Utility Week articles from October 2007

Utility Week archives from October 2007

ENERGYGenerators switch to gas as prices fall.(News)
October 5, 2007... Falling gas prices and reduced nuclear output prompted a switch to gas-fired generation in the quarter to the end of June, according to the Digest of UK Energy Statistics produced quarterly for the Department for Business, Enterprise and...

News.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Tidal lagoon debate makes waves Friends of the Earth (FoE) claimed on Monday that a series of so-called "tidal lagoons" would be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient than the barrage scheme espoused by the SDC. Unlike a...

ELECTRICITYBarrage would cost [pounds sterling]14bn.(News)
October 5, 2007... by Roger Milne A power-producing barrage across the River Severn could be competitive with other forms of generation, but only if the [pounds sterling]14 billion scheme were publicly led and owned and replacement wildlife habitats were...

News.
October 5, 2007... Waves away The Scottish Government has given ScottishPower subsidiary CRE Energy permission for four 750kW Pelamis units at Billia Croo, off the Orkney coast. Meanwhile, AWS Ocean Energy has received financial support from the Carbon Trust...

WATERCPRE calls for southeast water czar.(Features)
October 5, 2007... The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has called for a region-wide water strategy for the southeast and a new body to enforce it. CPRE South East said the balance of water resources was "unsustainable" and a strategy was required...

water'No special treatment' on carbon reduction.(News)
October 5, 2007... by Vibeka Mair Water UK will not make a "plea for special treatment" under the government's new obligatory UK emissions trading scheme, known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC). Speaking at Water UK's climate change conference,...

Carbon clampdown.(Features)
October 5, 2007... With the Carbon Reduction Commitment, small organisations will join the largest emitters in curbing their carbon emissions, says Ian Smyth In the energy review report, the government committed to delivering a cut of 1.2 million tonnes of...

News.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Laid low: a landmark on the Cumbrian coast disappeared last week when the cooling towers for the UK's first commercial nuclear power station at Calder Hall, on the Sellafield site, were demolished. The plant operated for 47 years after it...

ENVIRONMENTNew deals signed on CCS pilot projects.(Features)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Gassco is to begin studies on carbon capture and storage (CCS) on behalf of Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Industry. The studies will examine carbon dioxide capture, storage and transport at two Norwegian power stations. The first is...

Service industry.(Features)
October 5, 2007... With energy prices stable, customer service is more important than ever, as Steve Hobson found out at a Utility Week/Cable & Wireless roundtable Striking the right balance between offering competitive prices, improving customer service and...

News.
October 5, 2007... WATER Defra names new cases for treatment The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has named 24 new "sensitive areas" where water companies have to take action by 2014 to reduce phosphorus and nitrate discharges. The...

Features.(Brief article)(Calendar)
October 5, 2007... THE 6 October Inauguration of Ormen Lange project 8-11 October BWEA annual conference, Glasgow 9-11 October CIWEM annual conference, London 10 October Deadline for submissions to the government's nuclear...

waterWater industry denies disconnection threats.(News)
October 5, 2007... by Vibeka Mair Water UK has dismissed allegations that some water companies are intimidating customers by threatening disconnection for non-payment of bills. Since 1999 the water industry has been banned on public health grounds from...

ELECTRICITYParliament to enforce green energy targets.(Features)
October 5, 2007... The European Parliament is on a collision course with many European Union member states after this week adopting a report calling for compulsory national targets for increased renewable energy generation. As the European Commission drafts...

ENERGYEon seeks Scandinavian market share.(Features)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Eon Energie has created a [euro]200 million war chest to finance the expansion of its power generation and distribution business in Scandinavia as part of an offensive to secure a larger number of industrial clients and increase market share...

Features.
October 5, 2007... ENERGY Estonia looks to boost Nordic links The Estonian government has asked the state-owned utility Eesti Energia to prepare a feasibility report on a 650MW subsea interconnector to strengthen Estonia's links to the Nordic power...

What to do with the Dome?(News)
October 5, 2007... Those iconic cooling towers were not the only things crashing to the ground last week. The possibility that one of Calder Hall's now closed reactors might become a nuclear "museum", a new tourist attraction at the Sellafield site in Cumbria,...

