Utility Week articles from June 2006

Utility Week archives from June 2006

AIM for growth.(Alternative Investment Market)
June 2, 2006... A key feature of the financial markets in recent years has been the undoubted success of the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the Stock Exchange? junior market. From an initial 10 stocks in 1995, it now hosts more than 1,500 companies. ...

eNERGY Austria drops plan for OMV Verbund merger.(acquisitions)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... by Hope Madeleine Austria has abandoned the contentious merger planned between oil and gas company OMV and state-controlled power firm Verbund after meeting stiff resistance from federal authorities. At a meeting last week, governors...

WATER Drought helps beaches keep clean.(Marine Conservation Society)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... More than 500 beaches have been rated ?excellent? in this year? Good Beach Guide. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which produces the guide, said the 2004 record of 453 had been ?smashed?, and put the improvement down to investment...

WATER Clean Sweep swept away.(unanimously rejected South West Water PLC)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Cornwall County Council planning committee has unanimously rejected South West Water? proposal for a sewage treatment works in Boscastle, north Cornwall, one of the last items in the company? 15-year Clean Sweep proposal. The committee had...

News.(news brief)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... What drought? Almost one million of the 6.2 million households in the south east of England affected by drought are unaware of the restrictions on water use imposed by their water supplier, according to a survey commissioned by price...

Business boosters revealed.(Business Skills Awards for the Water Industry)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Sector skills council Energy & Utility Skills announced the winners of its 2006 Business Skills Awards for the Water Industry at the Institution of Water Officers? annual conference last week. The joint winners were Alfred McAlpine/Scottish...

In for the count.(Climate Change Programme report)
June 2, 2006... Buried away in the government? latest Climate Change Programme report is a revealing piece of policy-making that graphically demonstrates just how important projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions overseas have become at home. The...

ENVIRONMENT Emissions still on the rise despite rhetoric.(Figures from the Office of National Statistics)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... by Roger Milne emissions of greenhouse gases in the UK rose by 1 per cent in 2004, according to figures compiled by government statisticians. They said the rise was due partly to increased output from coal-fired power stations but also...

News.(facility closure of radioactive waste storage facility)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Break up: Magnox Electric? proposals for decommissioning Sizewell A, its ageing Magnox station on the Suffolk coast, have been approved by the nuclear watchdog. The 420MW plant, which has been operating for 40 years, is due to close this year...

Features.(calendar )(Brief article)(Calendar)
June 2, 2006... THE 1 June Final day of World Bioenergy 2006, Jonkoping, Sweden Final results for United Utilities, Pennon and Scottish and Southern Energy 5 June UK-Belgium interconnector closed for annual maintenance Parliament returns...

WATER EA fumes over drought orders.(Environment Agency)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... by Janet Wood The Environment Agency was left fuming this week when two water companies granted drought orders by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs decided not to use them. Three orders were granted on 25 May, for...

News.(drought order restrictions)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Prosecutions unlikely in Sutton & East Surrey Offenders against Sutton & East Surrey Water? drought order restrictions, which came into force on Saturday, could face criminal prosecution and fines of ?5,000, operations director Michael...

News.
June 2, 2006... Sun spot: Zen Eaga Solar, a joint venture between Eaga Partnership and Dutch firm Zen International, has signalled its interest in supplying solar water heating for thousands of new homes in the Thames Gateway area. It has already won deals...

ENERGY EU states face ?unfair Balkan competition?(European Union)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... by Keith Nuthall The European Parliament has called for European Union energy companies to be protected from unfair competition from rivals in neighbouring Balkan countries when they sign an Energy Community Treaty with Brussels giving...

Mind your own business.(global warming )
June 2, 2006... Energy is a driving concern of the 21st century. Whole geopolitical systems revolve around the flow of gas and oil supplies, and carbon emissions have been blamed for threatening the stability of the world? entire climate via the global warming...

ELECTRICITY Finland ponders Fortum?s Eon buyout.(Fortum acquisitions of EON UK PLC.)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Finland? National Com??petition Authority has notified Fortum that it will use the full three months period available to investigate thoroughly the company? position as a producer and supplier of electricity in south and south eastern Finland....

gas Eni ready to seal Gazprom deal if Eon fails to close.(acquisitions)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... German energy giant Eon last week faced further pressure over its stalled asset swap deal with Russian gas group Gazprom, as Italian oil and gas firm Eni emerged as ready to offer Gazprom access to western customers in return for a 25 per cent...

