Utility Week

Utility Week 5th June 2015

Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government

Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/521742

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 3 of 31

4 | 5TH - 11TH JUNE 2015 | UTILITY WEEK National media Airtricity's £660k Irish giveaway The Irish renewables arm of big six energy supplier SSE has awarded over £660,000 to com- munity groups in the vicinity of its 26 Irish windfarms. 156 Number of groups such as schools and sports clubs supported €651k allocated to Republic of Ireland projects in the past year €310k allocated to Northern Ireland projects in the last year £3.3m Total raised by SSE Airtric- ity's Community Fund during its 13 years 1,739 Total number of groups supported by the scheme Oil majors call for global carbon deal Europe's biggest oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, have written an open letter calling for a binding global system of carbon trading in a bid to head off climate change critics. In a joint statement, the chief executives of Shell, BP, Total, Eni, Statoil and BG Group said: "We need to meet greater energy de- mand with less CO2. We are ready to meet that challenge and we are prepared to play our part. We firmly believe that carbon pricing will dis- courage high-carbon options and reduce uncertainty that will help stimulate investments in the right low-carbon technologies and the right resources at the right pace." The Daily Telegraph, 1 June Australian energy grid sale gets green light An Australian lawmaker with the power to block the sale of state electricity networks has cleared the privatisation of the New South Wales electricity grid, expected to net about A$17 billion (£8.6 billion), on condition that no employee loses their job for five years. The Reverend Fred Nile, a conservative Christian minister who holds the balance of power in the state's upper house, said the partial sale of the electricity grid would benefit its three million customers but it must carry a job guarantee. Reuters, 2 June 600-strong choir sings for water in Cardiff Hundreds of singers from commu- nity choirs came together in Cardiff Bay to help transform lives in Gha- na. The first Sing for Water Cardiff was organised by four local women from the Natural Voice community choir, who were inspired to launch Sing for Water aer participating in the London event for many years. ITV News, 31 May STORY BY NUMBERS I n the latest drive to foster a clear and honest debate within the energy sector, industry stakeholders have backed calls for the creation of an independent body dedicated to providing an evidence- based approach to the energy trilemma. In a fresh research report published on 5 June, stakehold- ers were found to support the idea for the Office of Energy, which could introduce a framework for a public debate that was rational and free from the vested interests that many believe distort the key issues surrounding decarbonisation, investment and affordability. The UK's ambition to create an updated energy system has forced the industry into the glare of public scrutiny, with many now believing the sector has become a "political football" at the expense of much-needed investment and reform. If adopted by government, the new body would build on the success of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to address the complexity of the UK's energy transformation in the same way that the Commit- tee on Climate Change provides independent cross-party analy- sis, the Vivid Economics report suggested. "This Office of Energy would draw attention to and inform discussion on the performance of the UK energy system and the impact of policies. At a time of great change due to decar- bonisation, this transparency could be valuable in supporting high-quality debate, policy and investment choices," the report said. JA Industry backs Office of Energy to clarify debate Seven days... 500% SSE has upped its dependence on Norwegian gas imports by 500 per cent. Full story, p29. "…a worrying message to investors…" Renewable UK responds to the Queen's Speech promising a shift in the regulation of large onshore windfarms from government to local planning authorities

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Utility Week - Utility Week 5th June 2015