News.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Tourist trap: disregard the Pavilion, bypass the pier, and leave the Lanes alone - the best place to visit in Brighton is the city's sewers. And that's official. Southern Water's Victorian Sewer Tour picked up the top award at the latest...

ENERGYNpower does least to help fuel poor.(News)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Npower has been identified as the company that does least for its vulnerable customers, according to an analysis of the performance of the big six domestic energy suppliers by the government's Fuel Poverty Advisory Group. The assessment,...

Features.
October 5, 2007... ENERGY Germany pushes for grid efficiencies Germany's upper house has approved new incentive-based rules for network regulation. The law, designed to bring down grid fees and open the network to new suppliers, will come into force in...

GASConsumers hit by extra cost of IGTs.(News)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Households in new housing developments serviced by independent gas transporters are paying [pounds sterling]15 million a year in higher charges and are largely unaware of the cost penalty, according to Simplyswitch, the price comparison service...

Corporate punishment.(Features)
October 5, 2007... If utilities don't ensure that staff comply with the law and behave ethically, they could pay heavily, Paul Basson tells Karma Ockenden Most of us have munched a Fairtrade banana, and the more ethical among us may do their shopping at...

WATERSevern Trent to absorb costs of flooding.(News)
October 5, 2007... Severn Trent Water said it was "minded to absorb" the cost of the flooding that left thousands of customers without water in July after a water treatment works was overwhelmed. The company said it would not know the final bill until its...

Features.
October 5, 2007... Water's carbon costs should be recoverable Achieving UK and EU targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions will require energy users - in both the domestic and business sectors - to significantly cut demand. De-carbonising power generation...

Home truths about water.(Features)
October 5, 2007... Sir: I refer to Stephen Tupper's letter giving an analysis of the state of play in the water industry (Utility Week, 21 September) and feel that readers might like to consider some other "home truths". These include: the Competition Act...

Features.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... EUROPE Analysis of the latest proposals from the European Commission on market opening. What are the financial implications for big players and is Europe's regulatory structure adequate? WATER Ofwat's latest efforts to introduce...

News.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Windsor hydro hiccup: Npower renewables has confirmed that its ambitious plan to supply Windsor Castle with power from a hydroelectric scheme on the River Thames has been shelved. Planning consent for the 200kW Romney Weir proposal was granted...

Features.
October 5, 2007... ELECTRICITY Reactor guarantees 'not state aid' The European Commission has concluded that French government guarantees to Finnish generator TVO, the company building the Olkiluoto nuclear reactor, did not constitute state aid. ...

ELECTRICITYOMV breaks cover on its bid for MOL.(Features)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Austrian energy group OMV has made a cash bid for control of Hungary's MOL. MOL immediately rejected the offer, and OMV accepted that strong opposition from both MOL and the Hungarian government was likely to block any deal without...

ENERGYOfgem will act fast on complaints.(News)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Ofgem has spelled out how it plans to carry out its enforcement role in relation to complaints and investigations, including pledges on response time. According to the regulator, in 90 per cent of cases it will acknowledge receipt of a...

News.
October 5, 2007... When it comes to people planning, EDF Energy can afford to take the long view . ZoA' Grainge talks to human resources director Tim Boylin Going the distance Three months into the job and EDF Energy's new human resources director, Tim...

Time for Tory policy clarity.(Features)
October 5, 2007... Election speculation intensifies as the Conservatives promise to come clean on new policies Buoyed by a message of green support from Arnie (aka Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of the state of California), Conservative leader David Cameron...

ELECTRICITYEC tells Poland to scrap power purchase deals.(Features)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... The European Commission has called on Poland to cancel long-term power purchase agreements for electricity. It said the contracts were "unlawful and incompatible state aid". The agreements between the Polish network operator PSE and...

electricityRWE offers capacity auction to end probe.(Features)
October 5, 2007... by Simon Jones RWE has agreed to auction more than 6GW to industrial customers after a probe by the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) into alleged market abuse. The FCO began an inquiry in 2005 into claims that RWE's tariff to industrial...

