Utility Week articles from March 2003

Utility Week archives from March 2003

TELECOMS; Glitches dog Hutchison's 3G mobile rollout.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The launch of Hutchison 3G's third-generation mobile service, 3, took place on 3 March after delays and technical glitches slowed the roll-out. Customers will not be able to use the service for a few weeks as handsets have to be ordered...

GAS; BG settles row over control of Indian fields.(BG Group dispute with Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Reliance Industries)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... BG Group has settled a dispute with its Indian partners over operational control of oil and gas fields acquired from an Enron subsidiary a year ago. BG wanted a dominant role in the partnership but has agreed a three-member operator board....

pan-utility; Utilities miss Top 100 list.(100 best companies to work for)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Utilities were conspicuously absent from a list compiled by The Sunday Times of the 100 best companies to work for in 2003. No water, gas, electricity or telecoms company made it into the ranking, although there were three entries from...

TELECOMS; Cesky broadband fees spark monopoly probe.(Cesky Telecom)
March 7, 2003... by Mark Andress The Czech anti-monopoly office has launched proceedings against incumbent operator Cesky Telecom over its high-speed internet connection fees. Cesky Telecom this week launched its Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line...

ENVIRONMENT; Climate study probes demand impact.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... A wide-ranging research programme has been launched this week to assess the impact of climate change on energy demand patterns and the problems likely to be caused for urban drainage. The pound sterling2 million programme is being funded by...

TELECOMS; Colt records loss and warns of tough year.(Colt Telecoms)
March 7, 2003... by Zo Grainge Alternative telecoms carrier Colt Telecoms wrote down the value of its network by pound sterling720 million for 2002 and recorded full-year losses deepening to pound sterling718 million, against a loss of pound sterling360...

ENERGY; Ministers square up for Ofgem power row.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... by Roger Milne Ministers have decided to risk a major fight with energy companies by pushing for legislation to give energy regulator Ofgem the power to take over the assets of a network company in the event of it going bankrupt. ...

Inside information.(employee relationship management)
March 7, 2003... As many as 95 per cent of utility employees do not understand their company's strategy. Fewer than one utility in ten actually achieves the full potential of its business strategy. Yet the execution of strategy is the factor most admired by...

ENERGY; Fenosa denies Portuguese tie talks.(Union Fenosa denies merger with Electricidade de Portugal)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Union Fenosa has denied it is in merger talks with Electricidade de Portugal (EdP) after rumours of a possible tie-up between the Spanish and Portuguese power utilities. Fenosa chairman Antonio Basagoiti said his company and EdP had...

ENERGY; Electrabel gets asset sales lift.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Profits at Belgian power group Electrabel were lifted by asset sales as operating revenue in the company's core energy operations remained near flat last year. Meanwhile, operations outside Belgium offset the effects of competition at home. ...

ENVIRONMENT; Dutch deal kicks off emission trading.(Shell Trading, Nuon)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Shell Trading and Dutch power company Nuon have kicked off the European Union emissions trading scheme with the first trade of carbon dioxide emissions allowances. Shell has agreed to sell a significant volume of its first compliance year...

ENERGY; Enel eyes Bulgaria venture.(Enel may buy stake in Maritza East III power plant)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The largest listed utility in Europe, Enel, could be about to acquire a stake in the 840MW Maritza East III power plant in Bulgaria. According to industry sources, the Italian company is in advanced talks with US Entergy to acquire some or...

Buying power.(negotiation of electricity contracts)
March 7, 2003... Many business leaders still believe it is not possible to change their electricity supplier in Europe and take advantage of cheaper electricity. While there are many problems transacting contracts, it is possible to negotiate cheaper...

ENERGY; German watchdog in new RWE/Eon probe.(Federal Cartel Office)
March 7, 2003... by Simon Jones Germany's Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has ordered an immediate cut of between 36-48 per cent in RWE Net's metering and billing charges. And in a further sign of its increasingly aggressive stance towards Germany's power...

ELECTRICITY; Ecotricity sets its sights on 1m customers.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Renewable energy generator and supplier Ecotricity has upped its push into the domestic market with a bid to boost its customer base to one million by 2010. 'It's not good enough just to be a niche player. It's time to hit big numbers,'...

WATER; Glas delivers [pounds sterling]11m bill cut.(Glas Cymru to cut bills for Welsh Water customers)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... In a move that has helped to vindicate its not-for-profit structure, Glas Cymru has announced it is to slash bills for Welsh Water customers by pound sterling11 million from April. Each household will get a pound sterling9 cut in standing...

