Utility Week articles from August 2008

Utility Week archives from August 2008

ELECTRICITYBritish Energy deal still some way off.(News)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... by Janet Wood The future of British Energy remained in doubt this week following the collapse a week ago of a deal with French generator EDF. Reviving the deal hinged on whether EDF could be persuaded to raise its offer. Rising...

ELECTRICITYBalancing costs to be reappraised.(Features)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Germany's energy regulator has launched a consultation on plans to cut the costs of balancing energy used by the country's four grid operators. The Federal Network Agency wants to create a supra-regional balancing authority that can avoid...

Features.
August 8, 2008... ENERGY Way cleared for Eni to buy Distrigas Belgium's Publigas has waived its pre-emptive rights to a 57.24 per cent stake in fellow Belgian firm Distrigas, clearing the way for Suez to sell it to Eni. In return, Eni has signed an...

ENERGYInefficiency of market concerns MPs.(News)
August 8, 2008... MPs last week published a major assessment of the UK's energy market, which voiced concern that the UK's energy markets were not functioning as efficiently as they should. UK prices may be higher than in competitor countries, warned the...

News.(briefs)
August 8, 2008... IN BRIEF End of story Severn Trent has decided not to appeal a [pounds sterling]38.5 million fine imposed by Ofwat for providing false information in 2005/06. The company has also agreed to provide [pounds sterling]5 million in...

WaterComplaints fall in Wales as English gripes rise.(News)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Complaints to the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) in England rose by 18 per cent in 2007/08. In the same period, complaints to the Welsh CCWater fell by 28.5 per cent. In both areas, around half of all complaints were about billing and...

Strange but true?(Features)
August 8, 2008... Erecting a wind turbine is not the only way of cutting carbon dioxide emissions . Utility Week looks at some of the more unusual ideas on offer It seems that scarcely a week goes by without volumes of newsprint or prime time broadcasting...

News.(E.ON UK PLC)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Climate of protest: Eon UK this week was bracing itself for a bid by climate change protesters to shut down its Kingsnorth coal-fired station in Kent. More than 1,000 activists have set up a camp near the plant, which the company wants to...

WaterCost of capital must be realistic, say firms.(News)(weighted average cost of capital)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... by Steve Hobson and Annabel Andrews Water companies are urging regulator Ofwat to take account of current market conditions during the 2009 price review when setting the weighted average cost of capital (Wacc). Ofwat has already warned...

ELECTRICITYCustomers less willing to fund improvements.(News)(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Power customers are less willing to pay for service improvements than they were five years ago, research has suggested. The research was carried out to find out about customers' willingness to pay for service levels in advance of the...

ENERGYFewer disconnections than in 2007.(News)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Domestic disconnections, which had risen by 50 per cent to 8,000 in 2007, fell back in the first quarter of 2008 after a review of disconnection practices in January. The news came in Ofgem's annual report on domestic suppliers' social...

Features.
August 8, 2008... THE 8 August Final issue of Utility Week before summer break 12 August Deadline for comments to Ofgem on regulatory arrangements for East-West Cable One's proposed Britain-Ireland electricity interconnectors 13 August...

pan-utilitySector CRC may count home energy savings.(News)
August 8, 2008... by Annabel Andrews The Environment Agency is considering whether energy savings resulting from domestic water-efficiency measures should count towards water companies' Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) obligations. Trevor Bishop, head...

GAS'Yes' to cooling off changes for concessions.(Features)
August 8, 2008... Public authorities within European Union (EU) member states can vary the duration of transitional cooling off periods for gas concessions without breaking EU laws, the European Court of Justice has ruled. In an Italian case laying down an...

ENERGY ECJ rules out Dutch stranded costs levy.(Features)(European Court of Justice)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... The European Court of Justice has declared that billing consumers a surcharge to compensate private utilities saddled with "stranded costs" was illegal. Because such costs arose when a utility was part of a regulated system without free...

News.(United Kingdom. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)(Emissions Trading Scheme)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... ENVIRONMENT Defra denies enlarging ETS auction Government officials have poured cold water on claims that the UK was planning to reconsider the proportion of carbon dioxide allowances it would auction in the second phase of the...

Western promise for Eastern Europe.(Features)
August 8, 2008... As eastern Europe looks to upgrade and modernise its power industries, Nigel Hawkins looks at who is likely to benefit The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to tumultuous scenes on the political front as Eastern Europe was finally...

News.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Painting the town green: ministers have clarified the "green" standards required by the government's eco-town initiative. Developers must show that over a year the net carbon emissions from all energy used by the town's buildings will be "zero...

Compound interest.(Features)
August 8, 2008... Dr Rakesh Kanda looks at what our increasing ability to detect very low levels of contaminants means for the environment and the water industry Over the past decade there have been growing fears about the presence of biologically active...

Fat cats feast as folk freeze!(News)
August 8, 2008... It just goes to show what a pariah Centrica has become. Disconnector refers to the column inches expended on the revelation that the company "splashed out on a [pounds sterling]25,000 junket" for staff, hours after it announced a...

News.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... It's the big one: Yorkshire Water has decided to go big - literally and metaphorically - with its water conservation campaign, which runs until the end of August. The utility points out that the toilet accounts for one- third of all water use...

