Utility Week articles from December 2003

Utility Week archives from December 2003

WATER; Anglian pulls plug on price.(Anglian Water PLC)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Anglian Water's fighting talk over its bid to put up prices in 2004/5 turned to a hush this week as the troublled water company withdrew its interim price application. Ofwat issued a draft decision last month, which said Anglian Water...

Water; Firms slam blind eye to farms.
December 5, 2003... by Karma Ockenden The water industry last week blasted the government and the Environment Agency for 'double standards' on pollution and called on farmers to join it in tackling the problem head on. Speaking at Water UK's agriculture...

Electricity; British Energy gets [pounds sterling]75m government lift.
December 5, 2003... by Janet Wood The Department of Trade & Industry has agreed a further [pounds sterling]75 million loan for struggling nuclear generator British Energy. The company needs the cash to cover an unplanned shutdown at Sizewell B (now...

Electricity; MP angry over NGT block on report.
December 5, 2003... Roger Urwin chief executive of National Grid Transco clashed this week with Martin O'Neill MP, chair of the Commons trade and industry committee, over publication of Ofgem's report into the two electricity transmission network failures earlier...

Water; Bournemouth hopes an increase will offset loss.
December 5, 2003... Buoyed by Northumbrian Water's success, Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water has followed the north east water firm's lead and applied for an interim price determination under the 'substantial effect' clause of its licence. Bournemouth...

electricity; Heatwave helps boost CEPS profits.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Third-quarter profits at Czech national grid operator CEPS have doubled, boosted by higher volume and electricity exports during the summer heatwave and auctions for cross-border capacity. For the nine months to 30 September, CEPS' pre-tax...

energy; Fenosa slams 'disastrous' Cepsa hold-up.
December 5, 2003... Spanishenergy group Union Fenosa has criticised as 'disastrous' a decision by Dutch arbitrators which has stalled its plans to sell its 5 per cent stake in Spanish oil company Cepsa. The arbitrators have frozen the shares in Cepsa's holding...

telecoms; Cesky cuts prices in response to pressure.
December 5, 2003... by Mark Andress Pressure on Cesky Telecom to reduce internet prices bore fruit last week when the former Czech fixed-line monopoly announced that it was cutting high-speed internet connection fees by up to half in the New Year. The...

Energy; Coal gets [pounds sterling]52m DTI boost to save 4,000 jobs.(Department of Trade and Industry)
December 5, 2003... The Department of Trade and Industry has announced a [pounds sterling]52 million package for the UK's coal industry, which could safeguard 4,000 coal-mining jobs and create a further 300 jobs in the sector. Twelve projects at mines in...

Energy; Cabinet row delays pollution decisions.(Emissions Trading Scheme)
December 5, 2003... by Roger Milne Cabinet-level sparring over the UK's national allocation plan, crucial to Britain's involvement in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), has helped force Whitehall to 'fudge' a decision on tighter pollution...

Unlocking competition.(encouragement to privatisation)
December 5, 2003... Underpinning the concept of utility privatisation, which effectively began with the flotation of British Telecom in 1984, was the belief that increased competition was a key driver in delivering favourable results for the various stakeholders,...

ENERGY; Czechs face New Year price hikes.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Czech consumers face energy price hikes next year as production and distribution costs bite. From January, electricity prices will increase 3.8 per cent for households and 3.1 per cent for small business consumers, the energy regulator...

Information cage.(Column)
December 5, 2003... The frenzied post-deregulation days of customer poaching seem largely to be over; the highly volatile switchers have switched and most utilities now have bigger fish to fry. With core utility products a limited margin commodity, price...

Energy; Dong/Nord Pool hatch grid hub plan.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Danish state energy group Dong has set up a working group with Nord Pool to examine the 'commercial feasibility' of developing a hub for Denmark's land-based natural gas grid by 2006. Dong Transmission, the Dong subsidiary appointed to lead...

telecoms; Broadband cited in telecoms recovery.
December 5, 2003... A European Commission study has found that Europe's telecoms markets are emerging from their long slump into a period of prosperity and stability. The study uncovered renewed business and consumer confidence, with broadband internet access...

