emerged. The companies were responding to a doubling of coal prices. An appraisal...

News.
April 11, 2008... Humber in planning Eon has submitted a planning application for the Humber Gateway offshore windfarm. The 300MW, [pounds sterling]700 million project will be 8km off the Yorkshire coast. Fuel poor case Friends of the Earth and...

Features.(carbon emissions creep up in 2007)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... ENVIRONMENT Carbon emissions creep up in 2007 Emissions of carbon dioxide from installations in Europe increased by 1 per cent in 2007, according to data from the European Commission. Some 9,962 installations reporting emissions...

ENERGYEnel faces probe over telemarketing.(Features)
April 11, 2008... Italian cartel authority AGCM is investigating four Enel subsidiaries over "incorrect commercial practices". The probe relates to misleading tariff promotions and customer complaints that they have been switched from regulated to free-market...

GASUK loses out to Continental buyers.(News)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Continental gas companies are pushing up prices in the UK by buying up supplies in summer but not selling back in winter, Centrica has claimed. The UK is in danger of becoming the "gas lender of last resort" for the rest of Europe, according to...

ELECTRICITYDNOs told: remodel charges or face fines.(News)(distribution network operators)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... by Janet Wood Regulator Ofgem intends to place a new licence condition on distribution network operators (DNOs) to force them to change their charging structures, backed by the threat of fines. The changes must encourage distributed...

Features.(conferences)(Calendar)
April 11, 2008... THE 13 April 12th international conference on passive houses, Nuremberg, Germany 16 April Energy Institute evening lecture: reducing energy usage - a housing case study by David Farebrother, Land Securities Group, London ...

PAN-UTILITYEco-towns must be zero carbon.(News)
April 11, 2008... Ministers last week revealed a shortlist of locations for ten eco-towns in England that will trial and develop new or existing technologies to eliminate carbon emissions throughout the year. Innovative materials and design will be used to...

To be, or not to be? Seriously.(News)(status of Scottish Water)
April 11, 2008... The arrival of the competitive market in Scotland has coincided with the revival of the debate among Members of the Scottish Parliament about the status of Scottish Water. Should it remain in public ownership, be made a mutual company...

News.
April 11, 2008... Seeing double: Scottish Water thought this ever so subtle photo would get the message across that it is investing [pounds sterling]22 million to provide cleaner water to Lanarkshire folk courtesy of its twin Daer and Couter projects. It drafted...

ELECTRICITYSummer of blackouts looms for Germany.(Features)
April 11, 2008... by Simon Jones Germany faces a significant risk of blackouts this summer, according to the latest annual report from energy network regulator Matthias Kurth. He warned that limited supplies of wind power and shortages of cooling water...

ELECTRICITYMinisters under fire over CCS plans.(News)(carbon capture and storage technology)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Ministers have been urged by an influential scientific organisation to grant consent to new coal-fired power stations such as Eon's proposed Kingsnorth plant in Kent only on condition that they capture 90 per cent of their carbon dioxide...

Lady of the lakes.(Features)
April 11, 2008... Evelyn Stacey heads a rare land and lake management outsourcing arrangement for South West Water . She talks to Karma Ockenden It is common for modern water companies to outsource large chunks of their businesses - from capital delivery at...

Features.(domestic energy competition)
April 11, 2008... The rogue salesmen are back, but did they ever go away? Mis-selling, sadly, was a fact of life during the early and middle years of domestic energy competition. It was one reason many other European countries were reluctant to embrace...

PAN-UTILITYManslaughter Act contains 'hidden risks'.(News)
April 11, 2008... New legislation on corporate manslaughter carries "hidden risks" for companies such as utilities with large field forces, insurance broker Marsh has warned. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which came into force on 6...

ENERGYMarine Bill falls short on wind commitment.(News)
April 11, 2008... by Roger Milne The UK wind industry has voiced concern over the complexity of the government's Draft Marine Bill, just published. The bill sets out proposals for a new planning regime for offshore development such as windfarms, wave and...

Role play.(Features)
April 11, 2008... Now in his second term as Ofgem chairman, Sir John Mogg tells Steve Hobson what he thinks Ofgem's priorities are Britain's competitive energy markets served consumers well during times of historically low commodity prices, but the global...

ENVIRONMENTConcern over rising nuclear cleanup cost.(Features)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... by Janet Wood The funding model for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is "unsustainable", according to a committee of MPs. The cross-party Committee on Business and Enterprise's report, Funding the Nuclear Decommissioning...

ENERGYMinister 'must come clean on efficiency fund'.(News)
April 11, 2008... National Energy Action (NEA) has urged the government to clarify who is paying for energy efficiency measures for low income households. The call came after environment minister Phil Woolas said that [pounds sterling]2.3 billion would be...

PAN-UTILITYUpdate to streetworks regime 'causes chaos'.(News)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... by Janet Wood Utilities and local authorities faced "chaos" when a notice regime required under the Traffic Management Act went live on 1 April. Utilities and authorities were required to use new software known as Eton 4 to manage...

News.
April 11, 2008... ELECTRICITY Centrica linked to British Energy Speculation over the sale of the UK's nuclear generating company British Energy was focused last week on Centrica. The supplier, which already has gas and wind capacity, said it could...

Features.
April 11, 2008... ENERGY What are the data issues of targeting fuel poor customers, and what changes are we likely to see on social tariffs? WATER Alan Parsons, managing director of Bristol Water, sets out his 25-year vision RENEWABLES ...

News.(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... ENERGY Npower acts on mis-selling claims Domestic energy supplier RWE Npower has suspended 17 staff after claims in a Sunday newspaper that it employed underhand sales tactics. The claims were reminiscent of the doorstep...

The bottom line.(Features)
April 11, 2008... Ofgem has to license operators to run offshore links to windfarms, but how will this work in practice? . With difficulty, says Neil Budd As part of the its commitment to promote renewable generation in the UK, the government wants to...

WaTerOfwat reveals step change in licensing costs.(Features)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Ofwat said an increased need for enforcement was a key driving factor behind a swingeing rise in licence fees announced in the regulator's strategy statement released last week. The step change was announced in Ofwat's strategy: taking a...

PAN-UTILITYFraud remains a problem for most utilities.(News)
April 11, 2008... Utility companies want banks to do more to help in the battle against payment fraud, according to a poll conducted by information services company Experian Payments, formerly Eiger Systems. Ninety-three per cent of utility companies...

eNERGYFinland's peat power grants under fire.(Features)(International Energy Agency )(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The International Energy Agency (IEA) has criticised Finland for subsidising peat-fired power generation. Finland started offering production subsidies to large peat power plants in Northern Finland in the second half of 2006.Subsidies to...

News.(the challenges of recruiting and retaining utility employees)
April 11, 2008... In an occasional series, managers discuss the challenges of recruiting and retaining utility employees while new starters give their first impressions Points of view Linzi Hannan, head of UK resourcing, has been at National Grid since...

Marine planning makes waves.(Features)
April 11, 2008... MPs and ministers fret over nuclear and green towns. Marine planning could become sensitive in Scotland There was the traditional cascade of government announcements as MPs and peers headed off for a two-week post-Easter break from...