Utility Week articles from September 2007

Utility Week archives from September 2007

News.(Water Industry Commission)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Competition in Scotland moves ahead of England Scottish water regulator Wics has awarded its first permanent water and sewerage services licence to Satec, which will allow the English company to market water to the 130,000 businesses in...

waterAquavitae takes on Anglian.(News)(Anglian Water )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by Vibeka Mair Independent water supplier Aquavitae has complained about Anglian Water to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), accusing the company of anti-competitive behaviour. Filing a complaint under the Competition Act 1998,...

News.(Scottish and Southern Energy PLC)(Veolia Water Systems Ltd.)(Thames Water Utilities Ltd.)(National Energy Action)(pipe replacement)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... SSE into Ireland Scottish and Southern Energy has set up SSE (Ireland) and applied for a licence for electricity supply and another for gas supply and shipping in the Republic of Ireland. The company plans to enter the industrial and...

News.(Ecotricity finances windfarms)(International Power PLC profits for first half of 2007)(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets reports energy companies supply of electricity to UK customers)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Greener capital London mayor Ken Livingstone has invited energy companies to submit bids to help make 100 buildings owned by the Greater London Authority Group more energy efficient. Companies will tender to provide an energy audit and...

ELECTRICITYBE could double up on new nuclear.(Features)
September 7, 2007... British Energy hopes to "come to ground" on proposals for one or two new nuclear reactors before the end of the year, according to chief executive Bill Coley. He said the company's assessment of four possible nuclear designs had a...

Pay students to study science, says CBI.(Features)(Confederation of British Industry)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by ZoA' Grainge The government should give undergraduates studying science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) [pounds sterling]1,000 a year to help with tuition fees as an incentive to encourage students to take science courses,...

ENERGYCEZ increases central Europe stake.(Features)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Czech energy company CEZ is to establish a joint venture with Hungarian gas and oil group MOL in a move it said would strengthen its position in central and eastern Europe. The joint venture will initially focus on building gas plants at...

Look smart.(Features)
September 7, 2007... Utility Week has launched a campaign to press the government to favour smart meters over electricity display devices . You are invited to join Competition: if it ain't broke Retail competition is well-established and healthy across the...

eNERGYIndustry consulted on new carbon targets.(News)
September 7, 2007... by Roger Milne Ofgem has begun consulting on key changes to the scheme that requires energy suppliers to reduce carbon emissions from the domestic sector, and which for the first time - between 2008 and 2011 - will include measures...

Original sin.(Features)
September 7, 2007... A recent House of Lords ruling absolves utilities from responsibility for remediating land contaminated by their predecessors . By Angus Evers Formerly state-owned industries breathed a sigh of relief recently when the House of Lords...

waterScottish Water wins apology over figures.(Features)
September 7, 2007... Scotland's Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) has apologised for misreporting data in Drinking Water Quality in Scotland 2006. The Scottish regulator had complained that Scottish Water received 2,746 more complaints in 2006 than 2005....

Features.(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Debt is a pan-utility issue. Energy companies are also suffering its effects, although they have solutions such as prepayment meters and the sanction of disconnection available. On 14 November, a Utility Week conference at the Mayfair...

Debt rescue.(Features)
September 7, 2007... Water sector bill non-payment is reaching crisis point . Rob Sheldon outlines some practical ways of easing the pressure Household debt in the UK is continuing to rise unabated, with increases in interest rates, utility bills and the...

Features.(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Plans to build a desalination plant in east London to supply Thames Water customers have been challenged in the High Court by London mayor Ken Livingstone. The mayor said a two-month public inquiry had not properly considered London's energy...

Features.(Calendar)
September 7, 2007... THE 7 September Final day of 32nd World Nuclear Association Symposium, London 11 September Italian company Acea's first-half 2007 results 12 September Italian company AEM's first-half 2007 results 12-13 September...

ENERGYDong sale may be postponed until next year.(Features)
September 7, 2007... The Danish Government's planned privatisation of energy company Dong may be postponed until next year. Three of the political parties who had previously backed the sale - the Social Democrats, SF and the Radical Party - are now calling for...

ENVIRONMENTEuro targets 'could threaten carbon trading'.(News)
September 7, 2007... The decision by European Union leaders to raise the target for renewables from 20 per cent of electricity to 20 per cent of primary energy used could cause a price collapse in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) or make the scheme...