WATERScotland mulls streamlining of scrutiny bodies.(News)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Scottish scrutiny bodies including Wics, Waterwatch and the Drinking Water Quality Regulator could disappear as separate organisations if a new approach to regulation, proposed in a report for the Scottish Government, is taken forward. The...

waterSewer mapping could cost [pounds sterling]1bn.(News)
October 5, 2007... It could cost the water industry [pounds sterling]1 billion to map just 80 per cent of private sewers and drains in England and Wales, according to an UKWIR report. The figure, announced at Water UK's private sewers think-tank this week,...

ENERGYPrivatisation guru slams displays.(News)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Government plans to offer free energy readouts to all domestic energy customers are an "absolute diversion", one of the architects of energy privatisation, George Yarrow, told listeners at the annual Beesley Lecture. He said the proposal...

The next smart thing.(Features)
October 5, 2007... With debate raging about whether smart metering will be rolled out in energy, Steve Hobson asks, what are its chances in water? A recent seminar on the prospects for smart water meters organised by the SBWWI on behalf of the Intelligent...

Features.
October 5, 2007... An uncertain future for renewables The UK's renewables policy seems to be up for grabs because no one yet knows what it is, except in broad terms. If that seems extreme, then consider the following. By 2020 biofuels must form 10 per...

Features.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Balearics plug into Spanish grid: A 240km power cable to carry power between the Balearic islands and Spain's mainland will be supplied by Nexans, it has been announced. The [euro]267 million cable connecting Spain and Majorca will be laid in...

Features.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... French and German exchanges look at merger French energy exchange Powernext and German exchange EEX are rumoured to be negotiating a merger. The two firms could combine their spot trading businesses within weeks under a deal that is also...

ENERGYTraders plan market merger 'within weeks'.(Features)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... French energy bourse Powernext and German exchange EEX are rumoured to be negotiating a merger. The two firms could combine their spot trading businesses within weeks under a deal that is also expected to make current EEX boss Hans-Bernd...

waterCCWater urged to tackle lack of competition.(News)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has been urged to make a "super-complaint" about the lack of competition in the water industry. Aquavitae managing director Michael Samorzewski made the plea in a letter to CCWater chair Yve Buckland....

Features.(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... Thames Water has been fined [pounds sterling]40,700 with costs of [pounds sterling]15,714 under the New Roads and Street Works Act. Bromley Council prosecuted the water company at Bromley Magistrates' Court last week for poor workmanship and...

waterThames vows to fight [pounds sterling]12.5m service fine.(Features)(Brief article)
October 5, 2007... by Vibeka Mair Thames Water has vowed to challenge the [pounds sterling]12.5 million fine proposed by Ofwat for misreporting its Guaranteed Service Standards (GSS) in its annual return for 2005/06. In January 2006, Thames Water's...

News.
October 5, 2007... ENERGY Centrica and Scots top green league Centrica and ScottishPower are the best of the "big six" power companies when it comes to setting and meeting climate change targets, said WWF in its annual assessment. EDF Energy and RWE...

Wayleave way out?(Features)
October 5, 2007... Competition for land and demand for new links mean network firms may have to look for alternatives to traditional wayleaves, says Gary O'Brien Dating from the Victorian era, wayleave is the favoured legal mechanism for authorising the...

ENERGYGrid predicts easier gas supply for winter.(News)
October 5, 2007... by Roger Milne Gas supplies should be easier this winter than last because of investment in new pipelines and other infrastructure, including the inauguration of Ormen Lange, National Grid has said. Ormen Lange will provide a dedicated...

Consultation opened on new qualification.(News)(job skills required)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... A new qualification has been proposed specifically for first line contractor supervisors in the utility industry. Sector skills council Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) this week issued a consultation on the qualification after extensive...

ELECTRICITYEU battle lines drawn over nuclear power.(Features)
October 12, 2007... by Janet Wood Europe's anti-nuclear environment ministers have reacted to increasingly pro-nuclear statements from European commissioners by restating their concerns over nuclear's role. Six environment ministers, from Austria,...

News.(environmental policy for hydroelectricity companies)(European Union. European Commission launches anew website)(Northern Ireland Electricity Board increased the price of electricity)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... IN BRIEF Scottish hydro plea Hydroelectric companies have been urged to contribute to a review of Scotland's water environment after a report by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency claimed that 15 per cent of Scotland's...

