Utility Week articles from December 2008

Utility Week archives from December 2008

PAN-UTILITYFour utilities give trading updates.(News)
December 5, 2008... Northumbrian Water pre-tax profit fell 12.4 per cent to [pounds sterling]77.1 million, compared with the same period last year, despite a 4.2 per cent rise in revenue to [pounds sterling]347.7 million. The company said profit was hit by...

Renewables brought to book.(Features)
December 5, 2008... Renewables are proving complex for utility management in terms of how they should be dealt with under IFRS accounting rules, says David Coulon Generators and other utility companies are under mounting pressure to make investments in...

waterConcern over consumption estimates.(News)
December 5, 2008... A group of environmentalists has expressed concern over the huge variances in per capita consumption (PCC) estimates contained in water companies' Water Resource Management Plans. Phil Burston of the RSPB on behalf of Blueprint for Water...

News.(Western Power Distribution fined for safety and health breaches)(Futures & Options Association chosing consortium NASDAQ OMX Commodities)(government fund for improving energy efficiency)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... WPD fined Western Power Distribution has pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches that led to a man being electrocuted as he walked in a Devon field. He was struck by a hanging 11kV cable, after calls to WPD about the cable were...

News.
December 5, 2008... Tap top: Thames Water unveiled the winner of its London on Tap competition at City Hall this week. Designers were asked to produce a carafe that could be used to serve tap water in London's restaurants, cafes and bars. The winning designer from...

EnergyNew coal plant must have CCS after 2020.(News)
December 5, 2008... by Roger Milne Power sector decarbonisation is set to play a major role in helping the UK meet its rolling programme of carbon reduction targets, according to the first report of the administration's new advisers on climate change policy....

Features.
December 5, 2008... ELECTRICITY Greenpeace warning on clean coal Coal burning for power generation caused damage costing [euro]360 billion globally in 2007, according to a report by Greenpeace released last week to coincide with a meeting of European...

ENERGYEU plans big spend in energy infrastructure.(Features)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... by Keith Nuttall Europe's energy sector is to be a big winner in a [euro]200 billion economic stimulus package unveiled by the European Commission. The plan is partly an enabling scheme, encouraging member states to spend freely on...

WATERCredit crunch 'will hit financing costs'.(News)
December 5, 2008... by Steve Hobson Many water companies will face major problems refinancing existing debt even before the end of the current asset management plan (AMP) period in 2009, because the credit crunch has effectively closed debt markets to...

Features.
December 5, 2008... THE 8 December Utility Week's 2008 Utility Industry Achievement Awards, The Great Room, Grosvenor House Hotel, London. For further details, email sharon.webb@rbi.co.uk 9-11 December 2nd IWA utilities conference on customer...

ENVIRONMENTFrance offers deal on heavy user carbon.(Features)
December 5, 2008... A compromise proposal from France aimed at securing agreement this year over the European Union's proposed climate change package would see major energy consumers being eligible for free pollution permits. Paris does not want such European...

eLECTRICITYEon to dispose of grid in cartel probe deal.(Features)(European Commission dropping probe against E.ON AG)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... by Simon Jones The European Commission has formally agreed to drop its electricity cartel probe against Eon in response to the energy group's pledge to sell 4,800MW of generation capacity in Germany and divest its high-voltage power grid....

Features.(E.ON Energie AG cutting gas prices)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... GAS Eon Ruhrgas bows to price pressure Eon Ruhrgas has announced plans for a two-stage cut in German wholesale gas prices next year. Tariffs for regional and municipal suppliers and for industrial clients will fall on 1 January and...

Bringing coal not so lucky for Eon.(News)
December 5, 2008... Energy giant Eon UK is bracing itself for a far from festive season. Climate change activists have been on the warpath again, targeting the company's Coventry headquarters and its London offices over the past week. On Monday, environmental...

News.
December 5, 2008... Festive fat: These are tree baubles with a difference. They are in fact made from lard, with bird seeds for decoration. As Anglian Water insists, this is a better way to deal with waste cooking fat than tipping it down the sink and risking...

