Utility Week articles from December 2006

Utility Week archives from December 2006

News.(Osprey Acquisitions plans to delist AWG PLC from the stock exchange)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... WaterAWG to ditch stock market listingOsprey Acquisitions has applied to delist Anglian Water parent AWG from the stock exchange from 21 December. It now has full control of the group.The takeover yielded healthy share bonuses to 22 managers of...

Wizardry in Oz.(Gold Coast Water saves a fortune as a result of operation to reduce water wastage)(domestic water metering)
December 2, 2006... While the UK continues to debate the merits of domestic water metering, with only around a quarter of all homes on a metered supply, other countries with longer experience of water scarcity and 100 per cent metering have moved on to smart...

WATERBerlin wants to put water back in state hands.(Berliner Wasserbetriebe becomes public)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... The new "red-red" regional regime in Berlin has pledged to take the city's water utility Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) back into public ownership.BWB was part-privatised in 1999, when RWE and Veolia Water paid more than ?3 billion for a 49.9...

News.(briefs)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... More gas importedGas has begun flowing through Gasunie's ?500 million (?339 million) pipeline between Balgzand in the Netherlands and Bacton in the UK. Centrica Energy has a ?6 billion, ten-year contract for 8 billion cubic metres of gas a...

In the know.(Scottish Water)
December 2, 2006... Scottish Water currently has 90,000 business customers on metered charges, and this is set to increase to 130,000 by 2010 as competition is introduced. "All business customers must have water meters in time for the introduction of retail...

Features.(sales of CEZ A.S.)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... ELECTRICITYCEZ profits up, but market share downCzech power group CEZ saw net profit rise 44 per cent to ?787 million in the first nine months of 2006, while sales rose 27 per cent to ?4 billion.CEZ attributed the growth to record output,...

waterFirst six firms meet standards.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Six contractors that meet Water Industry Registration Scheme (WIRS) standards for laying new water mains received formal accreditation last week.Morland Utilities, PDI Utilities Design & Management, Clancy Docwra, Primeshade Contracts, Syston...

ENERGYBig six face entrants threat.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Falling wholesale prices have left the UK's "big six" gas and electricity retailers vulnerable to new entrants, according to independent business information provider Datamonitor. It said their profits as well as their market shares could...

Features.
December 2, 2006... THE1 DecemberBBL pipeline between the Netherlands and Bacton due to begin commercial operation4 DecemberFinal proposals for gas distribution price control and gas and electricity transmission price control5 DecemberMet Office winter outlook...

Features.
December 2, 2006... ENERGYNetherlands dilutes unbundling lawSignificant changes have been made to a controversial energy unbundling law in the Netherlands.The Dutch Upper House backed the unbundling proposals for gas and power companies but amended the legislation...

ENVIRONMENTGenerators and MPs clash over 'windfall'.(Association of Electricity Producers)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... by Roger MilneMPs on an influential Commons committee clashed with UK generators this week over the size of the sector's "windfall" during the first year of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).The disagreement came when...

ELECTRICITYStart nuclear site search, urges EDF.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... EDF Energy has called on the government to take immediate action on setting the stage for nuclear new-build.Responding to a Department of Trade and Industry consultation on the policy framework for new-build, the company said it was "essential"...

ENERGYBroken official seal earns Eon a reprimand.(E.ON Energie AG)(European Commission)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... The European Commission has threatened to take action against Eon Energie, saying the company broke an official seal put in place during a Commission raid on energy company offices in May.The Commission said the seal was applied when it carried...

emissionsCarbon capture questioned.
December 2, 2006... According to Klaus Dieter Tigges, senior vice president of Hitachi Power Europe: "Coal will still be playing the major role in generation in 2050." He was speaking at a Eurelectric meeting in Brussels last week, at which scenarios for...

Wayne's a bundle of energy.
December 2, 2006... For those readers who are not regular perusers of top red-top The Sun, Disconnector would like to share with you the following tabloid gem."Electrifying soccer ace Wayne Rooney burns up enough energy in a season to power a house for ten days,...

News.
December 2, 2006... Countdown: yet another photograph illustrating the maxim that men in suits do themselves no favours with this sort of posed picture, even if they are the chief executive of the Energy Retail Association (Duncan Sedgwick, left) and a minister of...

