Utility Week articles from February 2006

Utility Week archives from February 2006

WATER Bill help extended to 9,000.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... WATER Bill help extended to 9,000 The number of households that receive help to pay their water bills increased by 20 per cent between 2003/04 and 2004/05, according to new figures from Ofwat. The regulator said there may be many more...

News.(Donations of United Utilities Water)
February 3, 2006... Competing interest Northern Ireland energy minister Angela Smith has announced that the province's gas supply market in the Greater Belfast and Larne areas will be opened to full competition in two phases: non-domestic by 1 July this year...

ELECTRICITY CEZ earmarks e1.5bn for Bosnia.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Czech power group CEZ has earmarked e1.5 billion for developing Bosnia's energy resources. "We are interested in setting up a venture in Bosnia with Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske involving power plants Ugljevik and Gacko, but talks are...

ENERGY Combined consumer body will save [pounds sterling]18m.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... by Roger Milne The government has started an overhaul of consumer representation that it has calculated will save [pounds sterling]18 million for the Treasury. The move will bring together the activities of a number of customer champions,...

WATER Green agency in staff plight.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Finding and keeping specialist staff is proving so difficult that it is threatening the Environment Agency's technical capability and resources, the watchdog admitted to Parliament last week. The admission came from the agency's chief...

Nuclear plant hijacked my car!(car electrics)
February 3, 2006... The landlord of the Douglas Inn at Tregele, near Wylfa, is reported as saying: "I call it a Twilight Zone." Well, he would, given the fact that if you park near the Principality's only nuclear power station your key fob often won't open...

ELECTRICITY Sweden under pressure over green trading.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Opposition parties in Norway are threatening to unite behind a new Green Energy Bill in a bid to force the government to introduce a common green certificates market with Sweden in 2006 and not 2009, as suggested by the Department of Energy....

ENERGY No change as Grid chief steps down.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... National Grid's choice of gas transmission business director Steve Holliday to succeed chief executive Roger Urwin was a signal that there would be "no major changes in strategy" at the wires and pipes giant. Holliday will be group deputy...

ENERGY Top brass blame deputy prime minister for energy efficiency ignorance.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... The Institute of Directors (IoD) claimed this week that "a deafening silence from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister" had contributed to widespread ignorance about the new law requiring buildings to have energy consumption certificates...

ELECTRICITY Reserve boost may curb Italy prices.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... The expansion of gas-fired generation in Italy on the back of high power prices will raise the country's reserve margin from 14.3 per cent in 2005 to 26.6 per cent in 2010 and depress power prices, analysts at investment bank Credit Suisse have...

ELECTRICITY Locals want Wylfa kept open.(Wylfa nuclear power station )
February 3, 2006... by Roger Milne Energy minister Malcolm Wicks has been urged to support proposals to keep Wylfa nuclear power station in Wales open beyond its planned shutdown date. The 980MW Magnox plant is due to close by the end of 2010 under a...

ELECTRICITY Tidal power first for Devon.(tidal energy generator contract)(Ocean Power Technologies revenue)
February 3, 2006... by Janet Wood Marine Current Turbines (MCT) is to build its first commercial-scale tidal energy generator array in the Bristol Channel by 2008. The new project will have an array of 12 turbines but will produce only 10MW, reflecting...

WATER Licence laws 'hit north east hardest'.(abstraction charges)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Water customers in the north east will be unfairly hit by Environment Agency-proposed changes to abstraction licensing, according to Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) Northumbria. The agency has proposed spreading the compensation for...

WATER Veolia catches flak for Prague extension.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... by Katkar Kosnar The extension of Veolia Voda's contract to run Prague's water service has led to allegations of unfairness and lack of cost transparency by the industry and within the Prague local authority. Veolia won a tender in...

WATER Scots will not appeal.(Scottish Water price control not acceptable)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... by Steve Hobson Scottish Water has decided not to appeal against the 2006-10 final price determination set out by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) after developing a "new approach" with the regulator. The water...

