Utility Week articles from March 2008

Utility Week archives from March 2008

PAN-UTILITYSmart meters 'help to retain customers'.(News)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... International business consultancy ABeam Consulting has set up a utilities "centre of excellence" in the UK. Created in 2003 from Deloitte's Japanese business unit, ABeam has acquired UK consultancies Leadent and Catalyst as the basis of...

ELECTRICITYBritish Energy in talks with utility investors.(News)
March 21, 2008... by Roger Milne British Energy confirmed this week that it was in talks with "interested parties" over its future and its "pivotal" involvement in a programme of new nuclear reactors in the UK. There has been considerable City and...

ENERGYBarking plans heat supply to Gateway.(News)
March 21, 2008... Barking Power Station in Essex is to harness waste heat and export it to surrounding homes. A scheme announced by the London Development Agency (LDA) aims to capture 400MW of excess heat and use it to supply heating and hot water directly...

GASExchange planned for Baumgarten.(News)
March 21, 2008... Austrian group OMV plans to launch a gas exchange at its Baumgarten hub early next year. The long-expected move is part of OMV and Gazprom's bid to make Baumgarten the most liquid hub in Europe. Earlier this year, OMV granted Gazprom a 50 per...

News.(Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)(carbon capture and storage )(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Ministers make more funds available to develop carbon capture technology The government used last week's Budget to signal that the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is to call for bids to use its Environmental...

News.(Macquarie UK )(Novera Energy)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Severn case delay The Serious Fraud Office court case against Severn Trent Water has been postponed for a second time and is now likely to be heard next month. Grid deal cleared The Competition Commission has approved the...

ENERGYDarling: help fuel poor or else.(News)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... by Roger Milne Energy suppliers have been put on notice by ministers that they face legislation and government intervention on prices unless more is done to help the fuel poor and those on prepayment meters. The threat of government...

GASExtraction of methane from coal advances.(News)
March 21, 2008... Island Gas (IGas) has announced in a trading statement that it is making "good progress" in its plans to abstract methane from coal seams in the UK. IGas, which floated on the Alternative Investment Market last December, said test drilling...

PAN-UTILITYDoubts remain over cost of carbon cuts.(News)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... by Janet Wood The government has proposed that carbon dioxide emissions allowances be set at [pounds sterling]12 a tonne for the first phase of its new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), an obligatory UK scheme for businesses to trade...

Features.(Calendar)
March 21, 2008... THE 22 March UN World Water Day 26 March Joint IAT/IET asset management conference looking at the implications of climate change and sustainable development, London Critical infrastructure and flooding conference...

News.(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... BAA's Heathrow Terminal 5, due to open on 28 March, will be powered via a private distribution network built and maintained by EDF Energy. The utility company installed and removed 26 temporary substations during construction. The permanent...

ENVIRONMENTEU agrees green deadlines.(News)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... by Keith Nuttall European Union heads of government have committed their ministers to securing agreement by the end of this year over the European Commission's ambitious renewable energy and climate change package proposals. The aim,...

News.(Endesa S.A. plans to acquire Acciona S.A. and ENEL S.p.A.)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... ENERGY Auction looms for Endesa assets Endesa plans to auction any assets that Eon refuses to pick up under the deal that allowed Enel and Acciona to win control of the Spanish group last year. The holdings in Spain, France, Italy...

ENERGYEnel seeks stability after acquisitions.(News)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... by Janet Wood Announcing profit up 31 per cent to [euro]55.7 billion for the year to 31 December, Italian utility Enel said there would be "no more major acquisitions" in the near future. Chief executive Fulvio Conti also confirmed...

'Pioneering' idea is Barking mad.(News)
March 21, 2008... Personally, Disconnector would have the perpetrator shot. That was the great man's response to a particularly unedifying, inaccurate and inept press statement from the London Development Agency (LDA). The LDA announced last week what it...