Pan-utilityCarbon capture wanted by 2014.(News)
October 12, 2007... The government this week clarified a key element of the forthcoming carbon capture and storage (CCS) competition by announcing that ministers would be looking to back a single post-combustion coal-fired proposal that could be commissioned...

PAN-UTILITYPressure rises for cuts in the cost of capital.(News)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... A Competition Commission recommendation that airport operator BAA's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) should be cut could put pressure on utility regulators to follow suit. Last week, the commission recommended that the WACC for...

Features.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... water Ofwat 'must re-examine competition' Water UK has criticised Ofwat's "narrow focus on retail competition" and called on the regulator to identify "clear competition drivers" to encourage competition in the water market. ...

Where do I sign?(Features)(public utilites use software for managing contracts)
October 12, 2007... Inadequate contract management is costing utilities dearly . Chris Tobey says web-based solutions can automate, integrate and save money With the revenue of most utilities increasingly dependent on contractual commitments, it is alarming to...

Features.(Calendar)
October 12, 2007... THE 12 October Final day of Aqua Ukraine 2007, Kiev 17 October Look Smart stakeholders' campaign meeting, London 18 October Ofgem workshop on carbon monoxide issues, London Water UK's eighth annual leakage...

ENERGYEDF Energy signs up first efficient user.(Features)(investment )(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... EDF Energy has signed up its first business to the advanced energy efficiency programme developed by its French parent's research and development division. The unnamed company is not an EDF Energy customer. EDF R&D is investing 8 per cent...

ENERGYGermany leads fight against unbundling.(Features)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... by Simon Jones and Roger Milne The German government is lobbying other European Union member states to build an alliance against Commission plans for network unbundling and restrictions on foreign investments. The Germans fear the...

WATEREarly Start Programme makes an early exit.(Features)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... by Zoe Grainge Water regulator Ofwat is to scrap the Early Start Programme and replace it with a scheme that allows large projects to be carried beyond the end of the five-year price period. Ofwat will also challenge the profiling of...

Features.
October 12, 2007... ENERGY Ireland publishes its efficiency plan Ireland has joined 16 other European Union states and published a national energy efficiency action plan. Like all but three states, Ireland missed the June deadline by a significant margin....

Toeing the line.(Features)
October 12, 2007... Hamish Lal and Mark Brumwell ask whether nuclear new-build could fall foul of the Equator Principles governing responsible project financing The government has given a clear mandate for new nuclear power stations, but potential funders may...

A rather electrifying experience.(News)(nuclear accidents damaged farmers life)
October 12, 2007... Disconnector likes to be tough but fair, so let's blame this one on the dear departed Department of Trade and Industry, now airbrushed from Whitehall history. None of the mandarins (or ministers) twigged that the date chosen for the end of...

News.(Npower employees arrange charity event for cancer patients)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Creating a stir: employees at Npower's Worcester office were joined by Worcester Warriors scrum half Jonny Arr (left) when the staff held a giant coffee morning recently to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Jonny, seen here with...

News.
October 12, 2007... Top team: let's hear it for Katie Murdoch, Natalie Wheeler, Hannah Gray, Megan Rogers, Liz Scott and Liz Price. They all work for Essex & Suffolk Water and they came first in the "Best Ladies' team" category of the gruelling Kielder Challenge...

Features.(construction of nuclear power plants and reactors)(EDF Energy)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Europe's pro-nuclear states are pushing ahead with their construction programmes. Romania's second reactor reached full power as the government reiterated plans to complete two further reactors at the site. EDF said it would begin major...

GASOfgem U-turns again on gas entry capacity.(News)
October 12, 2007... by Roger Milne Gas industry concern over key calculations that affect how much gas can be flowed into the UK's high-pressure National Transmission System (NTS) has prompted a further U-turn by energy regulator Ofgem. The issue centres...

News.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Taking the moral high ground: a group of 18 Greenpeace activists were arrested at RWE Npower's Kingsnorth dual fuel plant at Hoo, Kent, on Monday during a demonstration designed to highlight opposition to plans for a new "cleaner coal" station...

eNERGYEnergywatch urges ranking of social deals.(News)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Energywatch has criticised Ofgem's latest review of the energy industry's voluntary initiatives to combat fuel poverty. Energywatch said the review failed to identify which measures worked best and how individual companies performed. Adam...