100 kids line up for new utility apprenticeship.(Features)
September 7, 2007... More than 100 14-year-old school children will start two-year Young Apprenticeships in England in September, according to sector skills council Energy & Utility Skills. Young Apprenticeships are a new style of partnership between schools and...

Features.(electricity regulator)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... ENERGY Sun shines on Enel's Spanish plans Spanish regulator CNE has agreed to ease conditions imposed on Enel when the Italian company bid for Endesa. After an appeal to the Ministry of Industry, CNE rescinded three of eight...

Features.(Slovenske Electrarne)(Ruse power station)(RWE AG)(Energie Ouest Suisse)(European Union,carbon dioxide emissions)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... To cap it all Lithuania has become the seventh European Union state to go to court over the European Commission's stance on carbon dioxide emissions allocations under the next phase of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme. Lithuania has lined...

Any way the wind blows.(News)
September 7, 2007... It's a tough life being a regulator. Communications watchdog Ofcom has been advertising recently for a non-executive director. The board meets once a fortnight at present, but will be moving to a three-weekly cycle soon. The meetings are...

News.
September 7, 2007... Stars in their eyes: Npower is claiming to be the first company in the world to "star-vertise" its presence as a result of finding its name in the heavens, courtesy of the International Star Registry. The 328 individual stars are in the...

Features.
September 7, 2007... High-powered negotiator for low-cost power: Finland tries to resolve delays with Fin5 In a twist to the saga of construction of Finland's fifth nuclear reactor (FIN5), now due to be commissioned in 2011, project leader Pohjolan Voima has...

News.(Consumer Council for Water )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... WATER Improve flood defences, firms told The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) is pressing water companies to improve flood defences at water treatment works. Research found that customers in Gloucester who lost supplies in the...

GASGdF commits [pounds sterling]350m to UK storage project.(Features)(Gaz de France )(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by Roger Milne Gaz de France has announced a major investment in UK gas storage that will make a significant improvement to the supply security position in the short to medium term. The French energy company has signed an agreement...

Features.
September 7, 2007... GAS Germany simplifies gas switching Germany's energy regulator has standardised gas industry rules for switching household customers. Federal Network Agency (FNA) president Matthias Kurth said the new, simplified process would benefit...

Features.
September 7, 2007... Unfinished business or domestic delusion? Largely unreported, the Conservatives have been urged by one of their own policy groups to plump for domestic water competition as a key plank of party economic policy. That proposal was...

News.(compulsory water metering)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... water Green light for compulsory metering Water companies in areas of serious water stress will be able to impose metering on domestic customers from April 2010. Closing Defra's consultation on water metering in areas of water...

Features.(Ofwat pricing policy)(United Kingdom. Office of Water Services)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Ofwat at fault for access bar Sir, Ofwat makes a great fuss about its commitment to promoting competition. However, its record as compared with other regulators is lamentable. There is now competition in electricity, gas and...

ENVIRONMENTLegal threat as green power row hots up.(News)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by Roger Milne Environmental and green energy groups this week said they would take the government to court if it gave way to pressure from property companies who want ministers to ditch support for a planning policy that requires...

Power demand dips in 2006.(Features)(electricity power supply)(Report)
September 7, 2007... Last year (2006) the UK experienced a 0.5 per cent fall in electricity supply, the first year-on-year fall for nearly a decade, according to the latest annual compilation of energy statistics published by the Department for Business, Enterprise...

Features.(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... INTERVIEW Consumer Council for Water chief executive Tony Smith explains how he intends to put customers at the heart of the 2009 price review. RENEWABLES The offshore wind sector gears up for Round 2 - will it be bigger and...

ENERGYNpower in deal with National Trust.(News)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Npower has announced what it claims is a ground-breaking partnership with the National Trust, designed to encourage investment in microgeneration and stimulate innovation in carbon saving measures. The two organisations unveiled a...

ELECTRICITYNuclear phase-out in dispute.(Features)
September 7, 2007... by Simon Jones Germany's leading utilities have rejected a proposal from environment minister Sigmar Gabriel that they close their older nuclear reactors early in return for being allowed to keep their newer reactors online longer. Gabriel...

