Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 20TH - 26TH APRIL 2018 | 17 This week KKR to sell stake in SSW parent company Arjun Investment Partners agrees to acquire 75 per cent equity stake in South Staffordshire plc Global investment firm KKR has agreed to sell its 75 per cent equity stake in South Stafford- shire plc, the parent company of South Staffs Water, to Arjun Infrastructure Partners (AIP) for an undisclosed sum. South Staffordshire plc com- prises South Staffs Water (SSW) and a non-regulated business, which includes SSI Services and Echo Managed Services. SSW supplies water to around 1.6 million custom- ers in the South Staffordshire and Cambridge regions, while the non-regulated business provides "contractual special services" to the UK water sector. South Staffordshire plc said it is committed to serv- ing its customers and the local community, providing support last year to more than 23,000 customers in debt. It also "invested significantly" in the areas it serves, having supported the £1 billion North West Cambridge Development by supplying homes and community facili- ties with the UK's largest rainwater recycling scheme. Ram Kumar, chairman of South Staffordshire plc and a senior member of KKR's infrastructure team, said: "South Staffordshire has a long and successful track record as a UK water utility, and KKR is proud to have been involved with it over the past five years. During our ownership, we have enabled it to enhance the quality and reliability of its water supply, support its customers and invest in environmentally sustainable operations. "We are confident the company is well positioned to continue delivering on its social commitments under AIP's majority ownership." KP ENERGY Foster denies blame for RHI collapse Northern Ireland's ex-first min- ister has denied responsibility for the province's non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, even though she had departmental responsibility for the botched scheme. Delivering her evidence on day 54 of the public inquiry into the scheme, Arlene Foster said she had "done nothing wrong" with respect to the scheme, which resulted in an estimated overspend of £700 million for the installation of renewable heat devices. The scandal over the overpayments triggered the collapse of Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration in early 2017. In written evidence, Fos- ter said she was "no longer" minister at Northern Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment by the time "problems or difficulties began to emerge". ENERGY Autumn rollout for heat networks funds The government will launch its programme to kick start the mass rollout of heat networks this autumn. It has published the criteria it will use to distrib- ute funds from the £320 million allocated two years ago for the Heat Networks Investment Pro- ject (HNIP). The scheme will offer a mix of grants and loans to developers of heat networks serving two or more buildings. Developers will be able to apply for grants of up to £5 million, while loans will be capped at £10 million. Support will be limited to less than half the capital construction costs for the individual projects. The HNIP is designed to help foster a supply chain for heat networks, with the aim that the sector should be self-supporting by 2021 when the initiative is due to end. ENERGY Aggreko buys stake in Origami Energy Temporary power provider Aggreko has bought a 14 per cent share of soware platform developer Origami Energy, which uses smart technology to help customers realise the full revenue potential of their energy assets. Aggreko said the invest- ment is in line with its strategy to reduce the cost of energy for its customers, while maintain- ing a reliable power supply in a "changing energy market". It highlighted the deal "adds capabilities which are comple- mentary" to those brought into the group through its acquisition of energy storage specialist You- nicos, as part of a £40 million cash deal, in July 2017. SSW: supplies around 1.6 million customers Stock watch 145 140 135 130 CENTRICA SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY CENTRICA SHARE PRICE, ONE MONTH Centrica will be forced to slice a quarter of its annual dividend in 2019 due to the looming energy price cap and intense competition, HSBC has predicted. Analysts increased their estimate of the impact of the price cap on annual earnings before interest and tax from £75 million to £140 million and lowered their target price from 150p to 120p. Despite the warning, the share price dipped only briefly to around 138p and by the time of publication was almost 143p. 143 142 141 140 139 138 11 April 12 April 13 April 16 April 17 April Finance & Investment 20 Mar 23 Mar 28 Mar 13 Apr 6 Apr

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