Report claiming Scottish Water will overcharge by [pounds sterling]1bn dismissed.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... A study claiming Scottish Water customers will be overcharged by up to [pounds sterling]1 billion between 2002 and 2010 has been dismissed by the industry, regulators and government as flawed and politically motivated. The study by...

WATER Scots rethink sludge plan.(waste management of Scottish Water)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Scottish Water has launched a consultation on a national strategy for disposing of the rising volume of sewage sludge. The firm has proposed "a long-term strategy of recycling highly treated sludge to agricultural land". Burning in power...

ENERGY Consumers 'left out of smart meter debate'.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... by Vic Wyman In the same week that regulator Ofgem launched a consultation on the potential for smart meters in the home, consumer champion Energywatch has claimed that the debate about the technology has largely ignored the consumer's...

ELECTRICITY Energy mix 'cannot be left to market'.(services of MitsuiBabcock)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... The government cannot afford to leave the future of UK power supply to market forces, former energy minister Brian Wilson warned this week. "It's a primary responsibility of government to maintain energy supplies. It can't be left to...

ENERGY Benefits 'hole' hampers fuel poverty drive.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Research for British Gas by the London School of Economics has found that 30 per cent of eligible households on benefits are underclaiming by an average of [pounds sterling]30 a week. This equates to a "benefits black hole" of [pounds...

eNVIRONMENT Emission data row dogs carbon plans.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... The government's long-awaited strategy for ensuring Britain meets its short-term greenhouse gas reduction targets has been held up by an interdepartmental wrangle over the latest emissions projections. The figures are being compiled by the...

GAS UK faces [pounds sterling]3bn penalty unless pipe imports rise.
February 3, 2006... Ofgem has warned that if the UK-Belgium gas interconnector operates at the same level next winter as it has this, wholesale gas prices could rise by 15p a therm, adding [pounds sterling]3 billion to the country's energy costs. That warning...

WATER AWGsettles with Morrison.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... Anglian Water owner AWG this week settled its [pounds sterling]130 million damages claim against former board members of construction group Morrison over their alleged misrepresentation when AWGacquired the Edinburgh-based firm in 2000. ...

ELECTRICITY BNG scorns sale delay tale.(divestment of British Nuclear Group)(divestment of BNG America)(acquisitions of EnergySolutions)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... BNFLhas denied reports that the sale of most of its remaining operations has been delayed by ministerial disagreements. It said there was no timetable for the move anyway. Plans for the sale of British Nuclear Group (BNG),the BNFL arm that...

News.(contracts of Alstom)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... Longannet in ScottishPower has announced that it will fit sulphur emissions-stripping plant to its 2.3GWcoal-fired power station at Longannet so it can operate under European Union legislation that would otherwise oblige it to close the...

ENERGY Bill rises and bid rumours dog Centrica.
February 10, 2006... by Roger Milne Centrica, Britain's biggest energy group, was bracing itself for a huge public backlash this week as its retail arm, British Gas, prepared to announce a record increase in domestic bills. The level of the hike was widely...

MULTI-UTILITY United sells off telecoms arm.(coal power generation)(works of East of England Energy Group)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... by Roger Milne Prospects for clean coal power generation were boosted this week by a report highlighting the feasibility of reusing pipelines in the southern North Sea to transport carbon dioxide emissions from power stations to depleted...

ENERGY Big players driving new entrants out of market.(retail market of British Gas)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... Evidence of energy retail competition was dealt a blow this week as the latest figures from Ofgem showed that new players in energy retail had all but disappeared over the past three years. And with potential savings of only [pounds...

