Utility Week articles from September 2006

Utility Week archives from September 2006

News.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... ENERGYOfgem rules on independent DNOsThe owners of electricity distribution networks will be allowed to set up "independent" affiliated subsidiaries to build and operate networks within their licence areas, according to new proposals put...

Morale high ground.
September 8, 2006... In the late 1990s, field force enablement seemed to be the answer to many of the problems that beset utility asset maintenance. It promised to increase profits by making business processes and customer service more effective and the workforce...

ENERGY.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Concern over the potential dominance by Republic of Ireland state-controlled power firm ESB over a planned energy market covering the Republic and Northern Ireland has led to a four-month delay, until November 2007, in the opening of the...

eLECTRICITY.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... by Roger MilneBritish Energy has blamed communications problems at its Torness advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) station and technical difficulties with boiler tubes at a number of other plants for unplanned outages that have prompted it to...

eLECTRICITY.
September 8, 2006... by Roger MilneThe Scottish Executive has announced a public inquiry into plans for the proposed upgrade of the electricity transmission line between Beauly, west of Inverness, and Denny, west of Falkirk, in Scotland.The ?334 million scheme,...

Upwardly mobile.
September 8, 2006... Mobility is a key element of today's business and personal world, improving access to information, speed of response, productivity and flexibility. Most UK utilities have implemented some form of mobile solution for selected processes and in...

News.
September 8, 2006... Enter nowThe deadline for entering the Utility Industry Achievement Awards is fast approaching, and companies wanting to be in with a chance of winning the most prestigious award in the utility sector need to hurry. Entries must be with us by...

News.
September 8, 2006... Old news: archaeologists monitoring National Grid's construction of a pipeline from Milford Haven to Aberdulais in Wales have uncovered what they believe to be a Bronze Age canoe some 3,400 years old.

ENERGY.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Energy regulator Ofgem has found that competition in electricity connections was insufficiently developed and that the existing voluntary regime was "ineffective" in bringing on competition.In its findings from a review of the connections...

Culture shock.
September 8, 2006... Some organisations shy away from implementing field force enablement because they are nervous about the resulting impact on business culture. Those that do decide to make the change are often under pressure to implement the solution quickly to...

electricity.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Electricity network owners EDF Energy and Western Power Distribution (WPD) have each been awarded ?300,000 under a reward scheme set up by Ofgem, which recognises initiatives that go beyond the statutory obligations to help vulnerable...

Features.
September 8, 2006... THE7 SeptemberFinal sessions of two-day bio?energy conference organised by the Renewable Energy Asso?ciation, Weston-super-Mare7-8 SeptemberWorld Nuclear Association annual symposium, London8 SeptemberEnergy buyer's seminar organised by Ofgem,...

News.
September 8, 2006... Carbon capture: twenty-eight campaigners were arrested last week during a mass day of action against emissions from Drax, Britain's largest coal-fired power station. Two days earlier, nine members of a group called Reclaim Power chained...

WATER.(environmental aspects of weather)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The Environment Agency, which has been pressing Thames Water to apply for a drought order since the spring, said it supported the company's decision to withdraw the application following "average" rainfall in July and August. However, it said...

WATER.(European Union rules on groundwater pollution)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The European Commission was this week on collision course with the Council of Ministers over a key measure called for by MEPs in proposed new European Union rules on groundwater pollution.Brussels has decided to back the MEPs' stance on the...

ENVIRONMENT.(fuel poverty programme )(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The Scottish Executive has ruled that the Scottish arm of British Gas will take over the running of the country's fuel poverty programme from not-for-profit Eaga.Eaga voiced disappointment at the move, which means that from October the...

ENERGY.
September 8, 2006... Spain's energy regulator CNE was this week understood to be ready to ease the conditions it placed on its approval for German group Eon's takeover of leading Spanish power firm Endesa.Spanish prime minister Jose Zapatero has given German...

Features.(contracts)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... GASEon puts its faith in Russian suppliesEon Ruhrgas, Europe's largest gas importer, has increased its dependency on Russian gas by signing contracts for a further 15 years with Gazprom - equivalent to nearly one-third of its needs.The deal...