Water; EIC slams Defra as slack and unclear on directive.(Environmental Industries Commission)
December 5, 2003... The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has taken issue with the way the government has handled the Water Framework Directive. Responding to the Depart-ment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consultation, the EIC called...

energy; Endesa ups Italian plant investment.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Spanish energy company Endesa is to invest E1.2 billion to upgrade its power plants in Italy until 2006. Speaking to Utility Week, a company spokeswoman said that, after the investment, the plants' output efficiency will increase from 38.2...

energy; Eni mulls Euro power partner.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Eni may seek a major European partner to help expand its power interests. The oil and gas group planned to increase installed capacity from 1,000MW to 6,000 MW (or 11 per cent of the domestic market) by 2006. 'We do not rule out acquiring...

Logical conclusion.(lack of competition in water industry depletes quality of service)
December 5, 2003... It has been a busy year for a water industry trying to get to grips with the fourth price review (PR04). Among other things, the government revived the fluoridation issue by adding it to the Water Act, and Northumbrian Water became the first...

The unofficial secrets act.(Energy Bill)
December 5, 2003... Last week the government published one of the longer pieces of legislation facing parliamentarians: the Energy Bill. Among other things, the Bill provides for the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA), the organisation...

WATER; Prazske water production down by 2.1%.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Prague water concession Prazske vodovody a kanalizace (PVK), owned by France's Veolia Water, produced 2.1 per cent less water for the first three quarters of this year. PVK says this is largely because of a marked reduction in water losses. ...

Forward ; planning.(renewable energy )(Column)
December 5, 2003... As we approach the end of 2003 it already seems that the government is in serious difficulty in its attempt to meet its key renewable energy objective. That objective is that the UK should generate 10 per cent of its electricity from renewable...

electricity; German users freeze in wake of price hike.
December 5, 2003... bySimon Jones German end-user power prices are set to rise by up to 15 per cent from January, as Eon and EnBW are set to announce big increases in grid access fees. Eon and RWE have also said they will raise supply tariffs in several...

Bill boosts wind.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The government published its Energy Bill last week. The Bill will give a much needed boost to wind power, by speeding up public inquiries into the building of new onshore windfarms, and by enabling developers to build what the Guardian termed...

electricity; Ireland backs Euratom treaty update.(Euratom nuclear energy treaty)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The Irish government has announced that it is backing an Austrian call for the European Union (EU) intergovernmental conference (IGC) - now writing the EU's first constitution - to convene a separate conference to review the Euratom nuclear...

Energy; New electricity tariffs spark Italian fall-out.(Column)
December 5, 2003... by Simon Jones The Italian energy regulator has fallen out with the economics and treasury ministers over his proposals for electricity tariffs over the next four years. The regulatory regime for 2004/07 will cut household bills by...

Energy; Spain vetoes Kyoto price hike.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Spain will not allow power companies to raise tariffs to offset the costs of meeting 2004 European carbon dioxide emission targets in order to comply with the Kyoto international environmental protocol. Spanish energy minister Jose Folgado...

GAS; Buyers line up to start bids for gas networks.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Some 40 parties have expressed interest in the local distribution zones (LDZs) put up for sale by National Grid Transco last week. A National Grid Transco spokesman said the number of enquiries 'doesn't surprise us' as the company knew...

Competitive dead end.
December 5, 2003... As we near the close of 2003, we are assessing how much progress has been made in those areas that were once touted as being key to a successful future utility market in Britain: competition, cross-selling of services and the development of...

Energy; FCO blocks Eon's moves on Lubeck stake.(Federal Cartel Office )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Germany's monopoly authority has blocked the acquisition of a 49.9 per cent stake in Stadtwerke Lubeck by multi-utility giant Eon. Federal Cartel Office (FCO) president Ulf Boge said concessions offered by Eon would not counter the...

TELECOMS; Dirty tricks allegation wrecks mobile survey.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... by Trevor Dooley A row erupted last week between mobile telecoms operators. Three of the UK's leading players are refusing to take part in the voluntary twice-yearly publication of performance figures, following allegations of rigged...

Threat of winter power cuts.
December 5, 2003... The threat of power cuts this winter has highlighted the contribution that plant on interruptible contracts could make to easing the strain. National Grid Transco's latest winter operations report made the point that fuel switching would...

East Surrey Holdings.(Column)
December 5, 2003... by Trevor Dooley East Surrey Holdings last week made substantial progress in its strategy to become a regulated infrastructure business when it took over its partners' stakes in Northern Ireland gas business Phoenix Gas to become whole...