WATER; Policy flaws poised to cause hosepipe bans.
March 7, 2003... by Karma Ockenden Consumer watchdog WaterVoice has warned the government that poor policy-making could leave customers in dry areas facing supply restrictions. In its response to the environment secretary's guidance to Ofwat on the...

TELECOMS; No surprises at KPN as mobiles take charges.(2002 financial results)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Dutch fixed-line telecoms incumbent KPN released full-year 2002 results in line with analysts' expectations, showing strong underlying earnings after cost savings and restructuring. The company recorded a net loss for the year of pound...

A different approach.(consolidation in German energy sector)
March 7, 2003... Perhaps there isn't a word in the German language for 'comparator'. It certainly isn't something that overly troubles the German energy sector. For while some utilities in Britain press the regulators and competition authorities for a more...

PAN-UTILITY; Cash ends row over telecoms mast venture.(British Waterways settles with Railtrack, Marconi over Ultramast)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... British Waterways has settled its row with Railtrack and Marconi over the two companies' telecoms mast joint venture Ultramast. The canal operator objected to a plan by Railtrack and Marconi to take pound sterling75 million of cash out of...

WATER; Surfers urge Meacher to clean up.(Michael Meacher, European Bathing Water Directive)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Environment ministers, including Britain's Michael Meacher, have been urged by Surfers Against Sewage to toughen up the revision of the European Bathing Water Directive. European Union ministers met in Brussels this week to discuss...

WATER; Which? calls for charging changes.(Consumers' Association)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Consumer champion the Consumers' Association has called for customers to be given more choice over how they are charged for water. In a report on water metering in the March issue of its magazine Which?, the association said it was wrong...

WATER; WestLB clears decks ahead of bid for AWG.(Swan Group for sale)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... by Paul Garrett As German bank WestLB was preparing to make another, formal bid for AWG, it cleared the regulatory path by putting Swan Group, owner of Mid Kent Water, on the market with a price tag of about pound sterling170 million. ...

Lowering the carbon burden.(greenhouse gas control)
March 7, 2003... The government has outlined how a cut of 15-25 million tonnes of carbon by 2020 could be achieved. This is what would be necessary to ensure firm progress towards the 60 per cent reductions by 2050 now in the administration's sights as a result...

ABB.(profits data)
March 7, 2003... by Zo Grainge Troubled Swiss-based engineering company ABB has had a traumatic year, but is confident the worst is over. The company's core divisions (Power Technologies and Automation Technologies), created last year to sharpen ABB's...

Fortum.(profits data)
March 7, 2003... by Nigel Hawkins Finnish-based Fortum is a leading energy company in the Nordic region employing over 13,000 people. Its origins date back to the early 1920s when the Imatra hydro power station was built. By 1998, IVO, which owned the...

ELECTRICITY; UK fear over EU-wide nuclear safety regime.
March 7, 2003... by Roger Milne Britain's nuclear safety regulator has voiced concern about plans by the European Union to organise nuclear industry safety and security on a continental rather than a national level. Laurence Williams, head of the...

ELECTRICITY; Czech's probe on wires value thrown out.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The Czech anti-monopoly office has thrown out competition authority calls for a revaluation of the regional electricity distributors set to be acquired by power utility CEZ. Once merged into a 'super-CEZ', the company is set to be...

TELECOMS; OTE in Serbian drive despite foreign blows.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Greece's dominant fixed-line telecoms operator, OTE, unveiled plans to boost its presence in Serbia ahead of reporting heavy writedowns in foreign assets - including its Serbian operations - in its 2002 results. The company reported net...

TELECOMS; NTL gives Ofcom chief [pounds sterling]1m handout.(Stephen Carter)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The chief executive designate of new telecoms super-regulator Ofcom, Stephen Carter, received more than pound sterling1.1 million as a bonus from former employer NTL last year, even though the cable group was forced to seek bankruptcy...

ELECTRICITY; Crown Estate tests water for next offshore phase.(windfarms planned)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Potential for another 3-4GW of wind power could be created offshore, following the Crown Estates' invitation this week to wind developers to register their interest in the next tender round for sites off Britain's coast. The British Wind...

WATER; Pennon picked as prime bid target.(for venture capitalists)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... South West Water parent Pennon is high on the hit list of venture capitalists and likely to receive bid attention, according to investment experts. Fund manager Isis screened the market for companies that would attract venture capitalists....

