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UTILITY WEEK | 6Th - 12Th FEbrUarY 2015 | 21 Finance & Investment Stock watch 2220 2180 2140 2100 2060 2020 1980 Severn TrenT plc Share price, 2-30 January 2015 5 Jan 15 Jan 29 Jan 2200 2100 2000 1900 1800 Severn TrenT plc Share price, 30 January 2014 - 30 January 2015 Jan 14 Jan 15 The city reacted well to Severn Trent's announcement that it was going to cut its dividend payment by 5 per cent and launch a £100 million share buyback scheme. at the close of trading the day before the announcement on 28 January, shares were trading at 2,150p, but they hit a high of 2,202.28p at the close of trading the next day. analysts said the dividend cut was lower than the expected 10-15 per cent. This week Decc bolsters low carbon funding pot Extra £25m of funding made available to low carbon developers ahead of first contract auction The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) increased the amount of funding avail- able to low carbon developers by £25 million ahead of its first contract auction. Low carbon developers are now competing for £325 million worth of support contracts, up from the £300 million promised in October, which will benefit less established technolo- gies such as offshore wind and certain biomass tech- nologies that begin generating from 2017/18 onwards. Decc said the decision to increase the funding pot was made following "high levels of demand" for funding support through the contracts for difference regime. Energy secretary Ed Davey said in a statement: "The high demand for contracts shows that we're one of the top places for renewables investment, and the best place in the world for investing in offshore wind." Total funding for less established technologies has swelled from £235 million to £260 million, with the increase earmarked for projects that commission aer 2017/18. Meanwhile, established technologies, such as onshore wind and solar, will compete for a total of £65 million, of which £50 million will be awarded to projects that begin operations in 2015/16, and the remainder reserved for projects commissioning from 2016/17. Established technologies are already expecting a £50 million boost to available funding through next year's auction, with the amount on offer to be confirmed by government by this autumn. JA WaTEr Thames Water faces bill for rail leaks Thames Water faces a "multi- million pound bill" for a burst water main and other water leaks that have caused disrup- tion to Thameslink rail services. A 16in mains water pipe near Farringdon station burst in late January, while further leaks have resulted in a total of 133 hours of combined delays. Thames Water stopped the leak from the mains pipe over the weekend, but water was still leaking into the tunnel and the rail route between St Pancras and Farringdon was forced to close. Thames Water said it worked "around the clock" with Network Rail to manage the water levels and a blocked drainage system was also cleared. EnErgY Green Investment Bank to invest £50m The Green Investment Bank (GIB) will invest £50 million in a new fund targeting small-scale waste-to-energy projects. The fund will be managed by the Foresight Group, which will raise at least another £50 million from private sector investors to support an "extensive pipeline" of projects, such as the £47 mil- lion GIB-funded Birmingham Bio Power project, which is under construction in Tyseley. While visiting the project, which is fuelled by recovered wood, business and energy min- ister Matthew Hancock said the new fund will help the UK move to "the forefront of this innova- tive green technology, turning local waste wood to electricity". WaTEr Thames Water signs £4bn AMP6 deals Thames Water has signed the biggest contracts in UK water industry history to deliver £4 bil- lion worth of work and services for the AMP6 period. The water company has signed deals with eight2O and infrastructure alli- ance groups to deliver capital investment programmes and network and developer services between 2015 and 2020. The eight2O venture com- prises two design and build joint ventures – Costain and Atkins and Skanska, MWH Treatment and Balfour Beatty (SMB) – as well as programme manager MWH and technology innovator IBM. This will deliver £2 billion to £2.5 billion of work. The infrastructure alliance is made up of two joint ventures: Agility (J Murphy and Sons and Morrison Utility Services); and KCD (Kier Services and Clancy Docwra). This deal will deliver £1 billion of water network and developer services, with an option for a further £500 million. Offshore wind will benefit from extra funding