Utility Week

Finance & Investment This week CMA investigation cost taxpayers £5m Freedom of information request reveals cost of probe, which Ebico brands a 'waste of money' The Competition and Markets Authority's two-year probe into the energy market cost the public £5 million, Ebico has revealed aer the publication of the Authority's final report. A freedom of information request from not-for-profit energy supplier Ebico revealed the £5 million figure, which includes £440,000 spent on commissioning research and external consultants. Ebico chief executive Phil Levermore said the cost to suppliers will also "run into the millions". Other costs include £12,100 spent on food and travel expenses and a further £10,900 on event and hearing expenses. The request also revealed the number of full- time staff working on the investigation rose to 28 by the end of March this year. Levermore said: "The CMA investigation has been a complete waste of time and public money. Our freedom of information request shows it cost £5 million – a huge cost to the public purse when there is very little to show for it. "The cost to energy suppliers themselves will run into the millions as well, and consumers will ultimately bear the brunt of this in their energy bills." Levermore also said that the money spent on the investigation could "have been put to better use else- where" to help tackle problems such as fuel poverty. "That amount of money could li 1,100 homes out of fuel poverty and provide materials to insulate 28,000 homes," he added. SJ ELECTRICITY Dong to sink £5.4bn into offshore wind Dong Energy will have invested £5.4 billion in regional offshore windfarms off the coast of north- west England by 2019, according to a report from economic devel- opment and generation consul- tancy Regeneris Consulting. The overall investment from the business supplier includes £2.7 billion across the four windfarms already operating off the northwest coastline and a further estimated £2.7 billion into the two under construction, including the 660MW Walney Extension, which is expected to be completed in 2019. The Walney Extension will eclipse the London Array as the world's biggest offshore windfarm. Last month, Dong Energy offered its customers renewable electricity for the same price as power from traditional sources in a bid to encourage companies to switch to cleaner power. WATER Welsh Water invests £6m in network Work is underway on Welsh Water's £6 million investment programme for its water network across North Wales. The money will be used to clean, re-line or replace more than 50km of mains in North Wales over the next four years. Some of the first areas to receive investments include an industrial estate in Mold where over £330,000 will be spent on upgrading the water network. More than £520,000 will be invested in the drinking water network in Sandycro. One of the biggest invest- ments is more than £1.8 million for the Englefield Avenue area of Connah's Quay, where over 4km of pipe will be replaced. ENERGY Good Energy share offer raises £3.1m Good Energy has raised £3.1 million in its latest share offer to encourage customers to be more involved in the company. Most of the 2,000 applica- tions were from Good Energy customers, and the independent supplier reported a significant oversubscription in the offer. Good Energy founder and chief executive Juliet Davenport said: "I'm delighted by the demand we received for this share offer. It's a strong signal that renewable energy remains an attractive investment." The Wiltshire-based firm, which supplies renewable electricity and green gas, will use the money raised to invest in its operational platform and generation portfolio. The company has 220,000 customers and plans to grow to one million by 2020. Money 'could have been used to ease fuel poverty' 16 | 1ST - 7TH JULY 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Stock watch 230 24 220 23 210 22 200 21 190 20 TESLA MOTORS SHARE PRICE, 22 - 27 JUNE 21 Jun 21 Jun 22 Jun 22 Jun 23 Jun 23 Jun 24 Jun 24 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun SOLARCITY SHARE PRICE, 22 - 27 JUNE Shares in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla dropped sharply on Wednesday (22 June) aer it announced plans to purchase SolarCity, creating "the world's only vertically integrated energy company offering end-to- end clean energy products". Aer closing at $219.61 the previous evening, Tesla shares quickly fell to $199.31 the following morning. Shares in SolarCity jumped from $21.14 to $23.77.

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