Free power could be attractive.(trying to improve the efficiency of wind generators)
September 8, 2006... Reports that an arrangement of four magnets can provide limitless energy are, of course, nothing but good news.No doubt the fact that, according to newspaper reports, the magnets must be "meticulously aligned" rather than flung together any old...

News.
September 8, 2006... On your bike: when the Tour of Britain raced through Kent last weekend, staff at Eon UK's Kingsnorth power station turned out in force to show off their not-so-sleek machines, which help them get around the site. Eon was one of the tour...

News.
September 8, 2006... Far out, man: Wessex Water has launched a campaign thanking its customers for helping it go 30 years without a hosepipe ban. Model Jose Aquaban (arf, arf) gets the message across in suitable style. Groovy.

ELECTRICITY.(Energy Markets Authority)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The linking of Finland's national grid to the proposed 1GW power cable between Russia and Sweden, being mooted by the Rosenergoatom-controlled United Cable, would cost the Finnish taxpayer ?1.5 billion in grid upgrade related investments,...

ENERGY.
September 8, 2006... The sale of British Nuclear Group (BNG) has been complicated by the decision of state-owned parent British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) to sell it piecemeal. Bidders including US engineering group Fluor had expressed interest in buying BNG for up to...

ENERGY.
September 8, 2006... Energy suppliers were this week urged to do more to help poor customers, as charities and consumer groups warned that more households would self-disconnect this winter because of rocketing fuel bills.The call came as the latest price rises from...

MULTI-UTILITY.(Gaz de France acquired with Suez)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... by Reuben CochraneLeft-wing opposition in the French Parliament to the planned merger of Suez with state-owned Gaz de France (GDF) threatened this week to derail the proposal.The law authorising the merger was under scrutiny by MPs as Utility...

News.(Global Utilities Connections)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... GUC breached conditions but escapes penaltyIndependent DNO Global Utilities Connections (GUC) did breach its licence conditions in 2005, Ofgem said, but the company has escaped a financial penalty. Ofgem said no customers had suffered from the...

ELECTRICITY.(prices of electric utilities)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Germany's energy regulator FNA has ordered grid operators to reduce their proposed network charges by up to 16 per cent.The agency imposed the biggest cut on Eon grid arm Eon Netz. RWE Westfalen-Weser-Ems, the second biggest network operator in...

ELECTRiCITY.
September 8, 2006... Generator International Power last month joined the ranks of coal-fired power plant operators to get a boost from soaring wholesale gas prices.At the six-month stage, it reported pre-tax profit up 82 per cent to ?350 million, outstripping City...

GAS.(OAO Gazprom)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The Italian government has imposed restrictions on winter gas supplies requiring industrial suppliers to include 10 per cent interruptible gas in their portfolios.Last month, the economics ministry agreed to suspend financial penalties for...

ELECTRiCITY.(Nuclear Decommissioning Authority)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The UK's fleet of ageing Magnox nuclear reactors generated 15.37TWh of electricity during 2005/06 - up 12 per cent on the previous year - and produced 17 per cent more revenue than expected, according to their owner, the Nuclear Decommissioning...

Global coal demand rising.
September 8, 2006... Coal is the world's fastest-growing energy source, thanks to China, which currently accounts for 36.9 per cent of global demand.In 2005, China increased its use of coal by 10.9 per cent and uses the fuel to generate nearly 80 per cent of its...

Volunteers recruited to help the fuel poor.(National Energy Action)(Energy Awareness course )(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... by Zo? GraingeSix trainees with oil company ExxonMobil's initiative to promote energy efficiency for the fuel poor have completed training in London over the summer. The ExxonMobil Energy Challenge aims to mobilise volunteers to provide...

Playing catch up.(Northern Ireland Water Service )
September 8, 2006... Implementing field force enablement tools can be difficult enough at the best of times. It is all too easy to get it wrong and leave staff disgruntled, or for the technology to fail to deliver the promised benefits. Embarking on such an...