News.(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Catching 'em young! Pictured is Ben Glover. He has been recognised by international charity WaterAid as one of its youngest supporters. He is just three years old and his parents work for Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water. Mum Michaela...

University challenge.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Graduates aren't flocking to utilities, but firms aren't busting a gut to attract them . Rob Sheldon sets some homework It is no secret that the UK is experiencing a skills shortage in the engineering profession. This shortage has been...

PAN-UTILITYPower staff may get ID cards early.(News)
March 21, 2008... Power station workers could be included in the first tranche of UK citizens issued with new-look ID cards, home secretary Jacqui Smith has indicated. The government has confirmed proposals to roll out the ID scheme starting next year....

ELECTRICITYSingle market ancillary fees mooted.(News)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Electricity market regulators in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are consulting over how to implement a new scheme of payment for ancillary grid services. The regulatory authorities decided in February that ancillary services...

Features.
March 21, 2008... Is competition the answer, or better regulation? Almost 20 years after the start of the great experiment that has been the UK competitive energy market, competition is about to begin in another utility market - water in Scotland. Water...

GASGazprom buys stake in smart meter firm.(News)
March 21, 2008... Gazprom Marketing and Trading, the UK arm of the Russian gas giant, has taken an equity stake in Cheshire-based smart metering company TruRead. The deal will enable Gazprom to deliver smart meters to the 10,000 UK outlets it currently...

News.(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... ENERGY Planning rules relaxed for microgen The government has introduced into Parliament the new regulations required to make it easier for English households to install some forms of microgeneration. From early next month, the...

The human touch.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Mobile working is as much about people as technology . Richard Williams spells out the role of the HR department in an implementation Getting a workforce truly mobile requires much more than technology. In fact, with the technologies now...

[pounds sterling]44bn bill for new generation.(Features)
March 21, 2008... The UK is poised to effect material change to its generation fuel mix with a significant programme of building next generation nuclear and "advanced and cleaner coal" power plants, according to the government's recent Energy White Paper. ...

WATERMythe restart 'slowed by health trust action'.(News)(Severn Trent Water Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... by Janet Wood Customer water supplies would have been restored more quickly after the flooding of Severn Trent Water's Mythe water treatment works had it not been for "interference by Gloucester Primary Care Trust" acting through the...

WATERNI Water 'can make up [pounds sterling]18m shortfall'.(News)(Northern Ireland Water )(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... by Cathryn Bullimore Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) has said it hopes to meet a revenue shortfall for 2008/09, estimated at [pounds sterling]18 million, from further efficiencies and increased borrowings. Last week, NI Water chief...

ENVIRONMENTGreenhouse gas data 'inconsistent'.(News)
March 21, 2008... There is a "degree of confusion" over UK goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has been a "significant shift" in the basis for the 2010 target for emissions reductions, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). In its report...

GASNpower under fire for bill changes.(News)
March 21, 2008... Ofgem has confirmed that it is investigating a complaint from consumer watchdog Energywatch about changes to the domestic gas bills of some Npower customers. They have accused the supplier of overcharging. The consumer body asked Ofgem to...

ELECTRICITYRomania set for two more nuclear plants.(News)
March 21, 2008... Romania's nuclear plant operating company Nuclearelectrica expects to finalise plans in May for a joint venture company to develop and operate two new nuclear plants in the country. The joint venture will involve six other companies:...

Nuclear fishing.(Features)
March 21, 2008... The UK is short of people with nuclear skills . James Yeats tells utilities how to catch the big fish in the small pond of talented nuclear workers Much of the press coverage around nuclear replacement has focused on issues such as cost,...

People power.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Utilities should consider handing their HR functions over to experts, just as they would outsource customer care or billing, says Margaret Harvey Human resources outsourcing (HRO) is one of the fastest growing forms of business process...

Fuel poverty plan fails to impress.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Last week's Budget failed to excite - or convince. The Energy Bill is now to be scrutinised by the Lords Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour MPs were underwhelmed by the chancellor's noises on fuel poverty in his Budget...

