Utility Week articles from July 2006

Utility Week archives from July 2006

ELECTRICITY Swedish industrials look to power plant stakes.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Members of BASEL, the organisation for energy-intensive heavy industries in Sweden, have signalled renewed interest in acquiring big minority stakes in the country? biggest nuclear and hydro power generating units. BASEL said the new...

News.(earnings of BNFL)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... ENERGY BNFL units fattened up for market Nuclear energy company BNFL said it had made ?substantial progress in repositioning its businesses in the private sector? as it announced profits up 23 per cent to ?208 million, on turnover up...

PAN-UTILITY Watchdog pans ?failures? over streetworks law.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The public spending watchdog has criticised the government for its inadequate assessment of the costs and benefits of the Traffic Management Act, which put extra costs on utility streetworks. The National Audit Office said the Department...

ENERGY New ombudsman scheme goes live.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... A new ombudsman scheme to provide independent resolution of disputes between energy customers and suppliers went live this week. All the UK? major retailers have signed up to the Energy Supply Ombudsman, which will take up cases if the...

News.(Briefs)
July 7, 2006... Start the meter Severn Trent Services, in conjunction with seven UK water companies, has claimed to have cut the cost of automatic meter reading enough to pave the way for its mass introduction. The company said it was confident it could...

ELECTRICITY UK-Dutch link prospect close.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The prospect of a new electricity interconnector between the UK and mainland Europe has moved closer now that National Grid has formally applied to the energy regulator for a licence for a new power link between Britain and the Netherlands. ...

Clare leaves British Gas for chief executive post.(Mark Clare)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Mark Clare, the managing director of British Gas? Residential Energy business and Centrica board director, is set to leave the company at the end of September to join Barratt Developments as chief executive. Clare will leave Centrica...

ENERGY Conservation should top EU strategy.(European Environment Agency)(European Union)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published a report calling on European Union institutions and member states to put energy conservation at the centre of their security of supply strategies. EEA executive director Jacqueline McGlade...

ENERGY Spanish merger row heads for new appeal.
July 7, 2006... by Ivan Castano Spanish gas market leader Gas Natural said it would appeal to the Constitutional Court the Spanish Supreme Court? decision to investigate further the company? ?22.5 billion hostile bid for rival Endesa. The Supreme Court?...

The Gaul line.(Interview)
July 7, 2006... When I sat down to talk with Vincent de Rivaz, the chief executive of EDF Energy, there were two great unknowns of concern to us both. One was England? final placing in the World Cup, the other was the outcome of the government? energy review....

ENERGY Demand swells to swamp domestic efficiency gains.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Power demand to run consumer electronic equipment is set to double in the next five years, requiring five new ?standard? power stations, according to new figures from the government? Market Transformation Programme. The figures came as...

News.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Metering out: price controls not needed on market that is ?developing well? Ofgem has opted to end price controls on the electricity meter market from next April because its review has shown competition to be ?developing well?. In the gas...

What seems to be the problem?
July 7, 2006... In July 2005, regulator Ofgem gave the energy industry a year to introduce a number of billing improvements, following a ?super-complaint? from consumer champion Energywatch about billing processes. One of Ofgem? key demands was that the...

ENERGY Coal-fired generation increasing.(statistics of electric generation from renewable sources)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Generation from UK coal-fired power stations jumped dramatically ? up more than 18 per cent year on year ? during the first quarter of 2006, according to the latest official energy statistics. The figures published by the Department of...

ELECTRICITY Eon rebuilds role in Finland.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Eon has set about rebuilding its position as a major power generator and distributor in Finland after selling its controlling equity stake in Eon Finland to Fortum in June. The German utility has established Eon Suomi, an energy company...

Features.(Eon's bid for Endesa )(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Eon expects Eon chairman Wulf Bernotat said he expected Spanish energy regulator CNE to clear the German group? bid for Endesa later this month. Speaking at a Madrid press conference, Bernotat also predicted that Eon would not face any...

ELECTRICITY Eon eyes UK for possible new nuclear plant sites.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... German energy giant Eon plans to build several nuclear plants outside Germany, with the UK among its favoured possibilities. Faced with a German nuclear power shutdown by 2020, Eon Energie chairman Johanes Teyssen said the group was...