News.(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(token prepayment meters)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... ENERGY Ofgem may relax prepay measures Ofgem has given its strongest hint yet that it is considering relaxing the stringent reporting and monitoring arrangements brought in last year on token prepayment meters. The rules were aimed at...

Features.(resignation of Alison Carnwarth in Glas Cymru)(Carron Energy appoints Simon Leiper as business development director)(Celerant Consulting Inc. appoints Ian Jones)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Alison Carnwarth has resigned as a non-executive director of Glas Cymru and as a director of Welsh Water. Carnwath was among the founders of Glas Cymru in 2000. She has joined New York-based MF Global as chairman. Electricity company...

Domestic water competition move.(Features)
September 7, 2007... Election speculation is growing. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are starting to fill their policy void The Conservative Party has been urged to plump for domestic water competition. That call has come from the report of the party's economic...

Features.(regulation to control agricultural pollution)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Farmers 'are not paying their way' Water UK has called for stricter regulation to control agricultural pollution. The water industry body welcomed the three new consultations by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...

ELECTRICITYNpower leads capacity dash.(News)
September 7, 2007... by Janet Wood Npower has confirmed plans to build a new gas-fired power station in Pembroke, Wales. The announcement comes as it prepares this month to begin work on a power station at Staythorpe. Initially, it had expected to build new...

Features.
September 7, 2007... ELECTRICITY Eon extends stake in offshore wind Eon is to apply for planning permission this year for a 300MW windfarm known as the Humber Gateway, 8km off the Yorkshire coast. This will be Eon's second Round 2 offshore windfarm. ...

Features.(government's Energy White Paper )
September 7, 2007... The benefits are on display The government's Energy White Paper has brought the issue of domestic monitors and smart meters for energy consumption into the public eye for the first time. As a result, the government, utilities, and indeed...

ENERGYOfgem reviews operator incentives.(News)(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... In the future, system operator (SO) incentive schemes for mainland Britain's gas and electricity transmission networks could be for longer periods than at present and with more consistency between the regimes for the two energy sources, Ofgem...

WaterBoil notices lifted in seven Scots regions.(News)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Scottish Water's customers were served with a series of boil notices in August because of fears of a cryptosporidium outbreak. Seven areas in Scotland were affected: Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway South Dean, Hawick Ullapool, the Highlands...

News.
September 7, 2007... Power poser: ministers have insisted that plans to protect vulnerable wildlife and habitats by earmarking three estuaries - the Dee, Humber and Severn (pictured) - as so-called Special Areas of Conservation under European Union legislation will...

ENERGYPublic worried about impact of energy use.(News)
September 7, 2007... More than 80 per cent of Londoners are concerned about the amount of energy they use at home, with almost 70 per cent of this group more worried about the environmental impact than cost, according to a survey for Abacus Billing. However,...

News.(investment in sewers)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... water EA calls for investment in sewers water firms must invest more in drains and sewers, Environment Agency chief executive Barbara Young urged this week at the launch of the agency's Spotlight on Business: Environmental Performance...

News.(Central Networks)(environmental consultancy Adas )(power lines damage prevention)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... Central Networks and environmental consultancy Adas are beginning a six-month study of mitigation methods to help prevent damage to power lines caused by grey squirrels. Adas business manager Richard Williams said "cases of squirrel damage are...

pan-utilityWater sale will buy Suez and GdF merger.(Features)(Gaz de France)(Suez)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by Janet Wood The long-awaited merger between Gaz de France and Suez will go ahead, the two companies announced this week, creating a "worldwide energy leader". To clear the way, Suez agreed to spin off 65 per cent of its water and...

Watertight case.(Features)
September 7, 2007... Utilities may have been flooded this summer, but at least the law gives them some protection from open-ended liability, says Rachael Aaron It may have been a miserable summer, but for utilities it has been nothing like as miserable as it...

ENERGYReports back micro-power.(News)
September 7, 2007... The government should be more ambitious in its plans to allow domestic microgeneration equipment to be installed as "permitted development", the New Local Government Network has argued. The group said permitted development rules should be...

Tories call for overhaul of apprenticeship funding.(Features)
September 7, 2007... The Conservative Party has issued a report calling for a radical overhaul of skills funding to place the employer at the heart of vocational training. The party's Vocational Skills Working Group published the report, which called for more...

