Utility Week articles from January 2004

Utility Week archives from January 2004

WATER; AWG disposals motor on with vehicle sale.(Venson)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... AWG has pushed on with its policy of stripping back to basics with the sale of its vehicle leasing business Powermarque. AWG sold the subsidiary to vehicle specialist Venson for [pounds sterling]34.5 million. Powermarque, which operates a...

ELECTRICITY; British Energy seals US stake sell-off.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Beleaguered generator British Energy has completed the [pounds sterling]154 million sale of its share in its US venture Amergen to Exelon, its partner in the business. The disposal was a condition of its government rescue package. The...

ELECTRICITY; Bulgarian wires pulls Czechs and Italians.
January 9, 2004... by Mark Andress Czech power group CEZ, Russia's UES and Italy's Enel have registered their interest in the privatisation of Bulgaria's seven power distribution companies. The Bulgarian government wants preliminary bids for the...

ENERGY; Deal rescues proposed CHP directive.(Combined Heat and Power)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The European Parliament and the European Union council of ministers have struck a deal to rescue a proposed EU Combined Heat and Power (CHP) directive. Parliament has accepted an agreement hammered out by its industry and energy committee...

TELECOMS; Cesky sale detail due soon.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The Czech government will decide this month the terms of the sale of a 51 per cent stake in dominant fixed-line telecoms operator Cesky Telecom, according to Czech Information Technology minister Vladimir Mlynar. So far, interest has come...

Grip on reality.
January 9, 2004... After a prolonged frenzy of customer acquisition activity since deregulation, 2003 was the year when utilities finally paid more than lip service to the idea of customer retention and capitalising on their own data. This was not before time....

ENERGY; Czech ministers in clash over policy.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The Czech ministries of environment and industry have clashed over a long-term energy concept that is supposed to guide the country until the year 2030. While the industry ministry reckoned on a 20 per cent rise in power use over the next...

ENERGY/PAN-UTILITY; Data Act not to blame for pensioners' death.
January 9, 2004... by Roger Milne British Gas is scheduled to meet officials from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) next week in a bid to clarify when utilities can alert social services about customers without breaching the terms of the Data...

ELECTRICITY; Brussels cheer at end to EDF state guarantee.(Electricite de France)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The European Commission has welcomed the decision by the French government to scrap its unlimited state guarantee of Electricite de France (EDF). The move followed intense political pressure from the Commission's competition directorate...

WATER; MPs urge green cost sharing.
January 9, 2004... by Karma Ockenden Ministers could ask Ofwat to scale down the green spending provisionally planned for 2005-10 if they are persuaded by the arguments of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee. In its report on water...

Growing pains and gains.(enlargement of European Union)
January 9, 2004... On 1 May 2004, ten new countries will become European Union member states - Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (currently referred to as the accession countries) - in the largest...

Turn out, switch off, name not.
January 9, 2004... One of the Sunday supplements recently carried an interview with a certain Zoe Lazarus, credited with working as a so-called 'leading-edge trend analyst' with the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. Zoe wittered on that these days...

ENVIRONMENT; Finns lobby against EU emissions plan.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... by Gerard O'Dwyer Finland's manufacturing sector, led by the country's powerful forestry industry, has united in opposition against the European Union's proposed scheme to curb global warming emissions through trading of emissions permits....

WATER; Gelsenwasser wins the race for Dresden.(Gelsenwasser AG)(Stadtentwasserung Dresden)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... by Simon Jones German water utility Gelsenwasser has taken a 49 per cent stake in Stadtentwasserung Dresden (SEDD). The east German city council awarded SEDD a 25-year concession to run wastewater services for 480,000 customers. ...

ENERGY; Service switching kicks in.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Large energy users have begun to leave their reputation as penny-pinching scrooges behind and are now opting to switch on grounds of customer service, Datamonitor has revealed. Although industrial and commercial customers' overall...

ELECTRICITY; Price review to bring tighter blackout rules.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... by Trevor Dooley As distribution companies in the North of England and Scotland restored power swiftly to avoid penalties after snowfalls left thousand of customers without power on New Year's Eve (see below), regulator Ofgem was this week...