Wicks fails to find his sea legs.
July 7, 2006... Last week, proponents of wave and tidal generation ? including Npower, its Juice team and Greenpeace ? turned up on a boat on the Thames for the launch of a new report on the potential for these nascent technologies. Very appropriate the choice...

Features.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... GAS Germany agrees new access model German gas associations BGW and VKU have agreed terms with the regulator for a new grid model that will give third parties access to the national network from the autumn. The agreement is based...

WATER Greece in court over waste failure.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The European Commission is taking Greece to the European Court of Justice over alleged failures to properly treat wastewater in 24 towns and cities. The Commission claimed the Greek government had failed to uphold standards that should...

Thwarted energy chief jumps ship.(Mark Clare quits British Gas)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The sudden ? though not surprising ? announcement that British Gas? Mark Clare is quitting Centrica generated plenty of comment in the broadsheets last week. The former managing director of British Gas is off to take the helm of...

GAS Green light for chemical firm?s storage project.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... A subsidiary of chemicals manufacturer Ineos has obtained planning permission from Cheshire county council for a gas storage project in brine fields the company owns at Holford. Approval for the scheme came just over a month after ministers...

GAS Rome steels for emergency.
July 7, 2006... The Italian government has drawn up plans to minimise the risk of winter gas shortages, as industry minister Pierluigi Bersani warned that its ?gas emergency? could last another three years. A 15 per cent shortfall in Gazprom supplies last...

Features.
July 7, 2006... Policies aimed at convincing consumers to buy energy-efficient equipment are working. But they are being swamped by a tidal wave of new products being eagerly installed by consumers. A report from the Energy Saving Trust says that homes and...

WATER Union joins national water grid argument.(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Janet Wood Ambitions for a national water transmission grid described by government recently as ?pretty barking? resurfaced last week as a major trade union pledged support. Speaking in London, Gary Smith of water workers? union the...

ELECTRICITY Marine power could hit 3GW by 2020.(forecasts of marine industry)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Marine power generation could potentially produce 3GW of electricity by 2020, according to findings published last week from a study by the British Wind Energy Association and sponsored by Npower Juice. The study said that first some big...

Global LNG market takes off.(liquefied natural gas )
July 7, 2006... The liquefied natural gas market is growing rapidly and has transformed the way gas is traded. Latest expectations are that LNG sales will rise 10 per cent by 2015. Sixteen years ago, LNG was a niche product, representing only 4 per cent of gas...

ENVIRONMENT Emission credit cuts ?no threat? to market.(cut in the carbon dioxide emissions )(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Roger Milne The government has played down claims that power prices will rise enough to threaten UK competitiveness following its decision last week to cut the allocation of carbon dioxide emissions allowances under the next phase of...

Features.(carbon emissions based on winterfall profits)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Counting the windfall from carbon trading Work by researchers from universities in the UK, the Netherlands and the US compiled by Britain? Carbon Trust has provided further evidence that power companies made substantial windfall profits...

ENVIRONMENT Brussels ire at trade plan sloth.(emissions trading scheme )(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Roger Milne The European Commission has threatened to get tough with member states who have failed to meet the deadline for submission of their National Allocation Plans (NAPs) for the second phase of Europe? Emissions Trading Scheme...

WATER Court raps Ulster firm on sewage link lapse.(cases of water suppliers )(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Janet Wood Northern Ireland? water supplier was last week judged by the province? High Court not to have considered the environmental effect of connecting new developments in 57 ?hotspots? that did not meet sewage standards. But the...

GAS Russian bypass gets support.(gas infrastructures)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Keith Nuthall The European Union, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria have pledged support for the Nabucco pipeline. The link will export gas from Azerbaijan, bypassing Russia, which is increasingly being seen as unreliable. EU energy...

Features.
July 7, 2006... MERGERS SPECIAL All the features in next week? Utility Week will look at the merger and acquisition issues affecting utilities. Articles include: ? The battle for Endesa and what this means for Spanish energy consolidation ? Oxera evaluates the...