Is the White Paper greenwash?(Energy White Paper)
March 7, 2003... Now the dust has begun to settle on the government's Energy White Paper, politicians are looking for more evidence from the government on how it plans to deliver the policies. The Conservative's shadow trade and industry secretary Tim Yeo...

GAS; Poland cuts supplies as glut grows.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Poland has secured a major cut in the gas deliveries agreed with Russia in a 1996 take-or-pay deal. A revised contract signed on 1 March has allowed Poland to cut deliveries by almost 75 billion cubic metres from 2003-20. This 35 per cent...

ENERGY; Advisors warn of fuel poverty fund shortfall.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... by Roger Milne Government advisers and power suppliers chimed together to warn ministers this week that the administration's fuel poverty programme needed to be stepped up by as much as 50 per cent to be sure of ending the problem by 2017....

ENERGY; Growing power revenues lift Spanish energy duo.(Iberdrola, Union Fenosa)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Spanish energy companies Iberdrola and Union Fenosa posted healthy rises in 2002 profits as generation revenue boosted both companies' bottom line. Iberdrola, Spain's second-biggest power company, delivered a 6.3 per cent rise in 2002 net...

TELECOMS; Swiss to push for opening of local networks.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Switzerland has revealed plans to push forward the opening-up of its local telecoms networks to competition, ending Swisscom's monopoly on the lines into households. The government said last week that it wanted 'to open the last mile for...

High tide for water sector.(share prices, various companies)
March 7, 2003... by Trevor Dooley The millpond that is the utilities sector is about to develop ripples as, naturally, the water sector makes a splash. Even the advent of epoch-making third generation mobile telecoms technology did not disturb that...

TELECOMS; Vodafone steps up bids for European units.(Telecel, Libertel, Europolitan)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... The world's largest mobile operator Vodafone has continued its efforts to centralise decision-making by bidding for full control of Portuguese operator Telecel. Vodafone has offered 579p a share for Telecel and said it would not increase...

TELECOMS; Mobiles and internet drag back Telefonica.
March 7, 2003... by Zo Grainge Spain's largest company, telecoms incumbent Telefonica, posted a record pound sterling3.3 billion loss for 2002 after writedowns in its mobile and internet divisions. The company's mobile subsidiary, Telefonica Moviles,...

GAS; Vattenfall poised for UK trade this year.(Vattenfall Europe)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Vattenfall Europe has said it expects to be trading gas in the UK in the second quarter of this year. The German subsidiary of Swedish power group Vattenfall said the 'significant slump' in market liquidity at Europe's chief hub at...

PAN-UTILITY; Centrica stock fades as it fails to impress.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Centrica has failed to impress analysts at recent meetings with the City, causing the stock to underperform, according to a broker's note from UBS Warburg. Warburg said it was 'disappointed by the message coming from Centrica during its...

Pale comparison.(Water Bill)
March 7, 2003... On 20 February 2003, the Water Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords. The Bill sets out to implement the changes to the current regime for water resources management outlined in number of consultations since the Water Summit in...

Southern swell.(sustainable water resources needed in Kent, Southeast)
March 7, 2003... On 5 February, deputy prime minister John Prescott published Sustainable Communities - Building for the Future. This confirmed the government's intention to deliver an extra 200,000 homes over the next 15-20 years in four growth areas of which...

Head in the clouds.(Energy White Paper)
March 7, 2003... The long-awaited Energy White Paper purported to provide a 50-year energy strategy that would take us to a low, or even zero, carbon economy. In practice, it is both timid and reckless. It is reckless in that the very large role suggested...

ENERGY; UK carbon policy could cost.(market competitiveness)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Heavy industrial energy users have warned that proposals in last week's Energy White Paper could jeopardise the UK's competitiveness in global industrial markets. The Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) said that potential increases in...

gas; Wilson in outburst on German protectionism.(energy minister Brian Wilson)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... by John Alexander Brian Wilson, Britain's energy minister, has attacked the German government for undermining European energy competition by allowing the merger of Eon and Ruhrgas. Speaking at a gas industry event in London, Wilson...

Don't enrichment me unjustly.(industry briefs)
March 7, 2003... What's in a name? If you are the current administration, quite a lot, it seems. The great man was intrigued to see that the Energy White Paper, published last week, contained a reference to a new organisation. Enter the Nuclear...