ENERGYGas Natural to buy rival Union Fenosa.(Features)
August 8, 2008... by Janet Wood Gas Natural is to acquire Union Fenosa in a [euro]16.8 billion "transformative deal" for the two Spanish companies. Initially, Gas Natural will acquire ACS's 45.3 per cent of Union Fenosa, paying [euro]18.33 a share. It...

Features.
August 8, 2008... GAS Italian suppliers join with Gazprom Ascopiave has become the latest supplier to join a north Italian regional consortium that has agreed a gas sales joint venture with Gazprom. Ascopiave will take a 20 per cent stake in the group,...

ENERGYTrust at odds with Ofgem on green tariffs.(News)
August 8, 2008... The Energy Saving Trust has attacked Ofgem's proposed guidelines on green tariffs as misleading and likely to result in "greenwash". The trust's chief executive, Philip Sellwood, criticised the regulator's proposals on four counts. First,...

Features.
August 8, 2008... Take care over windfall taxes Predictably, given energy company profits and rocketing energy bills, a windfall tax is back on the political agenda. For a government in the doldrums (and with the party conference season fast approaching),...

waterFrontier plan for leakage loses favour with Ofwat.(News)(United Kingdom. Office of Water Services)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Ofwat has abandoned plans for a "frontier" approach to setting leakage targets. "We have no immediate plans to do further work on the frontier approach because we doubt whether it would provide the right incentives for companies overall,"...

Fears over gas concentration.(Features)(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)
August 8, 2008... MPs have just compiled a report on the UK's energy markets that concluded there were a number of challenges requiring political and regulatory action. A significant part of the report from the Commons Business, Enterprise and Regulatory...

Features.
August 8, 2008... PAN-UTILITY What must utility companies do to ensure they are rated among the top green brands in the UK? WATER How investments in renewable energy generation infrastructure can unlock environmental and financial benefits for the...

Ready for business.(Features)(Company overview)
August 8, 2008... EDF Energy's BI&T managing director Nigel Stevens tells Steve Hobson why IT now is so much more than just a suite of software applications The post of information technology director at any utility can be something of a poisoned chalice....

waterConsultant raises salary bill for Ofwat.(News)
August 8, 2008... Ofwat paid an interim director the same fee for a year's work as the combined annual wage of its chief executive and chairman, the regulator's latest annual resource report has revealed. Walker Cox Ltd was paid between [pounds...

News.
August 8, 2008... Two new National Grid skills development centres are giving fledgling gas engineers the chance to hone their skills, reports Rebecca Norris Back to school The energy sector has received a huge fillip thanks to the opening of two new...

News.
August 8, 2008... Waiting game: work on the exterior of the Torness nuclear power station was diverted for several days this year to safeguard Peregrine falcons nesting on the station. Changes were made to the works programme so that one chick, which had fallen...

Windfall tax back on the table.(Features)
August 8, 2008... The PM's holiday has been upset by nuclear alarms, energy bill rows and leadership and reshuffle speculation Definitely no silly season for politicians at present. The Labour Party appears to be in meltdown. Almost daily there is lengthy...

ENERGYSoaring prices cause a surge in switching.(News)
August 8, 2008... by Roger Milne Comparison pricing sites have reported a surge in switching after the announcement by British Gas and EDF Energy that they were raising domestic energy prices. Last month, EDF Energy was the first major supplier to blink...

A voice in the dark.(Features)
August 8, 2008... In times of emergency it is vital that engineers are able to communicate with each other, and that means private mobile radio, says Mike Norfield How well would your organisation cope in the event of a major power outage, extreme weather...

News.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Up in the air: a weather radar station has been installed at Northumbrian Water's High Moorsley site near Durham. The radar was funded by Northumbrian Water, the Environment Agency and the Met Office. It will provide weather forecasts and help...

ENERGYNCC calls for caution over smart meters.(News)
August 8, 2008... by Roger Milne A consumer watchdog has called for safeguards to ensure the rollout of smart meters to households is financially fair for customers and that measures are adopted to prevent remote switching and disconnection. These...

Features.
August 8, 2008... Getting a handle on a risky business Energy markets have entered uncharted territory over the past few months with oil, coal, and UK gas and power at or near all-time highs. The oil price alone increased from $60 a barrel in early 2007 to...

ENERGYOfgem defines social spend rules.(News)(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Ofgem has announced its final guidelines on what measures will be eligible under the suppliers' agreement to increase their collective spend on social programmes, due to rise from [pounds sterling]50 million at present to [pounds sterling]150...

WaterThames seeks green light for 6.9km tunnel.(News)(Thames Water Utilities Ltd.)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... Thames Water has applied for planning permission for the Lee Tunnel and the Beckton sewage treatment works extension scheme. The 6.9km tunnel would collect storm sewage from the single combined sewer overflow at Abbey Mills pumping station....

ELECTRICITYTerna poised to bid for German network.(Features)(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... by Gerard O'Dwyer Terna of Italy has emerged as a potential buyer of Vattenfall Europe's German transmission network. Vattenfall hopes to close the sale during the second or third quarter of 2009. "We are looking at Germany and grid...

Features.(Brief article)
August 8, 2008... water 'Start flood protection work now' The water industry needs to begin work now to cope with future intense rainfall events, according to the Water UK flooding review group. "There is no need to await better information," said...