IP power purchase.(International Power PLC)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... According to the Sunday Express, International Power (IP), the company formed in 2000 from the break-up of National Powers' overseas business, is said to be considering paying well over the odds for two coal-fired power stations, currently...

PAN-UTILITY; Irish prioritise cross-border gas trade.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The Irish government is to use its presidency of the European Union (EU) over the next six months to push for the consolidation of the EU internal market in energy, especially the cross-border trade in gas. Ireland's position as an island at...

PAN-UTILITy; MPs troubled by streetworks plan.(Members of Parliament)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... MPs this week voiced concern about the government's plan to target utilities with a new and tougher regime for streetworks, which could include a form of lane rental. Backbench worries surfaced during the second reading of the Traffic...

Expect the unexpected.(UBS's report for utilities in 2004 )
January 9, 2004... The title of broker UBS's report for utilities in 2004 is Ready for the Next Adventure. And, as Utility Week enters its tenth year, it is only natural for us to wonder how 2004 is going to rank in terms of the change and excitement we have...

PAN-UTILITY; Jobs outlook takes a dive.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Employer confidence in Britain's utility sector for the first three months of 2004 is lower than this time last year - even though a report before Christmas was optimistic about job prospects. Research company Mandis-Adecco reported in...

TELECOMS; Broadband boosted as MoD frees up new radio waves.
January 9, 2004... by Zoe Grainge The Ministry of Defence has released radio spectrum for communications regulator Ofcom to allocate for use in wireless broadband connections for the country's most remote communities. In a move to help resolve the rural...

Regulator reins in DNO rebates.(Distribution Network Operators)
January 9, 2004... Energy Regulator Ofgem has decided to change the regulatory framework for rebates of distribution charges to suppliers. It has taken this action because it believes that the provision of rebates is inconsistent with the development of...

National Grid Transco.
January 9, 2004... by Zoe Grainge National Grid Transco is just over a year old. In its first year as a merged company, Britain's biggest listed utility has managed to keep the analysts onside but received bad publicity following a number of blackouts in the...

Hafslund.
January 9, 2004... by Nigel Hawkins Hafslund is a leading integrated player in the Norwegian electricity market, as well as being the country's third-largest security business. The company, which is based in Oslo, has participated in various...

PAN-UTILITY; Utility people honoured in Queen's List.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Utility industry workers were rewarded for their efforts in the Queen's New Year's Honours List. Dale Vince, managing director of electricity company Ecotricity, received an OBE, along with James Oatridge, group services director at Severn...

ELECTRICITY; Norway to raise state's supply role.(Norway's Department of Energy)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Norway's Department of Energy has presented a White Paper to parliament advocating a greater role for government in improving the security of the country's electricity supply. The White Paper draws from the energy market's performance...

ENERGY; World's largest offshore wind scheme takes shape.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Centrica has increased its stake in offshore wind development by buying adjacent sites off the Lincolnshire coast which could provide access to 430MW of wind power. The group is already involved in a project near Barrow in the Irish Sea....

Lane rental plan makes its debut.
January 9, 2004... Parliament is back in business this week and utility issues have loomed large in both Houses. The second reading debate of the legislation bringing in lane rentals for utility streetworks was scheduled for Monday as MPs returned to the Commons....

Mixed outlook.
January 9, 2004... Water The price review will dominate the water calendar in 2004. Ministers will give their final guidance to Ofwat in January, and then companies will submit their final business plans. In July Ofwat will announce its draft determinations,...

GAS; Hewitt approves Centrica Rough buy.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Trade minister Patricia Hewitt has decided that Centrica's acquisition of the Rough gas storage business, the country's biggest, can go ahead on the basis of legal undertakings designed to ensure the energy giant cannot gain competitive...

ELECTRICITY; Enel makes a bid for 35% stake in French generator.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Italian power giant Enel has made a non-binding offer for a 35 per cent stake in French generator SNET. Enel chairman Paolo Scaroni confirmed the bid, but not the reported e300 million price tag or that it involved the SNET holdings of...

ENERGY; Stiffer mis-sell rules 'overlook aged'.(Energywatch)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Customer watchdog Energywatch has criticised energy regulator Ofgem for neglecting small businesses and vulnerable customers such as the elderly in proposals for tougher action on doorstep sales staff who dupe householders into switching...

