Utility Week

4 | 19TH - 25TH OCTOBER 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... HSBC pension pledges £250m investment in green energy HSBC Holdings' pension manager plans to invest £250 million of its pension scheme into renewable energy infrastructure for wind and solar in the UK, joining around 30 other firms making similar climate change pledges. Amazon.com committed to installing 20MW of solar power at depots around the country, while EDF Energy said it will electrify 1,500 of its vehicles by 2030 as part of the UK government-led Green Great Britain Week. "Renewable energy infra- structure can provide attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors seeking predictable cash flows derived from real assets over the long term," said Russell Picot, chair of the trustee board at the HSBC Bank Pension Trust. Bloomberg, 16 October Online rival flicks switch on market complaint Energy providers are urging the regulator to intervene in the online switching market aer it emerged that up to 10 per cent of a house- hold's annual bill can go to the internet sites they used to switch provider, rather than on energy. Flipper, a new entrant to the online energy switching market, has lodged a complaint with Ofgem demanding that customers moving supplier know exactly how much the online broker is being paid by the energy providers, and whether they are actually getting the best deal. The Times, 15 October STORY BY NUMBERS National media SSE-Npower merger gets green light from the CMA T he "big six" energy retailers are set to become the "big five" with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) giving the green light to the proposed merger between SSE Retail and Npower. The decision comes aer provisional clearance was given by the inquiry group of independent CMA panel members at the end of August. Following a thorough review, the panel investigated how the merger would affect householders. The group specifically examined competition concerns around how the deal would impact standard variable tariff (SVT) prices. The CMA said it had decided to clear the merger aer finding that SSE and Npower are not close rivals for customers on these tariffs. Anne Lambert, chair of the inquiry group, said: "With many energy companies out there, people switching away from expensive standard variable tariffs will still have plenty of choice when they shop around aer this merger. "But we know that the energy market still isn't working well for many people who don't switch, so we looked carefully at how the merger would affect SVT prices. Following a thorough investigation and consultation, we are confident that SSE and Npower are not close rivals for these customers and so the deal will not change how they set SVT prices." Npower's parent company, Innogy, welcomed the verdict. It said preparations for the new retail company "are progressing" and parties have achieved important milestones in recent months including the transaction being backed by SSE shareholders. Katie Bickerstaffe, chief executive designate of the company, which is yet to be named, has now been joined by chief financial officer designate Gordon Boyd and chairman designate Dr Martin Read. Martin Herrmann, chief operating officer retail of Innogy SE, said the new company would "combine the best of what both retail businesses have to offer and build a better company for customers". KP See analysis, p12 Grid confident about capacity National Grid is confident there will be enough gen- eration capacity to meet peak demand this winter, even if there is a repeat of the cold tempera- tures of the "Beast from the East". 7.1GW In its latest Winter Outlook report, National Grid has forecast a substantial derated capacity margin of 11.7 per cent – or 7.1GW 10.3% The forecast for last winter was 10.3 per cent – or 6.2GW 0.001hr Accordingly, the loss of load expec- tation has fallen by a factor of ten from 0.01 hour to 0.001 hour per year 2.6GW Grid expects there to be 2.6GW of net interconnector imports available and 65GW of de- rated generation capacity to meet the peak "The renewables industry is a significant British infrastructure project, and a 'no deal' outcome would mean uncertainty for industry and higher costs for consumers" Emma Pinchbeck, executive director at Renewable UK, responds to warnings of a breakdown of the all-Ireland electricity market in the event of a no deal. Top team in place: Bickerstaffe, Boyd and Read

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