News.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Document discovery: historic documents, some dating back more than 500 years, have been found in a tin box in Longham, Dorset, in a property owned by Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water. The documents were found by Amanda Collins (right), shown...

ELECTRICITYFingrid warns against relying on wind power.(Features)
December 5, 2008... Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid has warned that the Finnish government's Climate and Energy Strategy puts the country at risk from not having sufficient peak supplies. According to Fingrid chief executive Jukka Ruusunen, of the...

Features.
December 5, 2008... ELECTRICITY GE targets Nordic turbine market General Electric is making a concerted effort to enter the Swedish wind power market with the aim of challenging the dominance in Europe of Danish wind turbine supplier Vestas. GE Wind,...

GASCourt ruling delays Belgian tariff reform.(Features)
December 5, 2008... Belgian gas transmission system operator Fluxys has welcomed a Brussels Appeal Court ruling that suspended energy regulator CREG's reform of transport tariffs. A final decision is pending. In June, CREG imposed new rates that slashed the...

News.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Gas store green light: ministers have given the go-ahead to an ambitious gas storage facility planned for the east Irish Sea. The project, promoted by the Gateway Storage Company (a subsidiary of Stag Energy), involves proposals to build a...

News.(Sustainable Building Associations view about Standard Assessment Procedure)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... ENERGY Design standards 'wrong on energy' The Standard Assessment Procedure (Sap) used in Britain to predict a building's energy consumption is inaccurate, according to the sustainable building association AECB. The group said...

PAN-UTILITYTimetable on IPC 'early next year'.(News)
December 5, 2008... Ministers have promised to publish a timetable early in the New Year on how the government plans to set up the Infrastructure Planning Commission, as well as naming the chairman and chief executive of the new body. Also in prospect will be...

Features.
December 5, 2008... Planning: we are not out of the woods yet Understandably, ministers and the utilities heaved a collective sigh of relief last week as the Planning Bill became the law of the land. But cracking open the champagne would be a little premature...

News.
December 5, 2008... ENERGY Met Office models climate change Work by the Met Office and 11 energy companies has given energy companies tools to prepare for climate change, as well as revealing areas where more research is needed. Rob Harris, the Met...

Green policies push up bills.(Features)
December 5, 2008... The UK's climate change policies are adding significant costs to consumers' energy bills and these costs look set to rise substantially over the period to 2020, according to a report commissioned by green services provider Eaga. It has...

News.
December 5, 2008... ELECTRICITY NDA offers nuclear sites for sale The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has started the disposal process for four packages of land around existing nuclear power stations that will be top of the list for nuclear...

Features.(Letter to the editor)
December 5, 2008... Ofgem bites back Sir: the opinion piece by Roger Milne (Utility Week, 21 November): "Is the writing on the wall for the energy regulator?" was a disappointing read for a number of reasons, chiefly its disregard for the facts. The...

ENERGYMost find switching too daunting.(News)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Only a small minority of energy customers are confident about switching domestic energy supplier and regularly consider changing their gas and electricity provider, according to the latest research compiled for regulator Ofgem. This...

WaterClimate measures face close Ofwat scrutiny.(News)(The Water Services Regulation Authority)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... by Annabel Andrews Comments in Ofwat's Water Supply and Demand Policy have raised concerns that it will reject bids for climate change mitigation in the 2009 price review. The regulator said it would include large schemes driven by...

ELECTRICITYIndustry 'can decarbonise if EU leads'.(Features)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The European electricity industry can cut its carbon emissions by 60-80 per cent by 2050, said its association Eurelectric, but international climate action was likely to succeed only if European Union leaders managed to forge in good time a...

News.
December 5, 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 Richard Horrocks is regional flood risk manager, south west region,...

Green policies make more waves.(Features)
December 5, 2008... A new parliamentary session starts this week, with water and marine policies in the spotlight This week, the new parliamentary session dawns with slightly less legislation affecting utilities than the session just finished, when the...

PAN-UTILITYLaws on water, floods and sea plans.(News)
December 5, 2008... The legislative programme for the new parliamentary session, which got under way this week, was set to include proposals for a draft bill covering measures on flooding and water resources, including issues around competition, innovation,...