WATER; Commission delays Spanish river plan.(European Commission, Jucar river)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The European Commission has delayed a decision over whether to help fund a controversial Spanish water transfer scheme. Environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom has demanded more proof that transferring water from the Jucar river is...

ELECTRICITY; Only six qualify for cash as heavy weather strikes.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Thousands of customers were left without power on New Year's Eve in the North of England and in Scotland but only six people qualified to receive compensation under new severe weather penalties rules. In the North East, where CEElectric's...

TELECOMS; TeliaSonera to face market abuse penalty.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The European Commission has signalled it will use European Union competition rules to prevent incumbent telecoms companies using their financial muscle to dominate Europe's growing broadband sector. The Commission has launched legal...

TELECOMS; NCCslams 3G termination charges.(National Consumer Council )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The National Consumer Council (NCC) has warned communications regulator Ofcom that consumers will be hit hard by a lack of regulation on third generation (3G) call termination charges. The NCC was responding to outgoing regulator Oftel's...

ELECTRICITY; Ulster plant deals delayed.(Ofreg )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Northern Ireland energy regulator Ofreg has delayed the deadline for signing up the preferred bidders for contracts worth [pounds sterling]1.5 billion to build two new power stations in the province. The companies - Aughinish Alumina and...

WATER; Czech e12bn plant strategy.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The Czech government has backed proposals to spend e12 billion on new water treatment plants by 2010. The investment is needed to comply with European Union (EU) rules obliging urban populations of between 2,000 and 10,000 to have a water...

WATER; Italian merger goes fourth.(Acegas (Trieste))(Apes (Padua) )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... A merger agreed by regional utilities Acegas (Trieste) and Apes (Padua) will create Italy's fourth-biggest water supplier. A holding structure to control the two companies will be approved by a joint board meeting this month and placed on...

GAS; Local network sales face one-year delay.
January 9, 2004... by Roger Milne Energy regulator Ofgem has conceded that the sale of one or more of National Grid Transco's local gas networks could be delayed until next year. The regulator has already accepted that the next price control for the gas...

WATER; AWG infrastructure arm to stay until at least 2005.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... AWG will not dispose of its infrastructure management business this year, investment bank Merrill Lynch has said, despite new chief Jonson Cox's appetite for getting back to basics. Merrill said AWG's infrastructure arm, led by construction...

Saving disgrace.(government's role in British Energy restructuring)
January 16, 2004... A year after the restructuring of British Energy was first announced, there has still been no examination or criticism of the way it was carried out, its consequences, or the government's role in it. Its description by the Financial Times as a...

ENERGY; Brussels supply deal probe.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... A probe by the European Commission into a deal between Electrabel and Brussels utility supplier Sibelga has been referred to the Belgian authorities. Sibelga is the Commission's own gas and electricity supplier. The Commission's probe...

ELECTRICITY; NIE outage customers will get 'a few pence'.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... by Trevor Dooley Customers in Northern Ireland left without power for three hours will receive a rebate of 'a few pence' because compensation is being spread across all customers in the Province and not just those hit by the blackout. ...

TELECOMS; Cesky rivals in row over new tariffs.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Three alternative Czech telecom carriers last week asked the industry regulator to cancel new tariff options introduced by the incumbent operator, Cesky Telecom, at the start of the year. Contactel, Tiscali, and Czech On Line claimed...

ELECTRICITY; Danes set to up German imports.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The Danish government may be about to adopt an energy strategy that increases the emphasis on improved security of electricity supply by increasing import capacity from Germany and Norway. The plan being considered by prime minister Anders...

WATER; Merger pushes costs higher, report claims.(merger of water utilities)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... by Karma Ockenden Ofwat's anti-merger stance was vindicated this week by an independent study that said it found no evidence that there were general economies of scale to be had in the water sector. The study also dealt a blow to prospects...

ENERGY; Electrabel buys 22% stake in French player.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Power company Electrabel has bought a further 22.2 per cent stake in French supplier Compagnie Nationale du Rhone (CNR) from Electricite de France. The Belgian subsidiary of French multi-utility giant Suez now has a 47.8 per cent interest in...

eNERGY; Lords attack White Paper.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... A clutch of former energy industry grandees, now peers, were joined by a number of ex-ministers to pillory the government's energy policy and warn of pending supply problems. During a House of Lords debate last week, Lord Tombs, former...

