Utility Week

4 | 13TH - 19TH JULY 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Norway's Equinor buys Danske Commodities Norwegian energy firm Equinor – formerly known as Statoil – has agreed to buy Danish power and gas trading company Danske Commodi- ties for €400 million (£353 million). Irene Rummelhoff, Equinor's executive vice president for new energy solutions, said the deal would bolster its position in power generation from renewable energy. Equinor expects to invest 15-20 per cent of its capital expendi- ture in low-carbon energies and cleaner technologies by 2030. Financial Times, 6 July Madagascar turns to solar to reduce costs Madagascar's state power utility may become profitable by 2020 as the Indian Ocean island nation builds more solar plants to cut electricity-production costs, said energy minister Lanto Rasoloelison. The government is overhauling the state-owned power company, Jirama, with World Bank help as it seeks to provide universal electricity access by 2030. Currently, fewer than one in seven people are con- nected to the grid. Madagascar has large solar- energy potential, with almost all of its regions receiving more than 2,800 hours of sunshine per year. Bloomberg, 4 July Germany's renewable energy hits record high Germany produced enough renew- able energy in the first half of 2018 to power every household in the country for a year. The nation's combined wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power output hit a record 104 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in January to June, according to energy firm Eon. The figure is 9.5 per cent more than the same period of 2017 and a third more than three years ago, the company said. The Independent, 3 July STORY BY NUMBERS National media NIC: back renewables rather than more nuclear power T he government should agree support for only one more new nuclear power station before 2025, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has advised. In its first National Infrastruc- ture Assessment (NIA) of the UK, the NIC said the switch to greener energy could be accom- plished without increasing bills. The statutory infrastructure adviser called on the govern- ment to increase the proportion of the UK's electricity generated from renewable sources, like wind and solar, from the cur- rent level of 30 per cent to half by 2030. The commission concluded that renewable energy and balancing technologies would be comparable to new nuclear power plants and cheaper than implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) with the exist- ing generation system. It recommended that the government agree support for no more than one nuclear power station beyond Hinkley before the middle of the 2020s. The NIC's analysis concludes that customers in 2050 would pay the same in real terms for their energy as today through a combination of low-carbon and renewable sources for power and heating. It finds that moving to an electricity system mainly powered by renewable energy sources could be the "safest bet" for generation, although the report acknowledges that natural gas will play a role over the short term. All sources of renewable power should be allowed to compete to deliver the increase in renewable electricity genera- tion required to help meet the UK's climate change targets, the NIA recommends. It urges the government to set out a clear pipeline, with dates and budgets, for future renewa- bles support auctions. On heating, the NIC warns steps must be taken to find low-carbon alternatives to oil and gas, urging community-level trials to test the feasibility of hydrogen and heat pumps by 2021, including one covering at least 10,000 homes by 2023. DB Latest UKCSI index The Institute of Customer Service has released its latest Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), which aims to provide an insight into the state of customer satisfaction across the UK. The survey, which is under- taken twice a year, shows a modest decline for utilities . 6,000 people were asked for their views on customer satisfac- tion in the utilities sector. 74.7 Overall UKCSI points for utilities firms in July 2018 out of a possible score of 100. 75.1 Number of UKCSI points for utilities companies in July 2017. 29.4 per cent of cus- tomers think billing should be a top area for improve- ment among utili- ties firms. "Opacity around what the future framework looks like and when it would begin has already started to impact the energy sector" Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, warns the uncertainty surrounding Brexit is already having an impact on energy suppliers, nine months ahead of the UK's planned departure date from the EU.

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