WATER Defra questions agency's role in resource planning.(water resource management)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)has questioned in a consultation whether the Environment Agency should continue to provide guidance to water companies on resource management. Water companies have been...

electricity UK sliding behind in renewable pulling power.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... Renewables will decline in the UK unless problems such as network restrictions and overseas competition for funds are overcome, consultant Ernst & Young (E&Y) warned this week. E&Y's latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index...

eNVIRONMENT Renewables failure hits UK's environment ranking.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... The UK has been ranked top for water but scored very low for renewable energy in a world "environmental performance index" produced by Yale and Columbia universities with the World Economic Forum and the European Commission. The UK's least...

When is a profit not a profit?
February 10, 2006... However you cut it, the events unfolding in the US district court, Houston, where Enron Corporation's top two executives are appearing on charges of criminal conspiracy and fraud, are not looking encouraging for messrs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey...

Impact of rules is scrutinised.(Letter to the Editor)
February 10, 2006... Sir: Your article "Government failing to scrutinise regulation" (Utility Week, 27 January) attempts to summarise a lecture that I gave for the Centre for the Study of Regulated Industries on the use of Regulatory Impact Assessments....

ENVIRONMENT Tax breaks urged for energy savers.
February 10, 2006... Council tax cuts for households that install energy-saving measures, pioneered by British Gas in an Essex local authority, should become the norm alongside universal water metering, green campaigners urged this week. The call came in a...

ENERGY ScottishPower will hand out [pounds sterling]2.5bn early.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... ScottishPower is expected this week to announce an early handout of [pounds sterling]2.5 billion to shareholders from the [pounds sterling]5.2 billion sale of its US arm because the deal received a smoother regulatory ride than anticipated. ...

PAN-UTILITY Cost-cutting slashes service.(services of Energywatch)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... Heavy cost-cutting and efficiency drives have made it difficult for utilities to deliver good customer service, according to a recent study. A survey of 2,000 consumers for the Institute of Customer Service found utilities trailing many...

WATER Signing on: the indebted line.(water companies must conserve more)
February 10, 2006... With more and more vulnerable groups The water industry last week called on the government to consider using the social security system to cap water bills for vulnerable groups in England and Wales in the same way as Northern Ireland. ...

ELECTRICITY Marine plant trio named.(partnership of Southwest Regional Development Agency)(partnership and contracts of Ocean Prospect )(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... Three marine renewables companies have been named as partners for the Southwest Regional Development Agency's (RDA's) Wave Hub offshore connection. The three companies are Ocean Prospect (Pelamis), Ocean Power Technologies (Wavebuoy) and...

ELECTRICITY 'Windfall' claim fury.(EU Emissions Trading Scheme)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2006... by Roger Milne UK generators reacted angrily this week to claims that their participation in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) could result in a "windfall" of nearly [pounds sterling]2.5 billion for the sector. The...

gas Growth in LNG swells profit for BG Group.(liquefied natural gas)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Exploration and production company BG Group last week forecast soaring growth in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) output as it reported year-end results that outstripped analysts' predictions and boosted the group's share price 9 per cent on the...

TELECOMS BT rides the 'new wave'.(British Telecommunications PLC revenue)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... BT's revenues grew 8 per cent in the three months to December 2005, driven chiefly by "new wave" broadband, mobile, internet and network services. New wave revenues for the quarter were up 42 per cent on the same period the previous year...

News.(Simon Batey resigns United Utilities )(United Utilities is acquiring 1st Software Group )(Eon tops in European Utility Scorecard)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... United departures United Utilities finance director Simon Batey is to leave the company on 31 July. Batey has been with the company six years and chairman Sir Richard Evans paid tribute to his "outstanding contribution". Thirsty...

eLECTRICITY MPs push for carbon capture.(Member of Parliament)(Fossil fuel power plants to reduce carbon emissions)
February 17, 2006... by Roger Milne MPs want all future UK fossil-fuelled power stations to be required to demonstrate they can be retrofitted to "capture" their emissions of carbon dioxide. The call came from the Commons Science and Technology Committee...

pan-utility Watchdogs kickstart debt-financing debate.(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... by Roger Milne Concern over the increasing amount of debt-financing being used by regulated companies to pay for capital programmes has prompted Ofgem and Ofwat to launch a major debate on the issue. Last week, the two watchdogs...