Portugal Telecom.
December 5, 2003... by Nigel Hawkins Like many incumbent telcos, Portugal Telecom has developed its business from its predominantly domestic fixed-line base. It is now also a major mobile player, both in Portugal and Brazil - a country with which it has...

electricity; Nesa warns of slide in grid investment.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Denmark's power transmission network operator Nesa Kraft, which itself is the subject of a e1.4 billion bid by Elsam, has warned of the danger of reduced investments in national and regional grid upgrades, if the government approves a proposal...

Press pass.(Column)
December 5, 2003... On the whole, organisations tend to use analysis and modelling of their customer data for what could be called commercial or financial reasons - for example, to maximise response rates through better targeting, maximise profitability by...

WATER; Waste buoys Pennon and additional equity unlikely.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Pennon is not planning to take a lead from United Utilities' rights issue for its water business, the group announced last week. Announcing results for the half year to 30 September 2003, Pennon said it did not anticipate a need for...

Concerns grow over EU policy role.(Column)
December 5, 2003... Last week the government published its Energy Bill, and signalled the measures would be under scrutiny in the Lords, initially, early in the New Year. So far so good: however the absence of any cap on the amount of public money which is...

Who ; dares ; wins.(Brey Utilities)(Column)
December 5, 2003... The SAS's motto of 'who dares wins' is one of the best known maxims and sums up perfectly what the service is all about. The phrase also sits perfectly with Brey Utilities, a consortium of Yorkshire Water, Earth Tech Engineering and Kellogg...

ELECTRICITY; Target upped to boost greens.(Column)
December 5, 2003... by Roger Milne The government this week extended the ramp-up of green power targets in a bid to reassure clean energy developers and the investment community who had warned that existing goals were seriously at risk without such...

PAN-UTILITY; Lack of data will thwart street laws.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Measures outlined in the Queen's Speech to address the growing nuisance caused by streetworks will be thwarted by a lack of information on proposed work, according to streetworks registration firm Moleseye. 'Local authorities cannot...

Energy; Russo-Italian summit strikes deals.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... A Russo-Italian summit has approved a series of bilateral energy deals. Enel was the main beneficiary of the Moscow meeting between Italy's industry ministry, Russian Energy minister Igor Yussufov and Gazprom vice-president Yuri Komarov. ...

Energy; Adjustments to hit domestic users hardest.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Slovak energy prices for 2004 will hit household consumers hardest, as the regulator takes the last step to ironing out price deformations. Gas prices will next year grow by almost 28 per cent for households, but will drop for small, medium...

Love thy ; neighbour.
December 5, 2003... Spain has the fifth-largest electricity market in Europe and estimates suggest that electricity demand will increase 30 per cent by 2010 due to growth rates that are much higher than the European Union average and the ever increasing demand for...

electricity; Statkraft looks to financial 'compromise'.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Norway's Trade and Industry Department has agreed to meet the management of Statkraft to discuss the company's long-term financing requirements. Trade and industry minister Ansgar Gabrielsen has hinted at a 'compromise solution' that may...

energy; Sydkraft rejig prompts sell-off.
December 5, 2003... The reorganisation of Sydkraft into a Sweden-based energy company focusing on activities in the Nordic marketplace will require the group to sell off all power generation stakes in Poland. 'We are now part of Eon and, under our new role,...

MULTI-UTILITIES; Telecom Plus doubles up.
December 5, 2003... Multi-utility Telecom Plus continued to exceed expectations when it reported that interim profits before tax almost doubled. The energy and telephony supplier added 26,000 customers in the six months to 30 September 2003, taking its total...

WATER; Discharge consent ruling may aid sewer upgrades.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Water companies could be forced to upgrade their sewer networks to cope with sewer flooding rather than opt for cheaper solutions that damage the environment, after a ruling by the Planning Inspectorate set a precedent. Planners upheld an...

GAS; Grain LNG project gets [pounds sterling]21m EIB loan.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Construction of a new LNG import terminal at Kent's Isle of Grain port is being supported by a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan of up to [pounds sterling]21 million. The National Grid Transco project has been identified as an energy...

ELECTRICITY; UK faces power threat as French hydro washes up.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Low water levels at France's hydro plants could cut UK power reserves this winter. National Grid said that reserve capacity in England and Wales will be some 20.1 per cent this winter, up from 16 per cent, because over 1GW of plant has...

eLECTRICITY; Viridian rocked by Republic plant decision.(The republic of Ireland energy regulator)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The republic of Ireland energy regulator (CER)last week dealt a shocking blow to some of the leading energy players in the UK when it awarded power station contracts worth some [pounds sterling]1.5 billion to two minnows. Bidders including...

environment; Spain told to clean up its act or face fines.(Brief Article)(Column)
December 5, 2003... by Ivan Castano Spain faces fines of up to e9 million a year if it does not clean its rivers and wetlands to meet European Union (EU)anti-pollution directives by 2004. According to the EU's Court of Justice, Spain flouted European...