ELECTRICITY; CEZ looks to pastures new.(CEZ plans to expand in central, eastern Europe)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2003... Czech power utility CEZ last week announced its ambitions to expand in Central and eastern Europe, listing Poland, Hungary, Austria and Germany as possible targets. Opportunities for growth will arise when Poland restructures and sells its...

eLECTRICITY; Mine gas firm shelves the UK.(Alkane Energy PLC focuses expansion from United Kingdom to Germany)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Coal mine gas-fired generation company Alkane Energy has moved the focus of its expansion from the UK to Germany, where it can get nearly three times the price for its output with a 20-year guarantee. Chairman Cameron Davies slated the...

eLECTRICITY; British Energy still on the brink despite aid.(British Energy PLC aid package from government)
March 14, 2003... by Roger Milne British Energy has won an 18-month extension on its aid package from the government but the generator is still a long way from avoiding administration, with fresh financial problems and deepening legal difficulties. ...

WATER; Price rises will hit poor, warns WaterVoice.(WaterVoice North West)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Consumer watchdog WaterVoice has warned that low income customers may have difficulty meeting the price rises set for April. WaterVoice North West last week said the customers it represented face 7 per cent price increases next month, while...

ENERGY; Powergen in [pounds sterling]120m renewables bid.(PowerGen PLC invests in green generation)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Powergen has unveiled plans to invest pound sterling120 million in green generation. Four initiatives for 2003 were launched this week under the company's Powergen Renewables brand. They were: the signing of an option on a lease for a...

GAS; BG pulls out of Caspian Sea project.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... BGGroup has signed two cash deals within a week to sell its stake in assets in the North Caspian region, netting the company a total of pound sterling770 million. The group this week sold half of its 16.67 per cent stake in the North...

WATER; Cancer threat found in rural Irish supplies.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Rural residents in County Tipperary, Ireland, have been told to stop using water from private wells after evidence was found that they were contaminated with a metal that causes cancer. The Republic of Ireland's Environmental Protection...

ELECTRICITY; Ofreg calls for CHP boost.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Northern Ireland energy regulator Ofreg has called for more use of combined heat and power and renewables as it pushes ahead with bringing more competition to the province's generation sector. Outlining the next stages of generation...

ENERGY; Czech power sparks - gas stays flat.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Czech power companies last year benefited from improved efficiency and higher prices, but gas distributors had a quieter time. South Bohemian regional power utility Jihoceska Energetika, which is controlled by Austria's Energie and...

TELECOMS; Deutsche [pounds sterling]17bn loss sets new German record.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Europe's largest telecoms operator, Deutsche Telekom, posted a 2002 net loss of pound sterling16.99 billion, the largest in German corporate history. This compares to a loss of pound sterling2.35 billion at the end of 2001. The company...

eNERGY; Beckett hints at cuts in fuel poor scheme.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... by Roger Milne Environment secretary Margaret Beckett has admitted that the government's flagship fuel poverty scheme, known as Warm Front, was likely to suffer budget cuts in the financial year starting next month. This admission...

Fared ; well.
March 14, 2003... Soon, Oftel will be no more, but its legacy of fighting for competition will live on in Ofcom . David Edmonds writes. After nearly 20 years regulating the UK telecoms sector in the interest of the consumer, later this year Oftel will join...

ELECTRICITY; Belgium duo untie the knot.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Belgium's Electrabel and public power company SPE have ended their CPTE generation and transmission joint venture because liberalisation has made the tie-up largely obsolete. Established in 1995, CPTE pooled the two utilities' generating...

MULTI-UTILITY; Endesa to sell-off renewable units.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Spain's biggest power company, Endesa, is to sell 50 per cent of its wind-generator unit Made Technologia Renovables and renewables subsidiary Endesa Cogeneracion y Renovables as part of its divestment strategy. Endesa chief operating...

ELECTRICITY; Green scheme loans boost for Germany.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... The European Investment Bank (EIB) has drawn up plans to finance a range of renewable energy projects in Germany. Up to pound sterling140 million is to be invested, mainly in wind power plants, and to a lesser extent in geothermal,...

ENERGY; German states want a watchdog.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... A group of German federal states has called for a regulatory authority to oversee the country's energy market. Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland have filed a motion in Germany's upper house opposing the...

eNERGY; Renewable subsidies drive up German bills.
March 14, 2003... by Trevor Dooley German multi-utility giant Eon has blamed recent rises in domestic power prices on new taxes and subsidies for renewable energy and combined heat and power generation. The company said government 'surcharges' had...

ELECTRICITY; Agency reviews coal-fired pollution.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... The Environment Agency has confirmed it is reviewing the pollution control regime for coal-fired power stations after concern that dirtier plant is being operated at the expense of cleaner ones like Drax. AES Drax, the operator of Britain's...