GAS DN sales may never pay off.(distribution networks)
February 17, 2006... by Roger Milne Significant consumer benefits from last year's sale of four of National Grid's gas distribution networks (DNs) are unlikely to emerge for at least seven years. Even then, they will be dependent on tough price controls, an...

WATER Saving water voluntarily 'is not working'.(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Making water saving measures mandatory is the only way to ensure new housing developments are sustainable, environment minister Elliot Morley was told last week when he visited one of southern England's most water scarce areas. That was...

ENVIRONMENT UK and EU square up for new carbon scrap.(European Union)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... by Roger Milne UK generators were bracing themselves this week for a further bout of uncertainty over the size of their emissions allowances for the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme. In prospect was a second round of legal...

Pylon the pressure on industry.
February 17, 2006... On his admission, it was probably "the most obscure adjournment debate I have had the pleasure of introducing in my time in the House". Norman Baker MP, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, was not joking. Last week he initiated a...

Fletcher: high gearing is a concern.(debt among water utilities)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Ofwat director general Philip Fletcher has said he is concerned about high levels of debt among UK water companies. He was speaking during one of his regular briefings to City analysts last week. Fletcher warned that if Thames Water was...

ENERGY Russia offers gas access one day.(export pipelines access)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Foreign gas producers in Russia will have access to export pipelines, according to Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin. However, he gave no timetable by which this would be done. State-controlled energy giant Gazprom opposed such a move. ...

A waste of gas.(Letter to the Editor)
February 17, 2006... Sir: It would be hard to deny that where competition has flourished in the utilities it has brought about change, choice, innovation and many improvements to the benefit of consumers. I can remember moving into a new home in 1979 and being...

WATER NI water could be privatised.(Northern Ireland Water Ltd privatization)
February 17, 2006... by Steve Hobson The government has left the door open for a partial privatisation of the Northern Ireland Water Service in 2008, provided the transition to a government-owned company (GoCo) in April 2007 goes smoothly. Key to the...

environment No atomic waste solution 'for 35 years'.(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Parliament has been told that it could be 35 years before a long-term repository is available for the country's growing stockpile of intermediate level radioactive waste, mainly from the civil nuclear power programme. That was the...

energy ScottishPower bows to unions over pensions.(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Trade unions claimed this week that ScottishPower had backed down on most of its proposed pension changes in the face of their concerted opposition. Prospect, Amicus, Unison, TGWU and GMB said that ScottishPower had agreed to drop plans to...

gas Offshore data will be opened up to scrutiny.(information on offshore gas production regulated)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... by Roger Milne Despite opposition from most producers, Ofgem is poised to change the rules and make available more information on offshore gas production. The regulator signalled last week that its governing body, the Gas and Electricity...

ENERGY ScottishPower customers pay most for gas.(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... Consumer watchdog Energywatch has warned that ScottishPower's gas customers face the highest household fuel bills in mainland Britain after the company announced double-digit price rises. News of the increases, which start next month, came...

WATER Cornish poser for pollution control.(Cornish coast pollution control)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... The Environment Agency (EA) has rejected calls for more stringent pollution controls off the Cornish coast, but said a planned public inquiry into seaborne discharge consents from three sewage treatment plants should clarify existing...

energy Tories launch shadow energy review.(energy review by political parties)(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... The Conservative Party launched its own energy review this week, timed to produce conclusions by the time the government's exercise is completed around the middle of the year. Shadow trade and industry secretary Alan Duncan MP insisted that...

ENERGY Waste to energy could triple by 2020.(Brief Article)
February 17, 2006... By 2020, at least 27 per cent of the country's waste stream will be used for energy from waste (EfW) schemes, up from 9 per cent now, according to a consultation on waste strategy published this week by the Department for Environment, Food and...