News.
December 2, 2006... Men in suits II: Northern Ireland Electricity is one of the partners in a public/private sector initiative costing ?750,000 that will mean rural schools in the province can sprout wind turbines and solar panels. A bit of a green day all round,...

ELECTRICITYFingrid says imports must cover shortfall.
December 2, 2006... Finland's transmission system operator, Fingrid, has warned that the country faces the threat of power shortages and other disruptions to supplies over the coming winter. It said the risk of blackouts could be "significantly" reduced by...

ELECTRICITYFortum to bolster Swedish capacity.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Fortum has said it will spend ?2.5 billion on generation plant over the next five to six years to bolster its position in Sweden.Fortum Sweden's managing director, Christian Lundberg, said the company needed to strengthen its presence in Sweden...

PAN-UTILITYCourt's ruling could kill GDF/Suez merger.(Gaz de France)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... by Roger MilneA French court was poised this week to issue a ruling crucial to the proposed ?80 billion merger between French utility giants Gaz de France (GDF) and Suez.On Wednesday (29 November), after Utility Week went to press, a...

GASRewards for gas networks that give help.(Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Ofgem has proposed introducing for gas distributors a version of the discretionary reward scheme it has in place for electricity distributors. This encourages companies to exceed licence obligations by targeting help for vulnerable domestic...

GASNew entrants force German law change.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... A ruling by Germany's energy regulator will require gas network operators to adopt a single entry-exit model, as envisaged in last year's energy reforms. Regulator Matthias Kurth had initially accepted a two-track approach after the gas sector...

ENVIRONMENTGerman NAP cutback on the cards.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Germany's allocation of carbon dioxide emission allowances for the second phase of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) looks certain to be cut by at least 3 per cent on the orders of Brussels.As Utility Week went to press, the...

News.(National Grid Company PLC denied permission to blast tunnel by Department of Trade and Industry)(demonstraion against the piopeline construction ends)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Over and out: Demonstrators who held up work on a stretch of National Grid's pipeline project linking new liquefied natural gas terminals at Milford Haven with the national transmission system near Gloucester have ended their protest. The...

Features.(Water supply reform)
December 2, 2006... Water reform in Northern Ireland must not be derailedThe creation of Northern Ireland's Water Service as an independent, self-funded organisation could not be reaching a crucial phase at a worse time. Already delayed by a year, the legislation...

ENERGYOfgem to revoke unused licences.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Ofgem has signalled a tougher licence revocation regime in an open letter sent last week to energy suppliers, generators and gas shippers.The move was "internal housekeeping", according to a spokesman for the regulator. He said it had been...

WATERMid Kent overcomes fall in revenues.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Mid Kent Water last week revealed a ?400,000 fall in revenue to ?23.5 million for the six months to September. Mid Kent Water chairman Graham Setterfield said: "With the price increase of 0.5 per cent allowed by Ofwat plus an RPI of 2.43 per...

Blackouts spook the market.(power faliure incident questions management of European utilities)
December 2, 2006... A cruise ship coasting down the River Ems in northern Germany was the unlikely cause of widespread panic across European electricity markets this month.In order to let the ship pass, regional network operator Eon turned off a high-voltage...

WATERUlster water reform passes legal hurdle.(Northern Ireland High Court rejects water legislation block)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... by Vibeka MairPlans to introduce water charges in Northern Ireland progressed this week when the Northern Ireland High Court ruled that there were no grounds for it to block the move. Legislation changing the status of Northern Ireland's Water...

Features.
December 2, 2006... INTERVIEWWater UK chief executive Pamela Taylor on why the Water Framework Directive is the biggest issue since privatisationGASOptimism about the outcome of the gas distribution network price controlWATEROne year on from the start of the new...

Npower to the people.
December 2, 2006... Npower has grand designs for smart metering. The company regards it as a certainty rather than a possibility, and thinks it will be universal - a smart meter in every home - in five to ten years. Jane Franklin is commercial manager and head of...

News.(Nuclear Decommissioning Authority plas to to convert Calder Hall nuclear power station into a museum)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... A list: the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has confirmed it is looking at the feasibility of turning part of the Calder Hall nuclear power station at Sellafield into a museum. The move could see the control room scheduled for special...

GASDTI plans new offshore regulatory regime.(Department of Trade and Industry)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... by Roger MilneThe government last week unveiled proposals for a new regulatory regime for companies that want to store gas offshore or unload liquefied natural gas (LNG) to an offshore platform before being piped to the UK.In both cases, the...