ELECTRICITY EU wind capacity doubles.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Wind power capacity has more than doubled in the European Union in recent years, according to the latest comparative figures from EU statistical agency Eurostat. Wind capacity swelled by 154 per cent between 2000 and 2004 and was...

Working up an energetic sweat.(energy watch)
June 2, 2006... Now here? one of those virtuous circles, a win-win tale that the great man loves. Scottish scientists have, apparently, come up with a jolly wheeze that should mean that at the same time as you get in shape down the gym or the health club, your...

News.(annual graduate of the Year programme)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Infrastructure specialist Hyder Consulting has announced the winner of its annual Graduate of the Year programme. Caroline Barlow won the 2006 award, and received a cheque for ?1,000. She will also be a ?graduate ambassador? for Hyder...

environment Norway bids to resurrect green cerificates.(green certificates bill)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Norway? opposition parties have united behind a legislative push to force the ruling Labour government into reversing its decision to abandon the creation of a common green certificates market (CGCM) with Sweden. The Progress Party- headed...

NI stands up to the bullies.(Northern Ireland)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... A guide to tackling harassment and bullying in the workplace has been issued by the Labour Relations Agency and the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland. The Equality Commission said harassment at work was the most frequent complaint it...

PAN-UTILITY Utilities failing to embrace new accounting rules.(reports of International Financial Reporting Standards)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Utilities preparing their first set of annual reports under new international accountancy rules are not making the strategic changes needed to continue operating efficiently under the new regime, according to an leading accountancy firm. ...

GAS Incentives for forecast accuracy.(National Grid Company PLC)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Ofgem has proposed an incentive scheme worth up to ?12.2 million for National Grid Gas, the operator of the UK high-pressure gas grid, the National Transmission System (NTS). The proposal is aimed at improving the performance of National...

ENERGY Enel signals move into UK gas sector.(United Kingdom)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... European energy giant Enel has applied for a UK gas shipper licence, the first Italian company to do so. Enel is Italy? main electricity company, and in recent years it has diversified into gas distribution and sales. It is also involved...

WATER Yorkshire outstrips its targets.(improving efficiency despite rising energy costs.)
June 2, 2006... by Steve Hobson Yorkshire Water has made a strong start to its 2005-09 asset management plan, outperforming the first year of its current review period. It saved ?10 million by improving efficiency despite rising energy costs. The...

News.
June 2, 2006... Double vision: as its drought order was granted, Southern Water revealed it had doubled its leak detection team ?to help avoid restrictions?. Its leakage rate is the third lowest in England and Wales.

ELECTRICITY London Array final decision ?in 2007?(100-turbine windfarm planned for the Thames Estuary)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Swale Borough Council will vote on Monday on planning permission for an onshore connection for the London Array, a 100-turbine windfarm planned for the Thames Estuary. Government consents for the offshore turbines are expected by October if no...

GAS Completion of gas pipe marks import milestone.(gas import infrastructure)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... A key milestone has been reached in the UK? gas import infrastructure with the final weld in the pipeline linking Norway? Sleipner gas field to the Easington terminal in East Yorkshire. Completion of the southern part of Norsk Hydro?...

Features.(news brief)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... = WATER Will Ofwat demonstrate its new powers to impose financial penalties on water companies by making an example of Severn Trent and Southern Water over their misreporting of customer service data? INTERVIEW Ofgem chief Alistair...

ELECTRICITY Vattenfall chief says that nuclear is not a panacea.(securing electricity production)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... The expansion of nuclear power in Sweden? will not by itself meet the country? long-term energy needs, according to Vattenfall chief executive Lars Josefsson. Speaking at a conference last week, he insisted that large-scale investment in...

electricity Finns propose Nordic grid.(Nordic energy system)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the Nordic energy system could be eliminated by creating a common power grid, according to Finland? trade and industry minister Mauri Pekkarinen. ?Too many inefficiencies remain on the domestic side of...

Bosses call for better value from skills body.(employment-related skills training)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... by Zo? Grainge The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) should provide more for the ?6.7 billion in public funds it receives every year, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The call for better value for money came...