ELECTRICITY Scandinavia capacity set for boost.(electricity consumption)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... The projected expansion in generation capacity in Scandinavia by 2009 should outstrip rises in demand and improve the region? power balance, according to a report from Nordel, the association of Nordic system operators. According to the...

Npower wins awards for corporate responsibility.(Npower grabs award for Health Through Warmth scheme)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... RWE Npower? corporate responsibility commitment to warmer living conditions for vulnerable people has received two awards from Business in the Community (BITC). Npower? Health Through Warmth scheme, which helps alleviate the health...

Wait watchers.(licensing of nuclear power plants)
July 7, 2006... At the 2004 Labour Party Conference, the prime minister indicated that it was difficult to see a future for nuclear power in the face of the costs and the concerns of the public. A year later, he announced an energy review to include ?an...

Cash in the atom.(approval for electric power generation)
July 7, 2006... As we await the outcome of the government? energy review, the debate on the pros and cons of nuclear power gets ever more heated. The purpose of this article is not to make the case for, or against, nuclear power. It is to answer the...

WATER Ofwat keeps the pressure on competition.(Office of water services)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Ofwat will ?continue to apply pressure? on water companies who delay the introduction of competition in the industry, the economic regulator said in its Forward Programme for the period to 2009. Ofwat said there had been criticism over the...

Slimmed down nuclear plans?(standards for water efficiency)
July 7, 2006... Over the weekend, unnamed sources close to trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling suggested that the government may not be so bullish about nuclear after all, with signals that a two or three reactor programme is more likely than the...

Power Academy grows base.(finance for Power Academy)
July 7, 2006... by Zo? Grainge Engineering scholarship fund the Power Academy has expanded the pool of universities it draws from to include Cardiff University and Imperial College London. From the start of the next academic year, the two universities...

ENERGY Switching rates reach record high.(gas market rates)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Households are switching energy suppliers at the highest rate for four years, Ofgem revealed this week when it published its latest annual retail market review. According to figures published by the watchdog, 200,000 more customers changed...

ENERGY Door opens for smart meters.(standards of smart meters)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Trevor Loveday Energy regulator Ofgem has pledged to remove the regulatory barriers that create difficulties for the introduction of computerised energy meters. The watchdog has challenged energy companies to deploy so-called smart...

Features.
July 7, 2006... Opportunity is not a word many of the 13 million water customers facing water restrictions would associate with England? worst drought in 100 years. However, the current drought highlights more than ever the importance of our essential...

Social mix.
July 7, 2006... New research from the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) and National Right to Fuel Campaign (NRFC) suggests that energy suppliers? social tariffs are ad hoc, inconsistent and poorly focused on alleviating fuel poverty. The CSE/NRFC...

News.
July 7, 2006... ENERGY Sludge to fuel revolution in biofuels Sewage sludge will be used to help produce ?green? transport fuels, in a new agreement between Scottish farmers and Thames Water subsidiary Terra Eco Systems. The project will use the...

WATER Thames avoids leakage fine.(leakage targets)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... by Steve Hobson Thames Water has avoided a fine of up to ?66 million for missing leakage targets by entering into a legally binding agreement with regulator Ofwat to spend an additional ?150 million of shareholders? money on mains...

Features.(trade agreement)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Rights and wrongs: Turkmenistan has gas but few friends The MEP co-ordinating the European Parliament? response to a proposed trade agreement with natural gas-rich Turkmenistan has opposed its ratification because of human rights concerns....

News.(installation of wave hubs)(Brief article)
July 7, 2006... Hubbub: locating a ?wave hub? on the seabed off Cornwall would have a minimal impact on marine wildlife and fishing activities, an independent environmental assessment of the ?15 million project has found. The plan to locate the hub off St Ives...

Features.
July 14, 2006... Take off: the European Parliament has formally voted in favour of a carbon trading scheme for aviation, separate from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The MEPs wanted allowances to be auctioned. If aviation is to be part of the ETS,...

British Gas gets recognition for training efforts.(Large Employer of the Year Award)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... British Gas has won the Large Employer of the Year Award at the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) third annual Apprenticeship Awards. The company employs 650 apprentices and was praised by the LSC as "a firm believer in training the next...

