Utility Week

4 | 2ND - 8TH AUGUST 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Danish delay threatens Nord Stream 2 progress Russia could miss the deadline to begin pumping gas to Europe through the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, unless Denmark approves construction in its waters in the next few weeks. The €9.5bn link that will carry gas from Kremlin-controlled Gazprom to Germany has received authorisation from several of the Baltic Sea nations whose waters it will cross, but not Denmark. Permit applications with the Danish Energy Agency for two different proposed routes have been pending for months, throwing the planned year- end launch date into doubt. Financial Times, 28 July New nuclear plan is hardly better The government's new funding model at the heart of its plan for a nuclear renaissance is an improve- ment since it struck a deal three years ago to support Hinkley Point C in Somerset. This is the best that can be said for the new strategy. There was little chance that a deal so politically unpalatable could be repeated for EDF's follow-on pro- ject at Sizewell B. Instead, officials returned to the drawing board to re-engineer a multibillion-pound funding framework. The Observer, 27 July US gives Chevron extension in Venezuela The Trump administration has granted Chevron, the last major US oil company operating in Venezuela, three more months to produce oil and gas in the country. The administration banned US companies and individuals from dealing with Venezuela's state- owned oil company, Pdvsa, on 28 January, but it granted Chevron and four US oil service companies a six-month waiver. That has now been extended to 25 October. The New York Times, 26 July Around the world Centrica chief to step down after 'challenging' results C entrica's chief execu- tive Iain Conn is to step down from his role aer an "exceptionally challenging" first half of 2019, the company announced on 30 July. The British Gas owner saw an operating loss for the six months to 30 June of £446 million, com- pared with a £704 million profit last year. As in a previous trading update, the company blamed the price cap, low UK natural gas prices, extensions to outages at the non-operating Hunterston B and Dungeness B nuclear power stations and warmer than nor- mal weather in both the UK and North America. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amorti- sation fell by 19 per cent from £1.3 billion to £1.075 billion and adjusted operating profit dropped by 49 per cent to £399 million. British Gas customer accounts were down by 178,000 in the first half. The company said this incorporated a spike in switching during March and April following the introduction of the price cap, with the num- bers stabilising in May and June. Centrica said it would be exit- ing oil and gas production, in addition to nuclear generation, completing its "shi towards the customer". Conn is expected to stay with the company until at least next year's AGM. Speaking about his depar- ture, Conn said he would help to ensure an orderly succession. He said: "It's the right time for me to signal that I am going to step down and that somebody new will take over the smaller, customer-facing company which I hope to have largely delivered on by the time I leave." Centrica's shares fell 17 per cent on the day it announced its results. AJ "We are going to up our response out of hours to reports wherever they come from. We will have more resources on hand to bolster our approach" Michael Neale, land and water team leader in Essex for the Environment Agency, says drones will be deployed for the first time to detect illegal abstraction in East Anglia's fens. STORY BY NUMBERS Emissions cut for Drax The Drax Group reduced its carbon emissions in the first half of 2019. 52% cut in emissions compared with H1 2018 94% of the power produced at its North Yorkshire plant came from renewables 55.3% of UK electricity – a record – was supplied by renewables on 30 June 9.5% of UK electricity came from fossil fuels by mid- afternoon that day 97g This was the first day the UK hit the Committee on Climate Change's 2030 sub-100g/ kWh target for carbon emissions

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