PAN-UTILITY Energy price rises favour bill handler PayPoint.(sales and earnings)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... PayPoint, which handles cash bill payments, said that cold weather and energy price rises helped drive up the number of utility, local authority and other transactions it handled by 23 per cent to 205 million in the year to 31 March. Net...

News.(appointment)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Libra Natural Resources has appointed Glenn Smith as chief investment officer, with immediate effect. Libra acquires and invests in waste-to-energy assets. Smith will oversee the company? growing investment portfolio with a focus on performance...

Peers offer PM help over nuclear.(prime minister)
June 2, 2006... Peers put the government? energy policy review under critical scrutiny last week when the Upper House staged a set-piece debate on rising gas prices. During the proceedings, Conservative supporters, tongue in cheek, offered to help the prime...

WATER Bulk sales aid Portsmouth.(Portsmouth Water Co.)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Operating profit at Portsmouth Water fell 17 per cent to ?7.05 million for the year to 31 March 2006 on turnover that was almost static at ?32.13 million. Finance director Neville Smith said: ?Results are down, primarily because of...

ENERGY Dawn raids usher in new era.(energy sector inquiry)
June 2, 2006... The Commission has signalled its seriousness about tackling anti-competitive behaviour in energy markets with a series of dawn raids. Mike Pullen says utilities must prepare staff to deal with the knock at the door. The series of dawn...

Features.(power from offshore plant)
June 2, 2006... A drop in the ocean: early promise of offshore wind fails to translate into action As the UK slips down the rankings in Ernst & Young? regular ?country attractiveness index? for renewables investors, the offshore sector looks most...

Features.(good performance in solar power)
June 2, 2006... India? rapidly expanding onshore wind capacity, and a good performance in solar power, have lifted the country into the top four in the latest Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index. It has replaced Britain, which for the...

In the balance.(Rutland water on the rise)
June 2, 2006... Completed by Anglian Water in 1975, Rutland Water is the largest man-made lake in western Europe, providing one-seventh of the 1.2 billion litres of water a day Anglian supplies to its 5.6 million customers. Anglian? region is one of the driest...

GAS RWE buys into regional pipes operator.(RWE AG buys Saar Ferngas AG)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... German multi-utility RWE has agreed to buy a 76.9 per cent stake in regional gas distributor Saar Ferngas from mining and industrial group RAG. The Saarbrucken-based network owner supplies more than 70 municipal utilities and industrial...

ENERGY ScotPower to boost capex.(company forecasts)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... by Trevor Loveday ScottishPower unveiled plans to boost planned investment by more than one-third as it reported a 47 per cent hike in pre-tax profit for the year. Philip Bowman, chief executive of the Glasgow-based company, said...

News.(adapt and change from within)
June 2, 2006... Get on with it and stop complaining There? an apocryphal story about a departing chief executive who passes his successor three numbered envelopes ?in case of emergency?. In an early crisis, the new chief opens the first. It reads: ?Blame...

WATER Thames Water faces probe.(misreporting data on customer compensation to economic regulator)(Brief article)
June 2, 2006... Forensic accountants Ernst & Young will report within weeks on whether Thames Water should face penalties for misreporting data on customer compensation to economic regulator Ofwat. Thames Water told the regulator in January that internal...

More on less.(water conservation projects)
June 2, 2006... Essex & Suffolk Water is coming under considerable pressure from the Environment Agency to impose a hosepipe ban, but the company is resisting it. Demand planning manager Claire Ridgewell says there are no grounds for doing so ?because peak...

AWG finds right gear for investment programme.(financial report)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... AWG group chief executive Jonson Cox declared that ?all parts of the business performed well? as the group posted an operating profit up 27.8 per cent to ?378.1 million on turnover up ?193.3 million to ?1,155.2 million. Cox said he hoped...

Features.(gas release auction)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Sold: auction demand up Ruhrgas has said that demand in its fourth annual gas release auction was stronger than in previous years. Long-term 39TWh supplies were offered in the latest online sale, including quantities not sold in the 2003...

water Bournemouth in restructure knockback.(operating profit)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Turnover at Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water for the full year to March 2006 was up 14 per cent to ?37.58 million but capital restructuring resulted in profits before exceptional items falling back to ?10.5 million, up 5 per cent. ...

News.(news in brief)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Gas plan US company Excelerate has said the UK government backs its plan to develop a liquefied natural gas facility at Teesside that would let incoming tankers re-gasify their cargoes before pumping the gas directly into the National...