News.
September 8, 2006... Uskmouth dealCarron Energy, owner of Uskmouth Power and Severn Power, has successfully completed a financing deal with Deutsche Bank worth ?120 million over the next five years.Scottish Water finedScottish Water has been fined ?4,000 by...

WATER.
September 8, 2006... Investment in water infrastructure is far short of what is needed and is a "drop in the bucket in relation to the size of the problem", according to utility tariff consultancy NUS Consulting.NUS Consulting's UK managing director, Richard...

ELECTRICITY.
September 8, 2006... Projections of a higher coal-burn by power generators and lower forecasts for growth in combined heat and power capacity will push up the UK's carbon emissions during the second phase of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, it has...

Features.(Ofwat )(Interview)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... INTERVIEWTony Smith explains why he quit a key role at Ofwat to head up consumer champion CCWaterMULTI-UTILITYIn the face of overwhelming differences between utility sectors, most companies have pulled the plug on their multi-utility...

News.
September 8, 2006... Field find: BG Group has announced the discovery of a significant new gas-condensate field - the largest for five years - in the central North Sea sector 270km off the UK's north east coast. Initial estimates put the field at between 100...

ELECTRICITY.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Statoil has threatened to abandon its plan to construct a 600MW gas-fired cogeneration plant at Mongstad, following a letter received from Norway's environmental authority, SFT, informing the state-owned energy company that it will need to...

News.(Energy & Utility Skills )
September 8, 2006... Sector Skills Agreements on course to deliverEnergy & Utility Skills chief executive Tim Balcon looks at the progress the Sector Skills Agreement programme has made in the first half of this year and at its immediate future.Within the utilities...

Cameron ups the ante on climate.
September 8, 2006... The Conservatives have spent much of the summer talking up their green credentials. Last week, for instance, party leader David Cameron attracted plenty of column inches after his very public support for a climate change law in the next...

WATER.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... by Janet WoodWastewater companies are facing heavy cost increases over wastewater discharges under the next price control period because government has delayed implementing a European Union directive on water quality for more than two decades....

energy.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Energy suppliers have been invited to take part in an Ofgem-run trial to gauge the impact of smart metering.The government has made nearly ?10 million available for trials to measure the impact of better information about energy use on customer...

News.(Association of Scottish Shellfish Farmers )(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Quality works are increasing contamination, say shellfish farmersNew treatment works have worsened contamination in shellfish farms in the west of Scotland, the Association of Scottish Shellfish Farmers (ASSF) has claimed. It said combined...

ELECTRICITY.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Eon hopes to solve gearbox problems at its Scroby Sands windfarm, 3km off the coast of Great Yarmouth, with a four-month maintenance campaign running until December.The company said a design fault in the gearboxes was "almost entirely" the...

gas.
September 8, 2006... by Roger MilneThree major infrastructure projects that should help secure the UK's energy supplies have just passed significant milestones or made crucial progress.First, planning authorities on Teesside have approved a pioneering new liquefied...

Features.
September 8, 2006... Don't bet the farm on emissions tradingThe UK government's policy instrument of choice to encourage new nuclear build is a strong carbon market in Europe. If Brussels is unable to deliver this, then additional UK incentives will be introduced...

ELECTRICITY.(Forsmark Reactor 1)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... by Gerard O'DwyerThe failure of control systems at the Forsmark Reactor 1 in July was "much more serious than initially reported", according to Bjorn Karlsson, chairman of the Incident Advisory Board of SKI, Sweden's nuclear regulator."What...

WATER.
September 8, 2006... Thames Water was fined ?50,000 and ordered to pay ?2,854 costs after pleading guilty last week to polluting a stretch of the Dagenham Brook in a densely populated area of Leyton, east London, with raw sewage.The urban river, lined with homes,...

WATER.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... by Janet WoodBusiness units at Thames Water have started planning a restructuring under which the company will lose a quarter of its staff by the end of 2009.Union representatives said there had already been some rationalisation of corporate...

GAS.(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The Old Bailey trial of seven men accused of involvement in a terrorist bomb plot, this month heard the group was allegedly considering an attack on a gas pipeline as well as other possible targets.One of the accused was said to have worked for...