Big noise about a big voice.
January 16, 2004... Why do they say such things? Disconnector's first award of the year will be winging its way to the Far East to thud on the desk of some toiling wordsmith. YTL Corporation, the company that bought Wessex Water, has just pumped out an...

ELECTRICITY; BNFL staff win 30 per cent shift pay hike.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Workers at British Nuclear Fuels have voted in favour of a three-year 30 per cent shift pay rise after a dispute over a gap between blue collar and white collar workers' salaries led to industrial action last year. Members of the trades...

GAS; Galp verdict on hold until end of January.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... A decision on the future of Spanish gas company Galp Energia has been put back to 31 January to allow more time for talks between leading Galp shareholder, state-owned Italian energy giant Eni, and the Portuguese government. Eni, which...

GAS; Imports pose a threat, government warned.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... by Roger Milne The government has been warned that much of the gas supply on which the UK will become increasingly dependent this decade will not meet existing safety and quality standards. A report commissioned by the Department of...

ELECTRICITY; German traders warn of deal delays.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Independent power traders in Germany fear that leading utilities will use the current vacuum between the end of industry self-regulation and the launch of a new energy regulator to squeeze their market share. The much-criticised voluntary...

TELECOMS; Incoming EU states slow to open up.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Despite growing competition in the telecoms industries of the ten countries entering the European Union in May, most have been slow to open their markets, according to a report by computer giant IBM. Most of the incoming countries 'have...

ELECTRICITY; International Power's US operation on the line.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Generator International Power is pondering selling or quitting its loss-making US operation unless it can extend its debt repayment timetable with its lending banks. The company was understood to be looking to extend over two years...

Vodafone 3G launch causes writedowns.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Good news and bad news this week for Vodafone. The good news came from what the Daily Mail described as 'two far-flung parts of Vodafone's empire': Japan and the US. In Japan, figures showed that one fifth of new 3G subscribers in December had...

Recovery ; position.
January 16, 2004... Last year saw a recovery in share prices, albeit a modest one when measured over the whole year rather than from the market's bottom last March. The UK-based FTSE 100 slightly outperformed the FTSE Eurotop 300 Index - the rises were 13.6 per...

Spot the difference.
January 16, 2004... Gas is moving closer to becoming a truly global industry, and the market looks set for a roller-coaster ride. Progress on integrating supply and demand into the market structure is likely to accelerate and, as economies of scale increase and...

WATER; Lead compliance will vary.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... New lead standards for drinking water look set to be implemented patchily across Europe. While some countries do not have a lead problem, others will have to spend billions of euros to comply. Experts said compliance timescales and methods were...

The investor; agenda.(issue contents)(Editorial)
January 16, 2004... Two themes, it is suggested in our feature this week (page 18), will dominate the European utility landscape in 2004 from an investor's point of view. One is the success or failure of the roll-out of third generation, or 3G, telecoms services....

Return of the council.
January 16, 2004... Who's counting? Leicester City Council spends over [pounds sterling]5 million a year on energy and water for its own premises, approximately the same as a small town with 8,500 houses. Its building stock is very varied. It includes...

Educate about energy saving.(Letter to the Editor)
January 16, 2004... Dear sir: The government's new carbon emissions targets may not have been universally welcomed by UK business. However, there is one sector that is already sharing the energy-saving burden placed on the manufacturing industry. The...

ELECTRICITY; Italy and France inch towards asset swap.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... by Simon Jones Energy giants Enel of Italy and and Electricite de France (EDF) were inching towards a partnership deal this week, securing each utility greater access to the other's home market. The terms of an agreement were agreed in...

Supply reliability forecasting.
January 16, 2004... Changes in the UK's generating mix will have an impact on the reliability of the country's energy supplies, with moves towards much more wind use likely to increase load-following costs significantly, according to work carried out by the Oxera...

ENERGY; Efficiency advice better than last year.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Ofgem's latest study on the energy efficiency advice provided by domestic suppliers has shown an improvement on the position 18 months ago, with a 16 per cent increase in the top score. But the watchdog said its study, in which researchers...