WATER; Overseas disposals push AWG into interim loss.(Anglian Water)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Exceptional costs arising from the sale of part of AWG's overseas business have pushed the group, owner of Anglian Water, into a second consecutive pre-tax loss at the half-year stage. AWG's incoming chief executive, Jonson Cox, has...

TELECOMS; Mobile firms demand VAT back on 3G bills.(Value-added tax)
December 12, 2003... by Simon Jones Six mobile operators are seeking to claw back some of the money they paid for licences to operate third-generation mobile networks in Austria, sparking fears that operators may make claims across Europe totalling e15...

ENERGY; British Energy gives de-list ultimatum.(British Energy )(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... British Energy has issued an ultimatum to shareholders saying it will de-list the company if they do not back its proposed disposal of its share in USpower venture AmerGen. British Energy should get about [pounds sterling]175 million in...

ELECTRICITY; Power cut report may stay secret for months.
December 12, 2003... by Roger Milne Parliament was told this week that an Ofgem-commissioned report into recent power failures has been completed but could remain a secret for months while the regulator's investigation team completes its work. When the...

WATER; Capital return is on track despite Bristol downturn.(Bristol Water Holdings)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... A difficult six months at Bristol Water Holdings does not look set to disrupt plans for a shareholder payout in 2004. In addition to the interim dividend of 4.16p a share announced last week at the report stage, shareholders were on track...

electricity; Body blow for clean coal plant plan.(Coalpower)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Plans for a new breed of clean coal plant have all but evaporated with the demise of Coalpower, the company run by maverick mining entrepreneur Richard Budge. The company went into administration last week, a move that cast a big shadow...

TELECOMS; C&W unveils a low-cost exit plan for US.(Cable & Wireless)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Troubled telecoms company Cable & Wireless (C&W) has announced an exit plan from the US at a much lower cost than analysts had predicted. The news boosted its shares by 10 per cent. C&W said it would put its web hosting and IP Cable &...

TELECOMS; Cesky rival hits back with internet deal.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Contactel last week became the first alternative Czech telecoms company to react to incumbent operator Cesky Telecom's cuts in high-speed internet charges. Owned by Denmark's TDC, Contactel dropped the price of its broadband ADSL internet...

TELECOMS; Regulator hits DT with cuts in link-up fees.(Deutsche Telekom)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... German telecoms regulator RegTP has ordered an immediate 9.5 per cent cut in the charges that Deutsche Telekom levies on other operators for using its network. The ruling will cost Deutsche Telekom E100 million a year in lost revenues. 'We...

Homeward ; bound.(developments in energy technologies)
December 12, 2003... In the year 2000, the dot-com boom became the dot-com crash, and California suffered from an energy crisis that resulted in a series of high-profile outages across the state. By early 2001, a number of energy technologies that could provide...

ENERGY; EDFEnergy shuns call centre moves.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... EDFEnergy last week made the latest in a number of repeated pledges that it would not shift any of its call centre operations to cheaper overseas sites. In a second trend-bucking move - last month the group opened a final salary pensions...

ELECTRICITY; Enel sells distribution network to supplier.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... by Simon Jones Italian energy giant Enel has agreed to sell a regional power distribution network to ASM Brescia. The e166 million deal will almost double the municipal supplier's customer base. 'The deal strengthens ASM, which becomes...

WATER; Diffuse pollution grant plea.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Farmers should be given grants to tackle diffuse pollution, according to the Environment Agency and English Nature. Research identified three types of measure that could be used on farms to tackle the problem: nil or low cost best practice;...

Cheap talk and false modesty.(Column)
December 12, 2003... The great man was intrigued to hear the following from Stephen Carter, the chief executive of Ofcom, the super-regulator for the telecoms and broadcast sector. The watchdog sets up shop in earnest at the end of this month. According to a...

eNERGY; Ofgem fines suppliers for blocking switches.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... by Roger Milne Energy suppliers already facing swingeing fines for blocking customer switching should compensate those affected to the tune of [pounds sterling]50 each, consumer watchdog Energywatch insisted last week. The call came...