ElectricitYEnd backdated rises, say watchdogs.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Energywatch and the organ?isation Citizens Advice have joined forces to urge a better deal for electricity customers using prepayment meters that rely on consumers buying antiquated tokens.More than a million households in the UK, often on low...

News.(National Grid's Offender Programme helps in employment of prison inmates)
December 2, 2006... National Grid's Offender Programme has been remarkably successful in tackling skills shortages and social problems . Zo? Grainge finds out howThe inside storyIn the late 1990s, National Grid's Dr Mary Harris set up a pilot scheme at Reading...

News.(Phoenix Natural Gas and Ofreg Corpsign a deal concerning investment costs)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... GASPhoenix and Ofreg thrash out a dealNorthern Ireland energy regulator Ofreg has finally reached an agreement in principle with Phoenix Natural Gas over changes to the regulatory regime for the province's original monopoly gas company.The...

Green tax advice for the Treasury.
December 2, 2006... With the chancellor's Pre-Budget statement just days away, there has been plenty of advice inside and outside the Palace of Westminster over what measures he should promote to push forward the government's green agenda.Political speculation...

ElectricityPower trading pencilled in for next year.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... A UK power trading exchange looks likely to be launched next year with the backing of generators, suppliers and trading firms.The system, to be set up by the Futures and Options Association (FOA), is a response to a claimed fall in power...

ENERGYScottishPower okays Iberdrola takeover.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... by Janet WoodAlternative suitors for ScottishPower faded away on Tuesday after Spain's Iberdrola announced a 777p per share agreed bid.RBC Capital Markets identified Vattenfall, Centrica and United Utilities as the companies most likely to...

Play it smart.(economy of smart meters)
December 2, 2006... The widespread rollout of smart meters will require significant investment, so it makes sense to use this as an opportunity for utilities to deliver new ways to carry out their business.Energy companies - and water companies too - have...

Features.(nuclear waste management)
December 2, 2006... We can bank on nuclear burialOctober's announcement by environment secretary David Miliband that the government will endorse proposals by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management to store and then bury the historic legacy of nuclear waste...

WATERThames fined for supplying cloudy water.(Drinking Water Inspectorate)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Thames Water faces a ?24,000 fine from the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) under Section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991, and costs of almost ?8,000.Last week, Thames pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates Court to two counts of supplying...

News.(Thames Gateway)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... PAN-UTILITYThames could be low-carbon leaderPlans to make Europe's biggest urban regeneration project, Thames Gateway, first a low-carbon, then a zero-carbon development area have begun in earnest, the government has announced.Consultants...

ENERGYUnion Fenosa to spend ?9bn on expansion.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... by Janet WoodUnion Fenosa said this week that it would spend ?9 billion on acquisitions and expansion by 2011 in an attempt to double returns to shareholders. It unveiled the plan on the back of a 36 per cent rise in profit for the nine months...

WATERBlueprint language is 'too extreme'.(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Water UK has criticised "extreme language" used in Blueprint for Water, a ten-point plan of action to make UK water systems sustainable by 2015, handed to environment minister Ian Pearson on Tuesday.The report, produced by a coalition of...

Don't know, do care.(affordability of water supply)
December 2, 2006... Well, we survived. Despite dire predictions in some parts of the media, we made it through the summer of 2006 without the taps running dry. As we move from autumn to winter, reservoirs are on average between 50 and 70 per cent full, with the...

WATERTreatment plant powered by Welsh water.(Eithynfynydd Water Treatment Works uses hydroturbine from Welsh Water PLC)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... Welsh Water has announced its first water-powered water treatment works. A hydro turbine, which uses the flow of untreated water to power the treatment plant, has been installed at Eithynfynydd Water Treatment Works by United Utilities...

News.(growth in profit margins of Yorkshire Water PLC)(Brief article)
December 2, 2006... WATERYorkshire Water sees profit grow 10%Yorkshire Water increased pre-tax profit by 10 per cent in the six months to September, the company reported this week. Revenue rose by 6.9 per cent on the same period in 2005 to ?368.9 million, while...

WATERWater-saving action plan takes prize.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The City of Albuquerque in New Mexico, USA, has won the utilities category of the World Leadership Awards for its sustainable water management programme.Albuquerque discovered 20 years ago that its sole water source, an underground aquifer,...

