Europe's marginal difficulty: despite increased investment in the power sector across Europe, a recent report shows decreasing capacity margins with security of supply becoming an increasing problem, writes Nigel Blackaby.(Analysis)(Industry overview)

Publication: Power Engineering International

Publication Date: 01-OCT-06

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COPYRIGHT 2006 PennWell Publishing Corp.

For the last eight years the consulting firm Capgemini has published its European Markets Observatory. The latest report, covering 2005 and the start of 2006, gives an update on the main indicators within the electricity and gas markets, in order to monitor the supply and demand balance and towards the establishment of an open and competitive market in Europe.

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This year, the report's findings in respect of the electricity industry do not make good reading. It predicts that recent utility merger and acquisition activity is set to continue and that this will run counter to Europe's desire to see more unbundled markets and free competition. Capgemini says that the trend towards increased energy prices has continued, levels of infrastructure investment have been insufficient, and progress towards improving interconnections has been slow. Despite...

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