Brush up with authority.(Ofgem chief executive, Alistair Buchanan)
June 9, 2006... Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan does playful, serious and sometimes surprise. But when we meet and I suggest things are not going well with National Grid, his biggest ?customer?, he is adamant that appearances can be deceptive. ...

News.(news in brief)
June 9, 2006... ENERGY Advisor calls for breakaway UK emissions regime A senior advisor to the energy and water regulators has urged the government to break away from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and underwrite the price of emissions...

ENERGY Darling signals moves to encourage energy saving.(insisting on energy companies)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... The government is considering offering incentives to energy companies in a bid to maximise the take-up of energy efficiency measures and help transform suppliers into service companies rather than simply retailers of gas and electricity. ...

We owe you.(debt management strategy)
June 9, 2006... Like many companies, utilities are affected by the increasingly indebtedness of British society. UK consumer debt levels exceeded ?1.1 trillion at the end of 2005, which included nearly ?200 billion of unsecured debt. Increasingly, delinquent...

electricity Danish energy know-how in demand.(survey of Confederation of Danish Industries)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Denmark? energy exports doubled in value between 1996 and 2005 to ?10.6 billion, according to figures from the Confederation of Danish Industries (CDI). The CDI said it expected this growth to continue strongly until at least 2015. It...

Going Dutch.(Oxxio acquisition)
June 9, 2006... Utility unbundling is gathering momentum in the Netherlands after the lower house of parliament gave it a ringing endorsement by voting overwhelmingly for the measure. The vote is a victory for Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, the minister of economic...

Features.(aviation emissions)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Chocks away: the European Parliament? environment committee has called for flights to and from the European Union to be included in Europe? Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). MEPs have suggested that a separate pilot trading scheme for aviation...

News.(integrated water management)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Treading the boards Ofwat should be joined by CCWater and the Environment Agency in nine or ten regional ?water boards? based around river basin districts to produce long-term integrated water management plans, the committee said. The...

WATER Sector braced for energy cost hikes.(doubling of energy costs)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Water companies are bracing themselves for big rises in energy costs next year, but they cannot return to Ofwat for a new determination as energy price is considered a business risk. Severn Trent Water, for example, expects a near-doubling...

energy Europe allots ?2.2bn to energy research.(targeted research budgets)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... by Keith Nutthal Targeted energy research projects will command a total budget of ?2.2 billion between 2007 and 2013 under the European Union? draft rewritten seventh framework programme (FP7). Other targeted research budgets under the...

ENERGY Coal fires up power generation.(coal generation electricity)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Coal was used to generate 4 per cent more electricity last year than in 2004, according to government energy statistics. The figures also highlighted a four-fold net increase in gas imports compared with the year before. Gas generated 3...

Relax, we?re in Germany now.(managing water utilities)
June 9, 2006... The Boy Wonder (aka Scottish and Southern Energy? Ian Marchant) may look like he? been taking the anti-ageing cream for yonks, but he sure knows how to put the wind up national newspaper hacks. At the company? results press conference last week...

ENVIRONMENT France opts for energy saving obligation.(Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... The French government has adopted new laws requiring all domestic energy suppliers ? electricity, gas and oil ? to meet energy saving targets that are more ambitious than those called for under the European Union? Energy End-Use Efficiency and...

ENERGY Fuel poverty target at risk, admit ministers.(forecasts of fuel poverty)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Without further initiatives to help the fuel poor, ministers will miss their electoral commitment of taking all vulnerable people out of fuel poverty by 2010, the government has admitted. The admission was highlighted in the government?...

GAS German industry pans regulator for delays.(co-operation contracts between gas network operators)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... by Simon Jones German energy regulator BNA is to postpone until September the publication of co-operation contracts between gas network operators. The decision has provoked widespread criticism from German and European energy and industry...

ELECTRICITY Irish cross-border link to double capacity.(cross-border electricity link)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... by Trevor Loveday The capacity of Ireland? cross-border electricity link is to be doubled under plans unveiled last week by Northern Ireland energy group Viridian and its state-controlled counterpart in the Republic, ESB. The project...

Features.(multi-utility model)
June 9, 2006... The news that Scottish and Southern Energy is seriously considering a move into the water sector should gladden the hearts of regulators and customers around the UK. Other than United Utilities, which has made a pretty good job of running...