PAN-UTILITYMinisters to lose final say on major projects.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... by Roger MilneThe government this week accepted the case for a major overhaul of the planning regime for large infrastructure schemes such as power stations, reservoirs, power lines and big waste-to-energy proposals.On Tuesday, Ruth Kelly,...

News.(RWE Trading signs a gas distribution agreement with Excelerate Energy)(Npower to give grants to marine energy projects)(Professor George Yarrow appointed as non-executive director of Gas and Electricity Markets Authority)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... RWE gas dealRWE and Excelerate Energy have signed a gas distribution and retailing agreement. RWE Trading will market all the gas from the US firm's new British terminal on Teesside.Juice on a rollNpower has announced grants totalling ?1...

Improve training to see off Asian threat.(Gordon Brown)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... by Zo? GraingeChancellor Gordon Brown has said that companies need to take a bigger role in setting the agenda for further education colleges and apprenticeships to compete with the increasingly skilled workforces of Asia.Speaking at a...

WATERHigh profits 'should benefit consumers'.(Consumer Council for Water)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has urged water companies to consider their customers after another successful round of financial results for investors.CCWater chairwoman Dame Yve Buckland said: "Profits are good and help to achieve...

News.(Welsh Water to pay cryptosporidiosis claims)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... WATERWelsh Water faces crypto payoutsThe Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) may prosecute Welsh Water for an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis that affected north Wales in 2005. The company could also face payouts of up to ?8,000 to as many as 34...

ELECTRICITYCzech Republic likely to miss green targets.(biomass demand for electricity production)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The Czech Republic revealed this week that it was facing a biomass shortfall that would make it unlikely to hit its target of generating 8 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2010.Last year, the country produced 560GWh of electricity...

All for one.
December 8, 2006... Prospective new entrants to the energy supply market have more than falling gas wholesale prices to look forward to. Greater transparency and less potential for confusion over power distribution contracts are among the benefits energy regulator...

ELECTRICITYWires service is improving, says Ofgem.(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... An incentive scheme to encourage distribution network firms to improve quality of service has resulted in a "general improvement", according to Ofgem.The regulator said that since the incentive scheme was introduced in 2002, the average number...

Features.
December 8, 2006... THE7 DecemberNuclear Industry Association annual conference, LondonNorthern Ireland Water Forum, BelfastSevern Trent interimsMEUC water users meeting, London11 DecemberCompetition Appeals Tribunal rules on Albion Water caseUtility Week's...

News.(Lenny Henry)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Light fantastic: Npower has joined forces with comedian Lenny Henry to find the country's top light bulb jokes. The top 100 will win a place in the Npower Book of Light, due out next spring, an initiative designed to help raise awareness of...

Yorkshire and Humber has the biggest skills shortfall.(Energy and Utility Skills)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The region of the UK with the largest skills gap is Yorkshire and Humber, according to sector skills council Energy & Utility Skills. It said that further education training in water and electricity was less common than in gas.EU Skills said...

Features.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Credit control: Commission clamps down on overseas offset deals The Commission has made it clear it wants to tighten up on carbon credits earned abroad.Ireland proposed a 50 per cent cap on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint...

ENVIRONMENTEC gets tough on emissions.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... by Roger MilneThe European Commission has delivered on its promise to take a tough stance on emissions allowances for the second phase of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).Last week it ordered a cut of 7 per cent in the...

ENERGYSpain still facing action on Endesa.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The European Commission and Spain look set to clash over the Commission's insistence that Spain is violating European competition law by placing conditions on Eon's takeover of Endesa. The Spanish government revised the conditions placed on Eon...

News.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... NEWSENERGYWatchdog consults on social tariffsConsumer watchdog Energywatch has started a consultation to quantify the benefits of "social tariffs" as a way for suppliers to help households in fuel poverty.The watchdog has pointed out that major...

Germans fit the bill at Central Networks.(recruits employees from sister companies in Germany)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Eon-owned Central Networks has recruited seven new recruits from sister companies in Germany to fill its immediate skills gap.Central Networks, together with sister company Energy Services, has recruited a total of 142 staff this year. The move...

Features.(Electricity Supply Board)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Sell-off slammedThe sale of 1,300MW of plant by Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB) "does not go far enough", according to the country's competition authority. It said ESB should be split up and the ownership of the grid transferred.Slovak...