News.(United Utilities PLC plans regarding payments to organization)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... ELECTRICITY UU plans wires adoption payments United Utilities has floated plans to make upfront payments to organisations that pay for connections to be built that the utility then "adopts" into its network. Ofgem has published the...

waterWFD costs should be shared, says Ofwat.(Features)(Office of Water Services)(Water Framework Directive)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by Vibeka Mair Ofwat has criticised a government cost-benefit analysis of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for assuming that the water industry would bear the brunt of the costs. The water regulator complained that the Preliminary...

Features.(water management)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... WATER Ministers call for big cuts in demand European Union environment ministers have accepted that "water mismanagement is a fundamental problem" in Europe. At an informal meeting in Lisbon, the ministers said that reducing...

WATERIndustry surprised by targets to cut demand.(Features)(United Kingdom. Office of Water Services)(Brief article)
September 7, 2007... by Janet Wood Plans announced by water regulator Ofwat in August to set water efficiency targets for water supply companies have come "out of the blue", according to industry body Water UK. Water companies already have a statutory...

PAN-UTILITYOFT acts over Grid's mast business sale.(Features)
September 7, 2007... The Office of Fair Trading has referred Macquarie's [pounds sterling]2.5 billion acquisition of National Grid's mobile phone and wireless mast business to the Competition Commission. The cash sale of the National Grid Wireless Group,...

News.(RWE Thames Water PLC sells its headquarters to Standard Life Investment Fund Ltd.)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... water Thames Water disposes of offices Thames Water has sold its headquarters on the banks of the River Thames for [pounds sterling]43 million to Standard Life Investment Funds. The water company will stay at Clearwater Court,...

ELECTRICITYForum mulls coal plant boom.(Features)
September 14, 2007... by Roger Milne A high-level group of energy industry experts has told ministers that twice as much new coal-fired power station capacity as currently anticipated is feasible in the UK over the next few decades. On that basis 10GW of...

News.(Debt under debate at Utility Week conference)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Debt under debate at Utility Week conference Ways to tackle consumer debt will be discussed at a Utility Week conference, to be held on 14 November at the Mayfair Conference Centre, London. Delegates will learn from experience across...

News.(Office of Water Services )(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... WATER Ofwat to scrutinise sector's cost base Ofwat has published plans to refine the cost base that will be used to set price limits for the 2009 price review (PR09). It was responding to concerns that arose in a review of the cost...

News.(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)(Drinking Water Inspectorate)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... water New tests 'could save [pounds sterling]600k a year' The water industry could save up to [pounds sterling]634,000 a year under new risk-based regulations for raw water monitoring, according to the Department for Environment, Food...

PAN-UTILITYDebt problems up 26 per cent.(News)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... by Janet Wood The number of utility customers who approached the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) for advice about utility debt jumped by 26 per cent in 2006/07, CAB has announced. Most of the increase was from gas and electricity...

Features.(Calendar)
September 14, 2007... THE 15 September Coast Along for WaterAid: walk and raise cash for the charity 18 September BERR/Ofgem stakeholder event about the electricity transmission access review, London 18-19 September The Water Summit...

Features.(profits of Drax Group Limited)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Drax chief executive Dorothy Thompson announced a fall in first-half profit at the UK's largest coal-fired plant from [pounds sterling]317 million to [pounds sterling]273 million, and warned of low margins in the coming winter. She announced a...

Features.(greenhouse gas emissions under the ETS)(Emissions Trading Scheme)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... ENVIRONMENT Commission clears Denmark's Nap The European Commission has vowed to wrap up its assessments of member states' emissions trading allocation plans "swiftly". The pledge came from environment commissioner Stavros Dimas...

Features.(Enel Distribuzione S.p.A)(Acciona S.A.)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... ENERGY Enel aims to develop global reach Enel and Acciona have launched their tender for Endesa, offering [euro]40.16 per share. Enel said the offer, along with plans to increase its holding in Russian generating company OGK-5,...

Features.(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Russia and the Commission square up over market access The European Commission and Russia have exchanged warnings about being allowed access to each other's energy markets. There has been speculation that the Commission will restrict...