News.
December 5, 2008... Poor ratings: unbundling water companies will cause a debt headache Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned that the vertical unbundling of water companies will change the sector's risk factors and lead to a divergence of ratings in the...

WATERAbstraction auctions right, says agency.(News)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The auctioning of abstraction licences could play a part in future development of a sustainable economic level of leakage (Sell), according to Nicola Poole, demand management team leader at the Environment Agency. While admitting this...

WATERConsensus grows on meter siting.(News)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Defra may give its support to the installation of water meters at the boundary of properties rather than in homes, to cut supply pipe leakage (SPL). Boundary installation has already been called for by the Environment Agency. Peter...

News.
December 5, 2008... ELECTRICITY RSPB submits Severn alternative Proposals for a new tidal power scheme for the Severn Estuary, which campaigners claim would be more economic and less damaging than a barrage, have been submitted to ministers. The...

Bill of rights.(Features)
December 5, 2008... David Hughes explains why it is crucial that energy billing and metering practices are accurate before the roll out of smart meters begins in earnest Energy meters have always been and will continue to be the "cash register" for energy...

Features.
December 5, 2008... UK gas supplies are running on empty Despite the decline in UK gas supply, energy policy is increasingly reliant on gas for the next decade, with an expectation that more liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be imported to plug shortfalls in...

PAN-UTILITYTMA 'needs pragmatic approach'.(News)
December 5, 2008... Utilities should take a pragmatic and co-operative approach with local authorities when it comes to compliance with the Traffic Management Act (TMA), according to Simon Bennett of Bristol Water. Bristol requires its contractor to fix leaks...

ENVIRONMENTCarbon targets 'need local renewables'.(News)
December 5, 2008... by Roger Milne Energy supply from renewable sources, community-level distributed generation and heating schemes and a requirement of zero-carbon performance standards for new and existing buildings will all be crucial to meet the...

WaterCompetition to be extended.(News)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... by Annabel Andrews The government will make a move towards further opening the competitive market as early as January. The Treasury said the government would consult on reducing the annual demand of eligible companies from 50...

Progress report.(Features)
December 5, 2008... Severn Trent chief executive Tony Wray talks to Steve Hobson about his drive to make the organisation leaner and more efficient When Severn Trent published its 2007/08 full year results in June this year, the directors' report said that in...

A rare breed.(Features)(Industry overview)
December 5, 2008... Those UK utilities not owned by overseas players have few interests in mainland Europe . Nigel Hawkins examines why they stayed at home Well-known Europhiles emphasise the importance of Europe as a major market for UK products and services....

News.(RLtec)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Electricity Dynamic demand trial to use fridges RWE Npower and RLtec are to begin a trial of dynamic demand, using fridges to help manage electricity supply and demand. The two companies will initially install 300 fridges, which...

WATERFines threat for non-compliance.(Features)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The European Commission is taking legal action against three European Union countries over alleged breaches of EU water legislation. It will ask the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to impose daily fines against Greece for breaking the EU...

waterSector at risk from debt markets.(News)
December 12, 2008... Analysts have warned the water sector not to rely on the regulatory regime to protect its profits from problems in the debt markets. Darren Greenfield of Collins Stewart said: "We do not subscribe to the view that the sector is protected...

EnergySuppliers attack low consumer poll rating.(News)
December 12, 2008... by Roger Milne Domestic energy suppliers have come bottom out of 45 markets in a first-of-a-kind survey into consumer attitudes commissioned by the government. However, energy suppliers rejected the survey of 500 consumers as "fatally...

News.(briefs)(A7 Lochhead Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... Well laid plans The UK's planning system is among the least delayed in Europe, according to lawyers LG. Average delays were three months compared with six months to seven years elsewhere. Wind deal signed Sainsbury's has signed a...

Features.
December 12, 2008... ENVIRONMENT Counting the cost of carbon capture Denmark will have to increase coal consumption by up to 25 per cent to enable effective and cost-efficient carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to a report from Dong Energy. ...

