Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 9TH - 15TH FEBRUARY 2018 | 5 4 million cubic metres of earth (two-and-a- half times the volume of Cardiff's Millennium Stadium) has been moved on the Hinkley Point C construction site in 18 months. ELECTRICITY Didcot A corporate manslaughter probe continues Corporate manslaughter inves- tigations are continuing into the deaths of four workers following the collapse of the boiler house at the former Didcot A power station nearly two years ago. Detective chief inspector Craig Kirby of Thames Valley Police, who is leading the investigation, updated the Oxfordshire Coroner at a pre-inquest review at Oxford Coroner's Court on 31 January. Four men died following the collapse of the boiler house in February 2016 and several more men were injured. Kirby said the police and Health & Safety Executive had jointly set up a dedicated major incident room, which continues to inves- tigate corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and other serious offences under the Health & Safety at Work Act. Due to the complexity of the case, he said it was not possible to give an estimate of when the investigation would be completed. "Ofgem has been far too soft on these firms for ages, allowing them to get fat and lazy at customers' expense" Conservative MP John Penrose quizzes BEIS secretary Greg Clark on network company profits. Yorkshire Water has purchased its first ten electric vans to be powered via renewable sources. The move reinforces Leeds City Council's Clean Air Zone proposal to reduce pollution. Each van has a range of 70-100 miles before it needs recharging. The initiative will generate savings of £536,000 over the seven-year life span of the vehicles and the project will help balance 140 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Average electricity prices for industrial consumers before compensation were 35 per cent higher in the UK than in the rest of the EU in 2016, according to a report produced by University College London and commis- sioned by the Aldersgate Group. The report said industrial power prices could be lowered by giving onshore wind and solar access to subsidy-free contracts for difference and facilitating cross-border trading through interconnectors, albeit with a carbon tax on imports to prevent emissions being exported. UK industrial users pay dearly for electricity 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Comparison of industrial electricity prices in the UK, Germany, France and Italy in the second half of 2016 €/Mwh UK UK Germany France Italy no compensation Fuel and other costs Supplier costs and profit Balancing costs CPS EU ETS Carbon price compensation (max) Total

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