WATER Pay up for water, say Lords.(water utilities lead to higher prices)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... by Janet Wood The government, Ofwat, water companies and the public came under fire in a water management report from the Lords Science and Technology Committee. Government had consistently failed to manage the 15-year spending...

GAS UK boosted by North Sea and link upgrade.(United Kingdom)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... The import capacity of the UK? main gas link with mainland Europe is to be increased by nearly 10 per cent, Interconnector (UK) announced this week. The company, which operates the UK-Belgium interconnector, said the extra 2 billion cubic...

News.(making water efficiency effective)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Making water efficiency effective Defra and the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister were ?muddled? over their projections for increased water demand from new housing in the south east, Lord Selborne said. Elliot Morley had told the...

News.
June 9, 2006... Quiet revolution: a triple helix-shaped, vertical axis wind turbine has been unveiled by low carbon design company XCo2. It claims the machine is nearly silent and vibration-free and particularly suitable for urban areas.

Features.(news in brief)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... INTERVIEW Regulatory guru Dieter Helm advises regulators to shift their focus from sweating assets to probing the cost of capital WATER Thames Water is embroiled in a planning inquiry over its bid to build a desalination plant, but is...

Features.(digging in on carbon capture and storage research)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Digging in on carbon capture and storage research Vattenfall, like other major coal-firing generators, is involved in a number of other carbon capture and storage schemes in Europe. It is one of the partners in the ?16 million CASTOR...

WATER South West Water counts cost of domestic meters.(financial reports)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Pennon Group has posted operating profit up 16 per cent to ?175.1 million for 2005/06 and group profit up 24.6 per cent to ?110.9 million. It also announced a three-for-one stock split to increase liquidity. Its South West Water business...

War of words over water.(development is more water efficient)
June 9, 2006... This week water issues loom large, with a Lords committee reporting on long-term supply issues and MPs reflecting on last week? water summit. In a joint statement issued by the government after Thursday? meeting, environment secretary...

Energy Commission in new round of company raids.(inspections at the premises of German energy companies)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... European Commission officials last week carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of German energy companies suspected of violating competition law through ?restrictive business practices and/or abuse of dominant market position?. ...

WATER Water-hungry firms to be lured north.(Northumbrian Water is willing to guarantee water availability)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Northumbrian Water and Tees Valley Regeneration are hoping that water restrictions in the south east will give new impetus to their campaign to invite water-hungry companies to relocate to the North East. According to Tees Valley? marketing...

ENERGY SSE looks into water and ponders nuclear.(Scottish and Southern Energy PLC)(Financial report)
June 9, 2006... by Steve Hobson Scottish and Southern Energy is pondering diversification into water and nuclear power. Announcing a strong performance in the year to 31 March 2006, with pre-tax profit up 19 per cent to ?858.2 on turnover up 37 per...

ELECTRICITY Eon mulls over carbon capture proposal.(E.ON UK PLC)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Eon said it was ?considering? building a ?cutting edge? coal-fired plant that could incorporate carbon dioxide capture at its Killingholme site, but only if the government supported it ?within an appropriate commercial and regulatory...

News.
June 9, 2006... Slap down: the European Court of Justice has condemned Ireland for taking a dispute with the UK over radioactive discharges from Sellafield to the UN. The court said its judges should have heard the case.

Severn Trent denies profit rise is excessive.(Severn Trent Water Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Severn Trent Water managing director Tony Wray denied that a 30.2 per cent profit increase, to ?400.4 million before interest and taxes, was excessive. ?Profits in the water sector are good news as we have such huge capital investment...

Will it go to penalties?(severe reprimands and significant fines)
June 9, 2006... In the past two months the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) has begun to get to grips with its new powers to impose financial penalties on the water and sewerage industry. On 31 March, Ofwat announced that for the first time it...

electricity Large Spanish users offered 20-year deals.(industrial customers pay a regulated tariff)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... Industrial customers in Spain are negotiating with electricity suppliers about fixed-price contracts that could run for 20 years, a spokeswoman for large power user lobby Aege has claimed. Spain? government is promoting the negotiations,...

gas Putin blocks EU pipe access.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 9, 2006... The latest energy summit between the European Union and Russia has ended with president Vladimir Putin rejecting European Commission demands for direct EU access to Russia? gas networks. The meeting was held in Sochi, on the Black Sea...