GAS; Force feeding fallow fields.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Nearly 80 exploration blocks and North Sea gas and oil finds currently lying fallow are to be made available to other licensees or new entrants under a scheme designed to ensure Britain's offshore energy reserves are exploited more fully. ...

TELECOMS; France Telecom hit hard by writedowns.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... by Zo Grainge For 24 hours last week, state-controlled telecoms company France Telecom held the record for the largest corporate loss in French history after posting a pound sterling14.11 billion loss for 2002. The loss, which was...

GAS; Ruhrgas and Wingas join up for trans-Germany link.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Rival German gas suppliers Ruhrgas and Wingas said they would jointly build a 500km pipeline running east-west across southern Germany, rather than each building separate links. The pipeline will run from Lampertheim in southwest Germany to...

GAS; Greece and Turkey to link up in pipe deal.
March 14, 2003... by Keith Nutthall Eurogas and the European Commission have welcomed a deal between two of Europe's historic enemies - Greece and Turkey - to bury the hatchet and build a pound sterling170 million, 285km, gas pipeline between Komotini in...

ELECTRICITY; Low power prices to stay, says Int Power.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... by Trevor Dooley International Power has warned that low wholesale prices in the UK and US showed little sign of relenting as it reported falling sales in Europe offset by growth in the US and Australia. The generator upset the market...

ELECTRICITY; New Neta price cools green risk.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... An overhauled version of the prices paid by New Electricity Trading Arrangementsplayers whose output or demand differs from their contracted amounts could cool the risk faced by intermittent generators like renewables. The new system,...

International Power hits all-time low.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Shares in International Power (IP) hit an all-time low last Friday, as the company disclosed that it is in technical default on nearly pound sterling800 million worth of power station loans, both in the UK and US. As The Times and the...

TELECOMS; BTand unions row over India plans.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Former fixed-line monopoly BT's intentions to transfer 500 UK jobs to India within the month and 2,200 over the coming year have sparked protests from the Communication Workers Union (CWU). As part of a cost-cutting manoeuvre, BT has...

Playing with pipes of peace.
March 14, 2003... In early February, spare parts for two water treatment plants arrived in the Jordanian port of Aqaba, for shipment to the central Iraqi towns of Mahaweel and Hamza. The equipment is needed for a European Union (EU) funded project to...

ELECTRICITY; Gamesa sells wind arm to Japanese firm.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Spanish industrial and power group Gamesa has sold wind-farm unit Sistemas Energeticos Cando to Japan's Electric Power for pound sterling50 million. The agreement envisages a commercial deal between Gamesa, Electric Power and compatriot...

Kyoto ugly.
March 14, 2003... At the most recent round of climate talks held in Delhi last November, one of the most significant items on the agenda barely got a mention, namely the need to look forward to consider ways to deliver global emissions reductions massively...

White Paper whitewash?
March 14, 2003... What the Energy White Paper did, or did not, say continues to exercise utilities and this week we return to the subject with two contrasting opinions about whether it is a responsible and achieveable blueprint for the energy sector in Britain...

ENERGY; Services can build loyalty in I&C market.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Energy suppliers could enhance customer loyalty and boost revenues in the Industrial and Commercial market (I&C) by bundling services in with energy, according to a recent report. The study, by market analyst Datamonitor, suggested that...

New progress on fuel poverty.
March 14, 2003... The latest government figures have estimated that there has been a significant fall in the number of fuel poor households in England, down to 1.8 million compared with 3.3 million in 1998 and 4.l3 million in 1996. In terms of vulnerable...

France Telecom.
March 14, 2003... by Nigel Hawkins As the incumbent telecoms operator in France and an employer of around 200,000 people, France Telecom is one of the country's leading companies, with more than 111 million customers across the world. Not only is...

eLECTRICITY; Green obligation rise urged.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... Green energy producers this week urged the government to make the renewables obligation target bigger than the one set for green energy's proportion of the electricity supply market to help investment in the sector. Both are set at 10 per cent...

TELECOMS; Net loss takes blossom off Orange.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2003... France Telecom-owned mobile operator Orange recorded a net loss of pound sterling3.13 billion for 2002, despite an increase in Average Revenue Per User (Arpu) in the UK and underlying earnings for the group. For the first time, Arpu rose...

Jury still out on many new Bills.
March 14, 2003... MPs and Peers are facing a heavy workload of Bills in both final and draft form, as well as continuing inquiries into aspects of government policy. On the horizon, too, is the long-awaited report from the National Audit Office into the...