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18 | 21ST - 27TH APRIL 2017 | UTILITY WEEK Finance & Investment This week Moorside deal 'hangs on public financing' Former energy minister says Kepco is unlikely to take on nuclear project without government help Kepco is unlikely to be tempted into taking over the troubled Moorside nuclear project without some sort of public financing, a former energy minister has told Utility Week. The South Korean state- owned utility will also be hesitant to step in and save the development unless it can use its own reactor technology. "They'd want a signal about financing from the gov- ernment," said Tim Yeo, now the chairman of campaign group New Nuclear Watch Europe. "I've been arguing for some time that we should look at providing during the construction phase some government finance." Yeo said this would have to be on the basis of repay- ments beginning as soon as the plant is generating. "But I think they would be looking for something," he added. "It doesn't have to be the whole amount." Yeo said Kepco is unlikely to be keen on using West- inghouse's reactors. "I don't think they're terribly inter- ested in taking it over and just using the AP1000. I think they would do it if they had the chance to use their own technology." This would mean a delay while Kepco's reactor design underwent a generic design assessment – a process that usually takes about four years. However, Yeo said the involvement of Kepco should not be dismissed on this basis: "At the present rate of progress there's no certainty about the timetable for Moorside with all these uncertainties hanging around." Kepco otherwise appears to be "quite keen" on the project, he said. "I think they see it's a rather practical opportunity to get into the UK market." TG HEAT Low-carbon heat networks get £24m The government has awarded a total of just over £24 million to nine local authorities around Britain to kick-start the rollout of low-carbon heat networks. The seed money is the first to be handed out as part of the Heat Networks Investment Project, for which a £320 million pot has been set aside by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The funding was awarded to four projects in London, two in Manchester and one each in Sheffield, Crawley and Colches- ter, through a pilot competition launched in October last year. BEIS also granted £200,000 of early-stage funding to four local authorities, to enable them to develop their projects that are in planning. "This will build a pipe- line of high-quality projects ready to compete for future rounds of capital funding," it said. A total of £39 million was up for grabs, meaning £15 million will be returned to the main pot. ELECTRICITY 'Let onshore wind bid again for CfD' Ministers could let onshore wind bid in a new contracts for differ- ence (CfD) round one, without contradicting the government's previous pledges to end all new subsidies, according to Scottish Renewables. A Baringa Partners report published last week, which was commissioned by the industry body, said a "pot one" style CfD round for onshore wind could help deliver 1GW of extra capa- city in the UK, as well as clear a highly competitive price of £49.40 per MWh. Scottish Renewables chief executive Niall Stuart told Utility Week: "If you want to deliver onshore wind capacity at a scale that will make a meaningful contribution to the UK's work to meet climate change targets and keep bills down for consumers, you will need a CfD framework." ENERGY Good Energy profits from new customers Independent supplier Good Energy saw its profits soar in 2016 as it continued to draw in new customers. A vertically integrated busi- ness model and "prudent hedg- ing strategy" helped to shield it from volatility in the short-term power market towards the end of the year, the company said in its financial results. Ebitda jumped 39 per cent year on year to £10.1 million, and revenues rose by 41 per cent to £90.4 million. The supplier reported pre-tax profits of £1.4 million, up from £0.1 million in 2015. Moorside: South Korean utility is 'quite keen' Stock watch 1,520p 1,500p 1,480p 1,460p 1,440p EDF SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY 11 Apr 12 Apr 13 Apr 18 Apr SSE SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY A number of utilities saw their share prices fall on Tuesday aer Theresa May announced a snap general election, indicating concern among investors about added uncertainty and the outcome of the vote. Among the worst affected was EDF, whose shares began the day trading at €7.76 but had fallen almost 4 per cent to €7.44 as Utility Week went to press. SSE shares were down by about 2.5 per cent at 1,458p, while Centrica shares had dropped nearly 2 per cent to 212.6p. €8.20 €8.00 €7.80 €7.60 €7.40 €7.20 11 Apr 12 Apr 13 Apr 18 Apr