Utility Week

"Until there is a settled energy policy, we risk a private cartel if the merger [between SSE and Npower] is given approval" Justin Bowden, GMB's national secretary for energy, asks business secretary Greg Clark to block the proposed merger of SSE and Npower. 4 | 24TH - 30TH NOVEMBER 2017 | UTILITY WEEK STORY BY NUMBERS Seven days... National media Whitefish halts work in Puerto Rico Whitefish Energy Holdings has said it is halting work on restoring power in Puerto Rico because it has not been paid by the US territory's government. The company said invoices for work done in October were outstanding. A letter sent to Puerto Rico officials stated the govern- ment owed Whitefish more than $83 million. Chief executive Andy Techman- ski told CNN, which first reported the news: "We stopped because of the financial situation and lack of payment with [the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or Prepa] has gotten beyond its maximum threshold of what we can sustain as a business. The exit plan is to try to get payment out of Prepa so we can continue to work for the last ten days of our contract." The Guardian, 21 November Ineos expands into North Sea exploration Chemicals giant Ineos is making a move into deep water oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. Ineos has bought a majority stake in two exploration licences in areas far to the north of Shetland, thought to have strong prospects for gas reserves. It is the latest deal for the privately owned group, which recently branched out by acquiring the motorcycle wear brand Belstaff. It also bought Swiss football club Lausanne-Sport earlier this month. The chemicals firm, founded by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, has agreed with Aberdeen-based Siccar Point Energy to take on two-thirds of the exploration licences. BBC News, 21 November Centrica moves to scrap standard variable tariffs B ritish Gas is to abolish standard variable tariffs (SVTs) for new customers by 31 March next year, making it the third supplier to confirm such a move. The announcement from Centrica, British Gas's parent company, was made on 20 November alongside a ra of measures the company said could remedy failures in the domestic energy retail market, and which it claimed were preferable to the introduction of the wide-ranging price cap proposed by the government. In place of SVTs, Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said that from April 2018 British Gas would use a 12-month fixed rate default tariff. Conn told journalists at a briefing about the move that to motivate customers to chose the best available tariff for their needs, the new default tariff would be priced in a way that made it "unattractive but not punitive". He declined to confirm, however, whether the default product would be cheaper than British Gas's current SVT, which costs on average £1,072, accord- ing to regulator Ofgem. Centrica promised to encour- age existing SVT customers to choose better deals. However, the company also urged the government and Ofgem to ban the use of tariffs with no end date, so bringing a market-wide end to the use of SVTs. Around 4.5 million of British Gas's 8.3 million customers (around 60 per cent) are on SVTs, with 70 per cent of the company's profits deriving from this segment. In October, national press reports suggested squeezed margins could force it to curtail dividends. Asked what the company was doing to reassure shareholders, Conn said: "The most impor- tant thing is to get the market structure right so it's good for the customer. That's what we're trying to do." AC Half of UK supply will be renewable by 2026 By 2026, renewable energy will account for more than half of the UK's power supply, according to a study by Bloom berg New Energy Finance. 63% of power will be generated by renewables by 2040. 70GW will be needed in the UK by 2040 to meet peak demand. 97GW will be needed in Germany in 2040 to meet peak demand. 1% or less of UK solar and wind power will be wasted by 2030, rising to 3% by 2040. 3% of German solar and wind will be wasted by 2030, rising to 16% by 2040.

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