Going it alone.
September 8, 2006... Vattenfall is Europe's fourth-largest generator of electricity and its largest generator of heat. With more than 32,000 full-time employees, it is also one of the biggest employers in Scandinavia. The company's commitment to supporting its...

News.(Thames Water proposal to build Abingdon reservoir )(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Thames Water takes Abingdon plan on the roadAfter three years of studies encompassing 55 site assessments, Thames Water has decided to go ahead with proposals for a new reservoir south west of Abingdon.The proposal for a 10 square kilometre...

PAN-UTILITY.(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Poorly integrated systems and processes mean that UK utilities fail to collect about half the debt owed to them, according to new research.Of water companies' total of ?580.7 million of overdue debt, on average 47.1 per cent would not be...

News.(deep-water offshore wind turbines )(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Deep trouble: efforts to install the world's first deep-water offshore wind turbines near the Beatrice Field in the Moray Firth have been postponed. The first of two turbines was successfully floated out and installed earlier this summer, but...

eNVIRONMENT.
September 15, 2006... Energy giant Centrica has invested in what is claimed to be the world's largest private sector carbon fund. The move signals the company's intention to make use of "green" credits generated by overseas projects to help it meet emissions...

ENERGY.(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... by Roger MilneA former Labour cabinet minister has fired a broadside at the government's plans for a new-build nuclear programme, claiming the energy review failed to deal adequately with the threat of nuclear terrorism.The criticism came from...

Features.(World Water Conference)(International Water Association)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... THE14 SeptemberFinal sessions of World Water Conference, organised by the International Water Association, Beijing, ChinaLast day of 4th Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management annual conference, Newcastle upon Tyne16-21...

ELECTRICITY.(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... by Roger MilneUp to 9 per cent of Drax power station's electricity output could be fuelled by biomass and energy crops within three years, the operator of Europe's biggest fossil fuel plant said this week.At present the north Yorkshire...

Energy industry faces leadership shortfall.(energy industry employment)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... by Zo? GraingeThe energy sector faces a looming shortage in leadership talent that may prevent it from meeting future challenges, according to research by the Energy Institute. The Energy Institute, together with consultancy Deloitte and...

ENERGY.(Fulvio Conti)(ESN Energo)(Enel)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... by Simon JonesEnel chief executive Fulvio Conti has said his company will bid for the three generating companies due to be put up for sale at the start of Russia's electricity power privatisation.The sale of the first parts of the huge Unified...

Features.(Federal Atomic Energy Agency)(Edison)(EDF Energia Italia)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Sticking to nuclearRussia wants to maintain nuclear's 16 per cent share of generating capacity, according to Sergey Kirienko, director of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency. He said Russia would start work on two plants each year from 2007.Edison...

Independent thinking.(energy policy formulation)
September 15, 2006... Secure, affordable energy supplies for Europe in the year 2030 - that is a goal happily endorsed by producers, consumers and governments alike. But if you ask how we get there from where we are now, dozens of different, and conflicting, answers...

Build it and they will come.(building barrages for power generation)
September 15, 2006... The great man can't remember a time when barrages were quite so popular (well, all right, making waves in the media).The grandaddy of them all, across the Severn, is back as a talking point in Wales and across the estuary in England where a...

News.(Northumbrian Water help to educate school kids)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Larger than life: a gang of superheroes has been pressed into service by Northumbrian Water in a bid to help educate school kids about water issues. Characters Karl, Kelly, Jermaine, Bethany and Splash each have their own superpower, which is...

Features.(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Suez half-yearly results deliver surge in profitSuez last week reported a 39 per cent jump in first-half-year net profit to ?2.2 billion, mainly thanks to increased wholesale energy prices. The company's European energy arm reported a near 20...

PAN-UTILITY.(merger of Gaz de France and Suez)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... by Roger MilneBrussels has signalled its support for the French government's proposals to retain a so-called "golden share" in Gaz de France (GDF) after the company's planned merger with Suez. However, the European Commission may withdraw its...