News.(location of Wind power plants)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Sea breeze: the Department of Trade and Industry has said the Beatrice windfarm can go ahead at a retired Talisman oil platform in the North Sea. It will be in water 45m deep - most offshore windfarms are in depths of less than 10m. About ?4...

News.(Anglian Water PLC)(Centrica PLC)(energy in high demand in United Kingdom)
July 14, 2006... Fuel fudge Anglian Water last week complained to Parliament that current regulations prevent the company from cutting emissions from its transport operations. Anglian said it was prevented from using 20-80 per cent blends of bio?diesel...

CBI sparks anger with education broadside.(Confederation of British Industry)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... by Zo? Grainge Business lobby group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have clashed over the quality of further education. The CBI has launched a stinging rebuke of the LSC, accusing it of...

ELECTRICITY Carbon Trust slates green obligation.
July 14, 2006... The Renewables Obligation is "inefficient in a number of ways" and must be "adapted or changed", a Carbon Trust report said in the run-up to the publication of the energy review. The report said the obligation was not bringing forward...

environment Waste takes a greater slice of cleanup bill.(Survey)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... by Janet Wood UK industry spent ?3.2 billion on environmental protection in 2004, continuing a downward trend, while it increased the proportion it spent on waste water treatment, according to new figures from the Department for...

First base on databases.(mergers and acquisitions)
July 14, 2006... Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are back in town. Enthusiasm is up and activity is once again paralleling the M&A fever around the millennium. Back then, we famously saw deals such as ScottishPower acquiring Manweb, North West Water buying...

Features.(Calendar)
July 14, 2006... THE 13 July Wave and tidal technology symposium organised by the REA, Bristol 18 July Water framework directive and catchment management, a one-day conference organised by the CIWEM, London 20 July Winter 06/07 consultation...

water Drinking water of highest quality for several years.(quality of drinking water)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Drinking water quality in England and Wales has continued to improve, despite reaching near 100 per cent levels in recent years, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate report for 2005. The annual report showed that 99.96 per cent of...

News.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Banned: water restrictions take effect A hosepipe ban and partial implementation of a drought order have cut demand from summer to winter levels in Sutton and East Surrey Water's service area. Although rainfall in June was less than...

Private sector slow to use internet for recruitment.
July 14, 2006... Private sector companies are behind the public sector when it comes to using the internet and email in recruitment. According to a survey by the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD), only 52 per cent of the manufacturing and...

ENErGY Endesa squares up to Franco-Italian pact.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... by Simon Jones Spanish energy group Endesa has complained to Brussels about the energy pact agreed last year between France and Italy. In the complaint to European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, Endesa claimed that the...

Statements of intent: energy review highlights.
July 14, 2006... Carbon: a carbon price is essential to underpin the low-carbon energy agenda, but it must be set internationally. The European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) should be strengthened and new sectors brought on board. An Office of Climate...

ENERGY Review fails to light the way.
July 14, 2006... by the Utility Week news team The government's unveiling of its long-awaited energy review left observers and the industry struggling to identify a clear positive outcome. With series of commitments to further consultations and...

gas Eon plans grid with Gazprom.(partnerships between Eon and Gazprom)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Eon Scandinavia has revealed that it is interested in building a gas grid network in collaboration with Russian gas giant Gazprom. Eon has been examining a proposal to invest in developing Sweden's natural gas grid system to feed into...

GAS EU prices surge hits industrial users.(European Union)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... European Union natural gas prices surged 16 per cent for domestic customers and 33 per cent for industrial users during 2005, says EU statistical agency Eurostat. Household prices rose by 30 per cent in Slovakia, but only 5 per cent in...

Only Lay could take it with him.(Ken Lay guilty of fraud is no more)(pipeline project by National Grid Company PLC)(advertising campaign from Saatchi & Saatchi)
July 14, 2006... As it stands, the death of Ken Lay last week means US prosecutors will have to drop their bid for the return of some ?23.6 million they alleged the former Enron boss looted from the company. The Justice Department's Enron taskforce had just...

EnERGY Finn windfall tax hits block.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... A Finnish government proposal to levy a windfall profit tax on hydro and nuclear power generation is being opposed by the industry. The proposal, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Finance, would tax the unearned profits of nuclear...