ENERGYIceland to form energy champion.(Features)(Reykjavik Energy Invest merged with Geysir Green Energy)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Reykjavik Energy Invest, the business development and investment arm of Reykjavik Energy, and Geysir Green Energy have agreed merger terms. The merger is intended to create a global geothermal energy player and Iceland's biggest generator with...

Features.
October 12, 2007... How to lose friends and alienate people Regina Finn and Alistair Buchanan may or may not be soul mates, but they certainly have one thing in common at present - they know what it's like to not be loved: by ministers, by Opposition parties,...

ENERGYShareholders in MOL seek vote on merger.(Features)(MOL Rt rejects the partnership with OMV AG)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Institutional shareholders in MOL want the firm to reconsider the [euro]14 billion offer from Austrian group OMV. MOL has rejected any tie-up with OMV to form a new energy giant on the Danube, but US hedge fund Templeton Asset Management...

Coal boom buoys power price.(Features)
October 12, 2007... Coal and oil prices continued to storm higher in the second half of September, reaching ever-increasing record levels. However, some "upside fatigue" appears to have set in recently and prices have edged lower. Coal prices for the coming...

WATERSuez andLa Caixa bid to control Agbar.(Features)
October 12, 2007... France's Suez and Spain's La Caixa bank have made a bid to take over the remainder of Spanish water utility Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar). The Spanish water company owns Bristol Water. The two companies together own 49.79...

waterMetering in NI ruled out by review panel.(News)
October 12, 2007... by Vibeka Mair An independent panel advising the Northern Ireland Executive has recommended that water customers in the province should not be metered. Instead they should be charged on the basis of the rateable value of their homes. ...

Features.
October 12, 2007... FIELD FORCE TOOLS SPECIAL Next week's issue will focus on field force enablement and mobile working. Specific features include: acents How to put theory into practice and implement field force systems to make them work for the entire...

Features.
October 12, 2007... PAN-UTILITY Group fights reversion of hydro rights The Elkem industrial group is set to challenge the Norwegian government's controversial Ownership Rights Reversion Law (ORRL), which seeks to abolish private ownership of all hydro...

NuclearAssess sites without delay.(Features)(government must decice the proper place for nuclear power plants)
October 12, 2007... by Janet Wood The government must stick to its timetable for drawing up a list of potential sites for new nuclear power plants or risk the whole process failing, according to EDF Energy. The company made its comments in its response to...

News.(Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has delayed tender for magnox nuclear reactor)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Electricity NDA delays Magnox site transfers The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has decided to delay a tender offering management contracts for Magnox reactor sites. It may alter its programme to allow a single contractor to...

ELECTRICITYOfgem calls for moves to get wind moving.(News)
October 12, 2007... Ofgem this week called for more measures to help unblock the bottleneck of windfarms waiting for connection to the transmission system. The call came in a progress report that highlighted the need to make it easier for schemes that have...

PAN-UTILITYWarning over pandemic preparations.(Features)
October 12, 2007... Utility staff operating critical infrastructure such as power stations, water treatment works and transmission and distribution networks may have to be quarantined on site in the event of bird flu or other pandemic. A study on the effects...

Two utilities in top 50 women's workplaces.(News)
October 12, 2007... by ZoA' Grainge National Grid and RWE Npower have been listed among The Top 50 Places Where Women Want to Work, organised by the career development website Aurora and The Times newspaper. The second annual Top 50 also included...

News.
October 12, 2007... The Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation has appointed Donald Henry as its new director of corporate affairs. This appointment reflects the regulator's wider remit to gas, electricity and water. Henry will have responsibility for...

Ministerial sights trained on Ofgem.(Features)(new energy bill for electric utilities)
October 12, 2007... Parliament's back this week, Gordon Brown is in the dog house, and some policy issues should become clearer Parliament returns this week with a clutch of major announcements in the offing: on Iraq and following the publication of both the...

Features.
October 12, 2007... ENERGY Poland attracting major investment Poland has become the centre of attention for energy investment. Vattenfall has announced plans to expand aggressively in the country, building a greater market share through a twin-track...