Military intelligence fits the bill.
December 8, 2006... There was fun and games at London's Appeal Court recently when one of the country's leading judges took a pop at one of the country's military masterminds. And all for failing to read water bills correctly. Lord justice Moses dismissed a claim...

News.(St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Community School )(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Switch-on: you thought this was just a bunch of any old cute kids? Think again. They are pupils from St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Community School in Whitehaven, Cumbria's only "Green Flag Eco School" where a new 2.5kW wind turbine has...

Education Bill lays solid foundations.(Department for Education and Skills)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The department for Education and Skills has published the Further Education and Training Bill. When enacted, it will give further education institutions a new power to award foundation degrees. It also specifies a beefed-up intervention regime...

Golden touch.
December 8, 2006... The UK's gas transportation industry went through dramatic changes last year. The vertically integrated gas transmission and distribution sector was separated. National Grid Gas (formerly National Grid Transco) kept control of the high pressure...

GASNetworks signal capex hike.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... by Roger MilneOperators of the UK's mainland gas distribution networks have forecast a significant rise in both operating and capital expenditure from now until the end of the sector's next five-year control period in 2012/13.According to a...

GASIndependents plan uniform network code.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Three independent gas transporters have told Ofgem they aim to have a unified network code up and running by April, using the template of the existing East Surrey Pipelines code. Together the companies have nine gas transport licences and...

GAsGazprom sets sights on retail customers.(OAO Gazprom)(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... by Simon JonesGazprom has continued its push to supply gas directly to western customers by setting up a supply subsidiary in France.Gazprom Marketing and Trading France (GM&TF) has been set up with the aim of acquiring 1,000 industrial and...

News.
December 8, 2006... Turbine triumph: Good Energy has won the award for the best outdoor advert in the inaugural Green Awards organised by marketing agency Satellite. The award was for an advert publicising a wind farm in Cornwall.

A tale of two water companies.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... How are the mighty fallen. Last week Thames reported that its pre-tax profit for the first half of this year had fallen 24 per cent to ?133.3 million.The fall came as a result of a 13 per cent rise in operating costs, the company said,...

Features.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... Wind store: the Republic of Ireland's green energy agency has joined forces with Canadian company VRB Power Systems to look at the economic benefits of coupling Vanadium Redox Batteries with windfarms. The study will be led by Sustainable...

Features.(Society of British Water and Wastewater Industries)(Conference news)
December 8, 2006... What price the environmental cost of water leakage? Last week's SBWWI annual leakage seminar raised the complex issue of the environmental and social costs of leakage, and how they can be reflected in the much-maligned economic level of...

WATER'No complacency' on drought risk.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and water industry representatives were told at a water industry meeting on Monday that there was "no room for complacency" on the risk of drought. The drought this year had...

WATEREA proposes light touch permit regime.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... The Environment Agency (EA) has published two consultations that could change the way that 110,000 permits to discharge effluent to rivers and coastal water are regulated.The EA said its proposals would make its permit system more flexible. It...

UK carbon trading costed.
December 8, 2006... The government has recently indicated what it thinks the management costs would be for a mandatory emissions trading scheme for medium-sized companies in the UK not covered by the European Union scheme.The so-called Energy Performance...

Features.
December 8, 2006... INTERVIEWScottish Water's chief executive, Jon Hargreaves, shares his views on the company's past and futureSTREETWORKSComing to terms with the Traffic Management ActPAN-UTILITYUtilities need to up the ante on planning for natural disasters -...

News.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... ELECTRICITYOfreg wants backstop after NIE dealNorthern Ireland energy regulator Ofreg has proposed that the takeover of Viridian Group by Arcapita, the Bahrain-based investment bank, should prompt the introduction of further protection for...

News.(Brief article)
December 8, 2006... One-year price control leaves shareholders helping out with the billGas distribution networks will be able to spend ?964 million, 11 per cent more than forecast, on upgrading their networks in 2007/08 under Ofgem's final proposals for the gas...

On the water front line.(problems faced by water industry in 2006)
December 8, 2006... The UK's water industry has had a bruising in 2006. While most companies have had a successful year individually, the sector as a whole has been hit by negative headlines. Drought, leakage, misreporting, big profits and rising bills have all...