ELECTRICITY.
September 15, 2006... by Janet WoodPlans for an undersea cable that would allow the UK to import/export electricity from Europe via the Netherlands have been delayed by more than a year.The so-called BritNet interconnector, being developed by National Grid and Dutch...

PAN-UTILITY.
September 15, 2006... European competition commissioner Nellie Kroes last week gave her clearest warning yet that she would not tolerate a "private deal" over Eon's bid for Endesa.Her warning came in a speech where she attacked the notion of "artificially-created...

Features.(water management)
September 15, 2006... Flood of bad news is not good enoughAfter eight months on Utility Week I am changing roles to become News Editor, and what I have learned in 2006 so far is that there is one piece of news I can pretty much rely on. Water firms will be accused...

Features.
September 15, 2006... Eon Nordic is considering joining a consortium to build a nuclear power plant in Lithuania to replace Ignalina, which is due to close in 2009. Meanwhile, Swedish transmission system operator Kraftnat and Lithuanian power company Lietuvos...

News.(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... GASFirst gas imports due at EasingtonA new gas terminal at Easington in East Yorkshire was this week expected to receive the first test gas to flow through a pipeline from the Sleipner field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Commercial...

Fears of gas shortage subside.
September 15, 2006... Winter gas prices have continued to fall, with October 06 Annual falling below 60p/th last month as fears about winter shortages eased as supply capacity increased.An extra 2 per cent capacity is to be made available at the Rough offshore...

Features.
September 15, 2006... ENVIRONMENTTraders concerned at NAP delays The European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) has voiced its concern about European Union member states' delays in submitting their second phase National Allocation Plans, which are crucial to the...

Appointments.(Environment Agency board )(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Centrica has announced that its procurement director has been elected president of the Weather Risk Management Association. Gearoid Lane, who works for Centrica Energy, has become president of the trade body that helps businesses manage their...

Multi-pull.(ScottishPower)(National Grid)
September 15, 2006... Ten years or so ago, ScottishPower moved sharply away from its core electricity business north of the border and acquired Southern Water, whose main activity was sewage collection and disposal on England's south coast. As the owner of the...

Features.
September 15, 2006... INTERVIEWPhilip Fletcher, Ofwat chairman, on the latest developments in the water sectorELECTRICITYGovernment proposals to reform consent procedures for new nuclear build must strike a balance between preventing delay and making sure views are...

News.(British Nuclear Fuels PLC)(Fluor)
September 15, 2006... London wastersNortheasterners are the most enthusiastic energy savers, according to EDF Energy, with 77.8 per cent making savings, compared to 62.5 per cent in London, the least enthusiastic area. Much obligedOfgem has announced that the...

WATER.(construction of new water resources economical)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... New water resources can be built in the south east at a quarter of the cost of a national grid for water, according to research by the Environment Agency.The agency costed a national grid at up to ?15 billion, or ?8 million to ?14 million per...

ELECTRICITY.(dividing Nord Pool being contemplated)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... The Swedish government is considering whether Nord Pool should be split to create two markets with different price-setting mechanisms, one for baseload and one for peak. It has appointed Nord Pool Spot's former deputy chief executive, Bjorn...

ENERGY.(raise of gas and electricity prices)(Brief article)
September 15, 2006... Npower's decision to raise gas and electricity prices for domestic customers showed that "competition is not working for consumers, and policy-makers need to look at what has gone wrong with the UK model", according to Allan Asher, chief...

WATER.(cash lock-up for water utilities)
September 15, 2006... by Steve HobsonWater regulator Ofwat is to amend all English and Welsh water company licences to include a cash "lock-up" that would automatically prevent the regulated business making dividend or other external payments if the company's credit...

News.(age discrimination)
September 15, 2006... On the 1 October, new rules come into force to protect people against age discrimination . Zo? Grainge looks at how utilities are preparing to complyAge concernsAll utility companies will be aware that from 1 October, new anti-age...

Pearson cautious on water meters.(Ian Pearson)
September 15, 2006... Environment minister Ian Pearson has been banging the drum about drought orders after noting that people had responded well to the summer campaigns to save water. Water companies have reported drops in demand of between 5 and 15 per cent.He...