Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 1ST - 7TH FEBRUARY 2019 | 13 Finance & Investment This week Business Stream buys Kelda business book Non-domestic customers of YWBS and Three Sixty are snapped up for an undisclosed sum The customers of non-domestic water retailers Yorkshire Water Business Services (YWBS) and Three Sixty, which are both part of the Kelda Group, have been bought by Business Stream for an undisclosed sum. Scotland's largest business water retailer says the move to acquire the customer base of the competitors will double its market share and "cement its position" as one of the top three retailers in the UK water market. The acquisition is expected to take effect this summer, subject to regulatory approvals. It will see Busi- ness Stream manage water and wastewater services for around 140,000 new customers in the Yorkshire area. Business Stream said it will work closely with Three Sixty and YWBS throughout an "extended transition period" to ensure the process is "seamless" for customers. Several key account managers will also transfer to Business Stream as part of the deal to "maintain existing relationships and provide continuity of service" to the YWBS customers. Business Stream previously doubled its customer base in 2016 when it acquired Southern Water's non- domestic customers prior to the opening of the English retail water market on 1 April 2017. Business Stream described the latest acquisition as a "significant milestone" in its plans to grow its customer base. Chief executive Jo Dow said: "We recognise that scale will be an important factor enabling us to deliver a more competitive service for our customers across the UK." KP ENERGY Octopus granted £13.2m for Iresa cost Ofgem has permitted Octopus Energy to recoup nearly £13.2 million of costs it incurred in acting as the supplier of last resort for the former customers of Iresa. The grant includes more than £10.9 million to cover the credit balances Iresa owed to its 95,000 customers when the company went bust in July 2018. Octopus Energy originally made a claim for around £13.8 million – an amount which was approved by Ofgem in a minded- to decision in December. However, the company has since revised its claim downwards by almost £640,000, mainly due to the finalisation of previously estimated credit balances. The money granted to Octopus Energy will be collected from energy customers through their distribution network charges for 2019/20. ELECTRICITY Faraday Grid bags £25m in investment Technology start-up Faraday Grid has secured a £25 million investment from the co-founder and boss of the US shared office space company We Work. The money will be used to fund the ongoing global expan- sion of Faraday Grid, including in the UK, and the accelerated commercialisation of its Faraday Exchanger technology. The hardware melds the func- tions of multiple existing devices – converters, inverters, rectifiers and transformers – and in com- bination with the accompanying so¤ware can autonomously maintain a target voltage, fre- quency and power factor. UK Power Networks plans to trial the system in its London licence area from spring 2019. ELECTRICITY EVs forecast to be as cheap by 2021 in UK Pure electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to become as cheap to own and operate as their petrol and diesel equivalents on a worldwide basis by as early as 2022, according to new research from Deloitte. The tipping point in the UK is forecast to come a year earlier in 2021, partly due to a £3,500 grant from the government for EV purchases. In the absence of this subsidy, the milestone would be set back by three years to 2024. The prediction is based on the annual ownership cost of a mid- sized car driven almost 8,000 miles each year. Taking into account the government grant, Deloitte pegs the current figure for the UK at about £5,500. This cost is expected to fall to around £4,500 by 2021 – putting EVs on a par with conventional cars. Dow: 'scale will be an important factor' Stock watch 400 300 200 100 0 UTILITYWISE SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY 2015 2017 2019 UTILITYWISE SHARE PRICE, FIVE YEAR Utilitywise shares have fallen to an all-time low of less than 2p each aer the energy consultancy announced it was putting itself up for sale as it seeks £10 million to fund a strategic overhaul of the business. The company said the money is also necessary to renew its existing credit facilities – worth £25 million in total – which are due to expire in April. Ahead of the announcement last Friday, the shares were trading at just under 6p. 6 5 4 3 2 1 24 Jan 28 Jan 8am 28 Jan 12pm 29 Jan 8am pence pence 29 Jan 12pm 2016 2018

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