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4 | 20TH - 26TH MAY 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Low German power prices The price of power in Germany dropped significantly on 8 May because of mild weather and high winds, resulting in customers being paid to consume the excess electricity. €130 The price of power per MWh in Germany at 1pm on 8 May. 80% Amount of power produced by wind, solar and hydroelectric plants across the country at the time. 55GWh Amount produced by renewables power plants on that date. 68GWh Total amount of power consumed in Germany over that time. STORY BY NUMBERS Embrace CMA remedies or else, says Nolan Seven days... E nergy suppliers must embrace the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA's) remedies for the market in their entirety, or face further intervention up to and includ- ing full price regulation, Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan has warned. Speaking at Utility Week Live in Birmingham on Tuesday (17 May), Nolan said: "If the indus- try doesn't deliver on the CMA remedies, if it doesn't get com- petition back on track, in my view plans to regulate electricity and gas prices more widely may go back on the table." He said the industry needs to accept all the CMA's recom- mendations, which include the creation of a database of disengaged customers and a temporary "safeguard tariff " for customers on prepayment meters. Referring to rumours that some suppliers are consid- ering legal challenges against individual remedies such as the safeguard tariff, Nolan said: "I don't believe it can be regarded as a regulatory 'pick and mix'. It's time to finalise the details of how best to implement the rem- edies and make them work." The CMA published its pro- visional remedies for the energy sector in March, following a two-year investigation. Its final recommendations are due to be published next month. Speaking at the same ses- sion, Ofwat chief executive Cath- ryn Ross emphasised the water regulator's focus on creating markets across the wholesale value chain as well as retail, saying: "Ofwat is becoming a pro-market regulator." Ross highlighted Ofwat's plans to create markets for water trading, sludge and major infra- structure projects such as the Thames Tideway. These plans were set out last year in Ofwat's Water 2020 discussion paper. A decision document will be published next week. TG National media Michigan foots the bill for water in Flint Michigan has extended and expanded coverage of water bills for residents of Flint to speed recovery from a health crisis caused by high levels of lead. To encourage water use, the state will pay for 100 per cent of water in the month of May. Previ- ously, it covered 65 per cent of the water portion of a resident's water and sewer bill. "Flushing the pipes is essential for restoring the city's water system and increasing the water quality in every home," the state governor said in a statement. Water experts have said heavier water use by Flint residents would flush out lead particles and spread the needed chemical phosphates and chlorine that will better protect the system. Reuters, 12 May A third of Australia earmarked for E&P More than a third of Australia's landmass is earmarked for coal or gas, according to a new analysis and interactive map commissioned by the community group Lock the Gate. No single register of fossil fuel exploration and extraction licences and applications exists so, com- missioned by Lock the Gate, Energy Resources Insights gathered spatial information on land earmarked for fossil fuels from state and federal regulators. The Guardian, 10 May Big US companies spearhead renewables General Motors has signed a 14-year agreement with a windfarm company, EDP Renewables North America, for enough electricity to make more than half the Chevrolet and Cadillac trucks it produces at a major plant in Texas. Financial Times, 12 May "The Chinese also have a plan B" Former energy secretary Lord Howell said in the House of Lords that China could bypass EDF and take over the Hinkley Point C project. £1.3bn Renewable UK says investor confidence in UK offshore wind "remains high" after Dudgeon windfarm secured funding under the contracts for difference regime.