ElectricitY Sweden poised for 80% price surge by year end.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Electricity prices in Sweden could skyrocket later this year, peaking in December at rates up to 80 per cent higher than December 2005, according to energy market analysts. With electricity prices hitting record highs on Nord Pool in June -...

ELECTRICITY Watchdog plays down safety risk of AGR cores.(advanced gas-cooled reactors)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... British Energy and the nuclear watchdog have played down media claims that the generator's advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) have serious technical problems that pose both a safety risk and could rule out the lifetime extension of some of the...

Features.(Gas Natural SDG S.A. to bid for Endesa)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... An appealing idea Spain's second energy player Iberdrola was this week considering an appeal against the Supreme Court decision to continue a temporary suspension of Gas Natural's ?22.5 billion bid for market leader Endesa with the...

ELECTRICITY Pan-UK costs come in close to forecasts.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... by Trevor Loveday Forecast costings for transmission services under the pan-UK power trading regime introduced last year have proved robust, with National Grid liable for only ?10 million in excess costs - which could fall to ?3 million...

ENERGY Italy denies defensive merger.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... by Simon Jones The Italian government has again denied reports that it was considering a defensive merger of energy groups Eni and Enel to fend off foreign interest. Industry minister Pierluigi Bersani said an exchange of stakes between...

For better or worse.(acquisitions and mergers)
July 14, 2006... Utility consolidation is still in fashion - in Britain, in Europe and globally. In the UK, we have seen electricity distribution companies and telecoms operators consolidate, and in Europe mergers such as that between Ruhrgas and RWE. In North...

eLECTRICITY Rule change bid to aid small players.(Good Energy )(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Green energy supplier Good Energy has proposed a rule change for the cashout provisions set out under the power trading code that regulator Ofgem has brought in against considerable industry opposition. The move centres on a modification to...

Features.(fuel costs)
July 14, 2006... Fuel costs for UK power stations over the past two years have exhibited plenty of volatility with gas and electricity obvious examples. As the table (right) shows, the market pricing for gas has been particularly extreme: it has more than...

News.(energy reviews)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Another missed opportunity What was the point of the government's latest energy review? Ever since privatisation and deregulation, the central plank of the government's energy "policy" has been that the market will provide adequate supply...

Features.
July 14, 2006... INTERVIEW Philip Green talks about taking the helm at United Utilities ENERGY Industry experts give us their take on the proposals in the government's long-awaited energy review WATER Urban diffuse pollution has a multitude of causes...

ELECTRiCITY Statkraft boosted by generation lift.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... The dramatic improvement in profitability among Norway's power groups has trebled the market value of Statkraft since 2003, according to a report commissioned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The report by investment bank Lehman...

ENERGY Firms use quick fixes to stamp out inefficiency.
July 14, 2006... Just over three-quarters of UK businesses have responded to rising energy prices by improving energy efficiency in the past six months, up from 70 per cent in December 2005, according to the latest Npower business energy index. More than...

Features.(Thames Water)(RBC Capital Markets)(Aqua Care)
July 14, 2006... The Energy Networks Association (ENA) has introduced a system of rotating presidencies from among its member companies. The first is set to be Western Power Distribution's chief executive, Robert Symons. Symons will help to further develop the...

Blair confirms his nuke conversion.
July 14, 2006... The imminence of the energy review, which emerged this week as Utility Week went to press, has kept the Westminster village gainfully employed speculating on its contents for some time. In the past ten days it has been a case of overdrive,...

WATER Portugal faces pollution rap.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Portugal faces European Court of Justice action after it exploited a relaxation of wastewater treatment standards to blatantly pollute the Atlantic Ocean, alleges the European Commission. Lisbon was given permission in 2001 to meet lower...

PAN-UTILITY Managers quit on the double.(surveys of management resignations)(Survey)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Management resignations at utilities last year were more than double the national average for other sectors, according to findings from a survey by the Chartered Management Institute. According to the study report, the key reason for the...

ENERGY EU sets free trade lure for Russia.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... The European Commission hopes to secure cheaper and more reliable gas and oil supplies from Russia by dangling the carrot of a comprehensive European Union free trade deal. Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso has said the EU will offer...