ENERGY; Fortum accused over 'secret' deal with Eon.(Eon Energie, Eon Finland)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... by Gerard O'Dwyer The City of Espoo is squaring up to block Finnish state-controlled energy company Fortum from acquiring Eon Energie's majority holding in Eon Finland, in which Espoo holds the balance. Espoo plans to seek legal advice...

GAS; Eni blocks Portugal's gas spin-off.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Italian oil and gas giant Eni has blocked the Portuguese government's bid to spin off Galp Energia's gas business to Electridade de Portugal (EdP). The Italian group defeated the proposal at a late November Galp shareholder's meeting. ...

Easy ; access.(European power market)
December 12, 2003... The recent high-profile blackouts in regions including the north-eastern US, London and Italy have focused attention as never before on the state of electricity transmission infrastructure and the power industry's ability to meet ever-rising...

BE may de-list.(British Energy)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... British Energy (BE) has threatened to de-list its shares from the London Stock Exchange if shareholders reject the planned sale of its US business, AmerGen. As The Times pointed out, this would enable BE to sell AmerGen with or without...

WATER; Kelda soothes supply and finance fears.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... by Karma Ockenden Kelda chief executive Kevin Whiteman said he hoped subsidiary Yorkshire Water had 'buried the ghost of 1995' when he confirmed last week that he did not anticipate water supplies would have to be restricted next year,...

ENVIRONMENT; EU plays down Russian Kyoto snub.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... The European Union and green groups have played down media reports that Russia has effectively scuppered the international agreement on moves to counter climate change. This followed comments from Andrei Illarionov, economics adviser to...

A day for ; winners.
December 12, 2003... It wasn't just the England rugby team whose exploits were being celebrated in London on Monday. As we report on pages 8 and 9, it was Utility Awards time again this week and euphoria - and some disappointment - was there for all to see at the...

ELECTRICITY; Baltic grid stake sold as other stalls.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Vilnius-based Baltic retail-wholesale group, VP Market, has acquired a 77 per cent equity holding in the Lithuanian regional power grid operator Vakaru Skirstomieji Tinklai for e148 million. Meanwhile, the privatisation process for Rytu...

GAS; De Palacio seeks more links.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... European Union energy commissioner Loyola de Palacio has called for the redoubling of efforts to create gas networks linking European, north African and Middle East countries. Speaking in Rome, de Palacio highlighted the EU's Mediterranean...

PAN-UTILITY ; Growth forecast boost for cash-strapped telecoms.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Analysts at bank Merrill Lynch have predicted that telecoms and traditional utility companies will surprise the market next year with earnings growth outstripping consensus expectations. Calculating sector Earnings Per Share (EPS) momentum,...

ELECTRICITY; Balkan link-up gets e40m bank backing.(European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to fund the construction of a 150km, 400kV transmission power line that will link the electricity grids of neighbouring Balkan countries Bulgaria and Macedonia. ...

Don't leave ; home without it.(Masons Water Yearbook)(Book Review)
December 12, 2003... If you could look up 'global water' in the dictionary, you would find it under M. For Masons Water Yearbook is the definitive guide to what's going on in water around the world. The 2003/04 edition should be on the bookshelves of anyone wishing...

TELECOMS; Virgin considers float for mobile subsidiary.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... by Zo Grainge The UK's fifth-largest mobile telecoms operator, Virgin Mobile, could go public next year, according to Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the operator's parent, VirginGroup. Virgin Group is embroiled in a contractual...

ENERGY; Marketing code breaches found after sector survey.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Consumer watchdog Energywatch claimed this week to have uncovered widespread problems with the suppliers' voluntary code of practice on domestic energy marketing. Energywatch researchers posing as customers contacted sales staff from major...

Essent.(Company Profile)
December 12, 2003... by Nigel Hawkins Essent is a leading multi-utility player in Holland, employing over 12,000 people. Its ownership is split between several provincial governments and local authorities, with Noord-Brabant and Overijssel owning just under...

Viridian.
December 12, 2003... by Zo Grainge Northern Ireland power utility Viridian Group has been left reeling after the Republic of Ireland energy regulator overlooked it for two new power station contracts. Shares in Viridian made the biggest fall in the FTSE 250 on...

ENERGY; Doubts gather over central nuclear safety.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Proposals by the European Commission to make Brussels-based institutions ultimately responsible for nuclear safety within the European Union are looking less likely to be approved after the European Parliament's industry committee coming out in...