ENVIRONMENTMEPs to strike climate deal.(Features)(members of the European Parliament)
December 12, 2008... by Keith Nuttall Members of the European Parliament have signalled their willingness to agree a deal with the Council of Ministers over the European Union's climate change package. Both groups want to agree a deal at this week's summit in...

Switched on.(Features)
December 12, 2008... What's the link between tabloid newspapers, bingo halls and energy suppliers' Carbon Emission Reduction Target? Roger Milne finds out Top-selling red top The Sun might be an unlikely eco-warrior, but earlier this year it paired up with...

Capital ideas.(Features)
December 12, 2008... Thames Water has regained its confidence since chief executive David Owens took the helm . Steve Hobson hears how Although not of its making, the drought of 2006 marked a low point for Britain's biggest water company. With millions of...

News.(installation of Desalination plants at St Kilda islands)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... water Scottish islands turn to desalination A mobile desalination plant has been installed on the Scottish archipelago of St Kilda to protect the islands' water supply. The islands are inhabited by 30 Ministry of Defence and...

Features.(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... THE 12 December Final UW of 2008 published 16 December Commons debate on Ofgem price probe and fuel poverty 16-17 December One-day conference on business water footprints organised by London Business Conferences,...

News.(Scottish Water's Turret water treatment works)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... High spot: Scottish Water's Turret water treatment works has just undergone a [pounds sterling]30*million upgrade that included a hydraulic turbine which powers the works. Surplus electricity is sold to the national grid. The facility is...

News.(usage of recycled materials)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... Spellbound: nine-year-old Martha Gibbon is transfixed by this seasonal scene at the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, created by a team of 31 local apprentices from recycled material collected by staff from Northumbrian...

Lard, it's not just for Christmas.(News)(Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust )(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... Hands on: artist Peter Stocker faced an unusual commission recently when Southern Water asked him to sculpt a snowman from a lump of lard. The lardy snowman, 40 inches tall, is heading Southern Water's Christmas campaign to persuade customers...

News.
December 12, 2008... Panto: Lothian and Borders Police's campaign to see off bogus callers has been aided and abetted by advice worked into the script of the panto at Kings Theatre, Edinburgh, part sponsored by Scottish Water. They're behind it!

News.
December 12, 2008... pan-utility Energy Saving Trust turns to water The Energy Saving Trust has made a commitment to add carbon savings from water efficiency and transport to its energy efficiency message. The trust detailed its plans in its draft...

GASEnel to sell a stake in its gas network.(Features)
December 12, 2008... Enel has announced plans to sell a majority stake in its Italian gas grid subsidiary Enel Rete Gas as part of a drive to cut group debt. The Italian utility published the tender offer earlier this month and hopes to complete the sale by...

ENERGYWe will invest despite slump, says Eon.(Features)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... Eon chairman Wulf Bernotat has insisted that the group's huge investment programme to 2010 is not threatened by current market conditions. "Financing may be tougher at the moment, but we reaffirm our [euro]63 billion investments planned to...

ENERGYCrisis puts brakes on utility growth.(Features)
December 12, 2008... Utilities reeling from this year's financial crisis should expect continued tough trading for the next couple of years, according to a pan-European sector review by CreditSuisse. CreditSuisse found that utility share prices had been growing...

Features.(European Union's new climate package)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... Plans to turn to sawdust: Finland holds out for wood processing exemption Finland will continue to block consensus on the European Union's new climate package if the wood processing industry is not given free emissions permits, the...

News.(plans to end fuel poverty)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... ENERGY Clarity needed about fuel-poor plans Parliament was told this week that ministers should be urged to publish a "route map" setting out policies to end fuel poverty, with the impact of each measure quantified. The call came...

GASOfftake reform decision delayed.(News)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... Ofgem has been forced to delay its decision on long-awaited reforms to the gas offtake regime for the UK's high-pressure National Transmission System (NTS), originally promised by the end of last month. The hiatus has occurred because of...

Features.
December 12, 2008... GAS Gazprom joins storage consortium Russian gas giant Gazprom has joined a consortium planning to turn a depleted gas reservoir in the Netherlands into a seasonal gas storage facility. The Bergermeer storage facility will be the...