WATER; Firms should compensate sewer flood victims more.(National Audit Office)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Water companies may have to pay more to compensate customers affected by sewer flooding if National Audit Office (NAO) advice is followed. In a report, the NAOcriticised the fact that most customers whose properties were flooded with...

electricity; Generators face further emissions cuts.
January 16, 2004... by Roger Milne Britain's generators were bracing themselves this week to make cuts of around 16 per cent on their emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, over 1990 levels or face fines under the world's biggest emissions...

ENERGY; Norway calls for overseas power curb.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Norway's Department of Energy is considering a proposal from the country's largest regional power companies that they be allowed to buy stakes in some of the country's smaller generation companies without having to compete with overseas...

ENERGY; Ofgem highlights regulatory issues.(Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Fuel bill price rises and a future reliance on gas imports have been highlighted as issues that could change the emphasis of energy regulation, energy watchdog Ofgem has signalled. Ofgem has begun consulting on its regulatory priorities for...

TELECOMS; Portugal minnow unveils 3G plans.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Portuguese mobile operator Optimus has unveiled plans to launch third-generation mobile services in July, coinciding with the introduction of the technology in Portugal this summer. The announcement followed national telecoms regulator...

More hot air over energy policy.
January 16, 2004... Both Houses of Parliament got stuck into energy issues as soon as the Palace of Westminster was back in business. Security of supply, the future of micro-combined heat and power and the Climate Change Levy (in relation to nuclear power) all...

ENERGY; Poland to shed long-term deals to lift market.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The Polish government has introduced an Energy Bill that will abolish the long-term power contracts that currently cover more than two-thirds of the Polish market. The move is designed to boost competition ahead of European Union entry...

WATER; Aguas de Portugal may be privatised.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Portuguese water could be up for grabs if the country goes ahead with a plan to privatise state-owned Aguas de Portugal. The government is exploring privatising the water supplier in stages starting in 2006. The move would be in line with a...

eNERGY; UK industrial energy prices lowest in EU.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Except for the most intensive users, industrial electricity customers in the UK enjoyed the lowest prices in Europe in October 2003, according to the latest quarterly energy statistics compiled by the Department of Trade and Industry. But...

ELECTRICITY; New border trade regime.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Members of the pan-Europe association of power grid operators have implemented a new trade mechanism that they claim will 'deliver significant improvement in cross-border trade between European countries'. The mechanism adopted last month...

TELECOMS; T-Mobile set to revise tariffs to boost calls.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... by Zoe Grainge German mobile giant T-Mobile is poised to overhaul its tariffs in its domestic market in an effort to persuade German customers to use their telephones more. The Deutsche Telekom-owned company was understood to be...

WATER; Thames climbs to top of MoD list with Nevis.(Thames Water Ltd, Ministry of Defence, Nevis Water)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Nevis Water, a Thames subsidiary, has been awarded preferred bidder status for the Scottish package of the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) water outsourcing venture, Project Aquatrine. If Nevis is awarded the deal, it will be responsible for...

TELECOMS; Traffic Bill poses threat to e-commerce, say telcos.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Telecoms companies including Thus and BT have warned that the Traffic Management Bill poses a threat to e-commerce. In a letter to transport secretary Alistair Darling, which coincided with the first reading of the Bill in Parliament, the...

TELECOMS; Mobile operators set for battle over VAT.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... by Zoe Grainge The five mobile telecoms operators with third generation (3G) mobile licences are set to lock horns with the government in the High Court claiming they are owed [pounds sterling]3.35 billion in VAT refunds on their licences....

ENERGY; Emissions trade 'jobs threat'.
January 16, 2004... by Gerard O'Dwyer The planned implementation of a new emissions trading system will raise electricity prices for Finnish industry and domestic customers, and threaten jobs, according to a report from VATT, the Finnish government institute...

TELECOMS; End in sight in battle for Virgin Mobile.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... German-owned mobile operator T-Mobile and Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group were this week near an agreement to end a long-running row over their joint venture, Virgin Mobile. The move will pave the way for an expected flotation of Virgin...

WATER; Firms slam Aquarius 3 as too complex and too late.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Trade body Water UK has criticised Aquarius 3, Ofwat's financial model for the next price review, as too complicated, idiosyncratic and shared with companies too late. In its newsletter Better Regulation, Water UK said the model was 'huge...