ENERGYTraders slam reporting plan.(Features)
September 14, 2007... by Janet Wood Bankers and energy traders have written to energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs to raise "serious concerns" about Commission plans to introduce tougher regulations on European energy trading. They have complained about a...

City burghers ready to rumble.(News)
September 14, 2007... It is all getting rather heated north of the border in Scotland's second city. The good burghers of Glasgow are - let's not mince words - a tad pissed off with the nation's water company. The problem? It's the backlog of burst mains, road...

News.
September 14, 2007... The one that didn't get away? This golden trout was one of ten special fish released into Essex & Suffolk Water's 50-year-old Hanningfield reservoir as part of an angling competition that raised [pounds sterling]1,500 for WaterAid. None of the...

News.
September 14, 2007... Tapping a rich vein of charity: this trio and others of their ilk will be out in force this weekend to take part in this year's Coast Along event organised by charity WaterAid. Sponsored teams will be walking each of the 70 sections of the...

eLECTRICITYFinland in talks to fill Russia's generation gap.(Features)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Russia has opened discussions with Finland's Ministry of Industry and Trade over electricity imports from Finland to cover power shortages during peak winter months. Finland has traditionally imported electricity from Russia during the...

French defection?(Features)(competition in energy market )
September 14, 2007... The French domestic energy market is now fully open to competition, but the pickings are sparse for new entrants . Philippe Coquet explains why As complete liberalisation of gas and electricity markets takes hold in France, how consumers...

Features.
September 14, 2007... GDF plans terminal investment in Italy Gaz de France has announced plans to develop a liquified natural gas (LNG) import terminal off the Italian Adriatic coast. The facility will supply several new power plants planned by the French group...

PAN-UTILITYCentrica increases SPE stake.(Features)(expansion of the stake)(Centrica PLC)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... by Janet Wood Centrica has announced plans to expand its stake in Belgium's second-largest power supplier, SPE. The UK energy giant and Gaz de France (GDF) bought 51 per cent of SPE two years ago and Centrica has exercised its option...

Features.(RWE Energy AG)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... ENERGY Discounts spread in German market RWE plans to roll out its new discount power unit Eprimo across Germany by the end of 2007. Eprimo already has 150,000 customers, but chairman Bernd Gundel said take-up is soaring with more...

ELECTRICITYTwo-way EDD given [pounds sterling]250k research grant.(News)
September 14, 2007... A consortium set up to develop an electricity display device (EDD) that gives consumers historical as well as real-time consumption data and transmits the data to the energy supplier over the internet has been awarded a [pounds sterling]250,000...

Running on empty.(Features)(rewards of good knowledge management )
September 14, 2007... Phil Bustin details research that shows most utility managers believe knowledge in their sector is dwindling to dangerously low levels Accumulated knowledge has a big influence on all businesses and nowhere is this more important than in...

Competition red herring.(Features)(Office of Water Services )
September 14, 2007... Sir: Aquavitae says that Ofwat's interpretation of the access pricing regime is holding back the development of competition in the water industry ("Ofwat at fault for access bar", Utility Week, 7 September). It is time for this red herring...

News.(Sustainable Energy Partnership)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... environment Greens prepare for battle on Merton Green groups last week warned ministers that they would be acting unlawfully if they watered down their commitment to a planning requirement for developers to ensure a proportion of...

Weak gas prices highlighted.(Features)
September 14, 2007... Gas prices ended August on a weak note on both short and long-term markets. Increased output due to the end of maintenance work pulled down the Day-ahead and Month-ahead indices, while the prospects of higher than expected supplies from Norway...

Features.
September 14, 2007... GAS Steelmaker takes German gas stake German international mining and technology group RAG has sold its regional gas distributor Saar Ferngas to steel company ArcelorMittel. Arcelor Luxembourg, the European arm of the steel giant,...

Features.
September 14, 2007... UTILITIES ONLINE SPECIAL Next week's features will delve into how - and how well - utilities are exploiting the opportunities presented by the internet. Articles will include: acents Web expert Webcredible critiques and ranks the...

News.(views on a possible new-build nuclear programme)(Brief article)
September 14, 2007... Citizens polled to quantify public support for reactors The second bout of consultation climaxed last weekend when a representative sample of UK citizens were involved in day-long meetings at nine cities and polled over their views on a...