GASFirms dish out [euro]127m to end FCO gas probe.(Features)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... by Simon Jones Germany's Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has dropped a gas market abuse probe into 29 firms in a deal that secures [euro]127 million in price cuts for four million customers. Cancelled price increases and other financial...

News.(E.ON UK PLC's closure of Kingsnorth power station )(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... ELECTRICITY Police hunting Kingsnorth intruder No-one has yet claimed responsibility for a break-in at Eon UK's Kingsnorth power station that triggered an emergency shutdown of one of the plant's 500MW turbines. A company...

Features.(Editorial)
December 12, 2008... Awards winners should take a bow This week saw the presentation of the Utility Industry Achievement Awards, the highlight of the utility calendar, where ten trophies were handed out to some outstanding and deserving entrants. The...

Wire service.(Features)
December 12, 2008... Europe-wide research by Capgemini reveals that UK electricity network companies lead the field on controlling costs, writes Philippe Chanel Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan has suggested that UK network operators' scope for reducing...

ELECTRICITYEurope-Russia power link is a 'long-term goal'.(Features)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... It is feasible to link the energy systems of the European Union to those of eastern Europe and Russia, an investigation has concluded, but system security issues mean it should be considered "a long-term option". The three-year project to...

ELECTRICITYHigher bills needed to ensure nuclear profits.(News)(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... by Janet Wood Nuclear new-build carries more financial risk than other forms of power generation and would require much higher power prices to be profitable, according to a report from analyst Citi. Striking a warning note for...

ELECTRICITYDNOs threatened with competition inquiries.(News)
December 12, 2008... by Janet Wood Ofgem has told distribution network operators (DNOs) that it may refer them to the Competition Commission over two separate issues: charging and connections. The warning came in last week's policy statement for the...

News.
December 12, 2008... Water staff churn The water industry's investment in employee training and development has fallen over the past five years as employee turnover has risen, according to Water UK's State of the Sector sustainability report. In 2002/03...

HSE seeks to boost stalled safety record.(News)(Health and Safety Executive )(Brief article)
December 12, 2008... by Annabel Andrews The Health & Safety Executive has launched a strategy to combat the recent plateau in health and safety improvements. Judith Hackitt, chair of the HSE, said: "After many years of improvement in health and safety...

News.
December 12, 2008... Equality legislation is coming of age Companies will have to reassess their equality policies and include age discrimination under a new Equality Bill announced in the Queen's speech. The legislation will replace nine other laws...

News.
December 12, 2008... Scottish Water has made two new appointments. Peter Farrer, previously general manager of tactical planning and performance in the company's asset management team, has taken on the role of customer service delivery director. Grant Nairn has...

Suppliers under fire over fuel bills.(Features)
December 12, 2008... MPs continue to clamour for action on energy prices, tariff differentials and fuel poverty The Commons debate following the Queen's Speech last week provided another opportunity for MPs to put the boot into energy companies over energy...

News.
December 12, 2008... Pan-Utility Scottish Water investigates wind Scottish Water's commercial arm is working with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to generate wind power at the company's sites. Chris Banks, Scottish Water's commercial director,...

waterMSPs grill Scottish Water over salaries.(News)
December 12, 2008... Scottish Water last week had to defend itself during a grilling by Members of the Scottish Parliament over directors' pay. MSP Des McNulty complained that four of the directors were paid more than anyone else in the Scottish public sector....

Crisis, what crisis?(Features)(SmartestEnergy)
December 12, 2008... Smartest Energy tells Janet Wood why it is happy to launch its new retail business in the teeth of a recession Smartest Energy's retail arm went live on 16 September and soon afterwards the company celebrated taking on Barnardo's as its...

Features.
December 12, 2008... Adding value to water We are now less than a year away from the end of Ofwat's periodic review. As part of the process, water companies have submitted plans to ensure that their activities do not damage the environment, and where possible...

Features.
December 12, 2008... ELECTRICITY Profits soar for NorNed investors The NorNed cable that links Norway and the Netherlands is proving a highly profitable venture for Norwegian and Dutch transmission firms Statnett and Tennet. The two companies earned...