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UTILITY Week 18th July 2014

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4 | 18th - 24th July 2014 | utIlIty WEEK National media World Cup power surges With Germany heading home from Brazil with the Fifa World Cup trophy, National Grid reveals who topped the World Cup tV pick-up table. 1173MW the largest single pick-up was after the England vs uruguay match 1079MW the full-time (90 minute) surge at the end of the Germany vs Argentina final 23MW the surge at the end of extra time, with Germany winning 1-0 2.05m the amount of kettles that could have been powered by the pick-up during all of Argentina's games 647MW the single largest power surge during a Brazil match Nestlé: water scarcity 'most urgent' problem World leaders must make water scarcity a bigger priority than climate change because the problem is far more urgent than global warming, the chairman of one of the world's biggest food companies has warned. "Today, you cannot have a politi- cal discussion anywhere without talking about climate change," Nestlé chairman Peter Brabeck told the Financial Times in an interview. "Nobody talks about the water situ- ation in this sense. And this water problem is much more urgent." Financial Times Climate worriers use more electricity People who claim to worry about climate change use more electricity than those who do not, a govern- ment study has found. Those who say they are concerned about the prospect of climate change consume more energy than those who say it is "too far into the future to worry about", a study by Decc found. This is in part due to age, because people over 65 are more frugal with energy but less concerned about global warming. Even when pensioners are discounted, there is only a "weak trend" to show that people who pro- fess to care about climate change do much to cut their energy use. The Daily Telegraph Scots shale and gas reserves 'modest' Scotland has only a "modest amount" of shale gas and oil, according to a new study. A British Geological Society survey report estimated Scotland's reserves at 80 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in central Scotland and six billion barrels of shale oil. BBC story by NUMbErs T he Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) faces mounting legal woes following its High Court defeat to Drax over its fast-tracked Contracts for Difference (CfD) funding round. Drax won its case against the government this week, with the ruling that Decc was wrong to deem one of its two conversion projects ineligible for financial support, just months aer provi- sionally accepting both. Investment analysts said Decc was likely to appeal the verdict in light of the high finan- cial stakes of the CfD regime, but further legal complications were likely. Biomass power will earn an estimated £10/MWh more under a CfD than in the current Renewables Obligation scheme, which over the duration of the contract would result in consid- erably higher returns for Drax. The hey payout would also have serious implications for the government, which has a limit on the amount it can pay in subsidies under its Levy Control Framework (LCF). "There is limited headroom le in the LCF, particularly for 2015-17," an investor note from Citigroup said. Utility Week understands that should the second Drax unit be included in this funding round, the government may need to re allocate funds among the dif- ferent renewable technologies, or pay out more than planned. "The issue will now be how Decc manages to include both Drax units in the enabling CfD budget if it does not exclude other projects that have already been awarded, and signed contracts (such as SSE's Beatrice windfarm)," said an analyst note from RBC Capital. "This could create further legal complications. Furthermore, there is still the EU state aid hurdle to clear," the note added. Decc defended its decision, but stopped short of saying it would appeal. JA Seven days... Legal woes ahead for Decc after Drax defeat 93% the nine eligible suppliers – the big six, First utility, utility Warehouse and now the Co-operative Energy – have collectively met 93 per cent of the Affordable Warmth targets "They deserve to be recognised for their bravery and dedication" Mike Penning, outgoing minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, praises electricity distribution network staff

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