ELECTRICITYEon tackles three repairs at its offshore windfarms.(News)
March 21, 2008... Work has started to replace a cable to the Scroby Sands off-shore windfarm. An Eon spokesman said the sub-sea cable replacement would start after Easter. "This is the first full cable replacement to be undertaken in the UK at an offshore...

Features.
March 21, 2008... Chris Powell on why banks are desperate for energy traders. Job opportunities on commodity desks at London's top banks are greater than ever, since the simultaneous freezing of credit markets and rocketing energy prices made expansion of...

Features.(MWH Development Corp. )(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... MWH is taking action to find and keep more female workers, says Jeannie Edwards. Women make up a significantly smaller percentage of the MWH workforce than men - a story replicated in virtually every company active in the field of...

Features.
March 21, 2008... Vicki Parker provides some tips on finding and recruiting the best sales and marketing staff. The skills demanded of those working on the customer side of energy supply businesses are changing. As firms are increasingly forced to grapple...

ENERGYScots should act to promote green heat.(News)
March 21, 2008... Scotland should act to support the take-up of renewable heat, according to Scotland's Renewable Heat Strategy: Recommendations to Scottish Ministers, a report by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland. The group said that...

News.(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... WATER Quality of Scottish water on the rise Overall water standards in Scotland are getting better, according to Scotland's Water Environment Review 2000-2006, a new report from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa). ...

Features.
March 21, 2008... Can utilities earn more from supplying less? James Buchan, biographer of the 18th century economist Adam Smith, makes an important observation about the limits of Smith's ideas. He says: "Smith could not imagine the destruction perfect...

PAN-UTILITYOpposition will not hold up GdF merger.(News)(Gaz de France plans to acquire Suez Co.)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Gaz de France (GdF) workers have voted against plans to merge the energy company with Suez. However, the company said the vote had moved the merger closer to completion, because the merger could not proceed until the opinions of the works...

News.(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... EC clarifies green energy trading regime Member states that want to promote the development of renewable energy via feed-in tariffs will be able to prohibit domestic energy producers from trading in renewable energy certificates, the...

Up the ladder.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Rather than focus solely on recruitment, utilities must start training their existing employees to fill skills gaps and help them up the ladder, says David Hellier More than 32 per cent of people in the utility sector perform a role that...

WATERMains renewal needed to cut leaks.(News)(Southern Water PLC)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Southern Water is to seek additional funding for mains replacement in its business plan for the 2009-14 price control. The company has spent shareholders' money repairing leaks since the 2006 summer drought, but in the current period has...

Breaking the cycle.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Staggered investment would smooth boom and bust employment patterns and make working in the water sector more attractive, says Chris Hoggart As the current water industry Asset Management Plan (AMP) periodic review cycle reaches its...

News.
March 21, 2008... WATER Ofwat 'must back pollution initiatives' Water companies will have more freedom to use innovative schemes to reduce pollution from farming, environment minister Phil Woolas has signalled. Matthew Taylor, MP for Cornwall and...

Features.
March 21, 2008... WATER Hopes and expectations for the competitive Scottish water market. Featuring an interview with regulator Alan Sutherland and comment from Business Stream and its new rivals ENERGY With the pressure on suppliers to act on fuel...

Search and rescue.(Features)
March 21, 2008... Headhunters are saving many a utility from skills peril at the moment . But Neil Daly tells Karma Ockenden the real clamour for staff is in renewables It's boom time for headhunters. Staff shortages - most famously in engineering, but also...

Features.
March 21, 2008... Owen Williams provides some tips on how in-house resources can best be tapped, and why it's worth doing. There is a lot to be said for utilities focusing on maximising the productivity of their present workforces, particularly in comparison...

Features.(Corporate Manslaughter Act)(Brief article)
March 21, 2008... Before enhancing their employees' skills, Mary Clarke says utilities should make sure there are no gaping and potentially dangerous holes in what their staff are already meant to know. A competent and skilled workforce is arguably the...