Utility Week

4 | 4TH - 10TH MAY 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Antarctic icebergs to be towed to thirsty Cape Town A salvage expert who planned the most complex maritime rescue operation ever undertaken is hoping to tow an iceberg from the Antarctic to Cape Town to provide water for the city, which is in danger of running out. Nick Sloane plans to "capture" one of the many massive icebergs that dri to within 1,200 nauti- cal miles of South Africa. A single 70,000-tonne iceberg would be enough to provide 135 million litres a day for a year, more than existing emergency plans, including desalination, being considered by the city's authorities. The Times, 30 April Melbourne's water supply at risk from ecosystem collapse Melbourne's water supply is at risk because decades of logging and forest loss from large bushfires has triggered the imminent collapse of the mountain ash forests in Victo- ria's central highlands, ecologists have said. Ecosystem collapse was predicted by Australian National University researchers in 2015, and now they say that hidden damage "means that collapse is almost inevitable". The Guardian, 30 April BP profits jump on rising oil prices and production Rising production and higher oil prices helped li BP profits by 71 per cent in the first quarter of this year, underscoring the resurgence of profitability from the world's big- gest oil and gas groups. Underlying replacement cost profits, the measure tracked most closely by analysts, were $2.6 billi- ion, up from $1.5 billion in the same period last year. Financial Times, 1 May STORY BY NUMBERS National media No mid-period review for electricity distribution O fgem has decided against holding a mid-period review of the current RIIO price control for electricity distribution (ED1). The regulator considered wid- ening the scope of any review to cover overall network returns, but concluded that the resulting damage to investor confidence could increase financing costs for networks by up to £3.1 billion over the following price control period – more than offsetting any short-term benefits. The decision follows the conclusion of a consultation Ofgem began in December. At the time, it said it was consider- ing three options for a potential mid-period review. The first was to limit the scope of the review to policy- driven changes to outputs and the introduction of new outputs to meet the needs of consumers and network users. This was the default position outlined in strategy decision for its March 2013. The second was to extend the scope to cover changes to specific projects, again driven by policy. Ofgem said it only identi- fied one issue that would have been covered – changes to the government's rail electrification programme announced last year. The final option – and the one that most concerned distri- bution network operators – was to extend the remit even further to cover "financial and incentive performance and design". In the decision document published on 30 April, Ofgem said it had settled on the first option. It had not identified any issues that fitted within this scope and had therefore decided not to hold a mid-period review. Ofgem ruled out the third option on the basis it could "undermine regulatory confi- dence and weaken incentives on DNOs to perform efficiently. This could result in increased costs, offsetting any short-term benefits". The chief executive of Western Power Distribution previously told Utility Week the threat of this happening wiped a fih off the company's share price. TG Final turbines installed at Walney Extension The final turbines have been installed at the Walney Extension offshore windfarm off the Cumbrian coast. It is jointly owned by Orsted and Danish pension funds PFA and PKA, and is expected to become fully operational in the latter half of 2018. 659MW Total capacity of the windfarm, making it the largest in the world. 87 Number of turbines. 630MW Previous record, held by the London Array. 50% Shareholding in the project owned by Orsted. 25% Shareholdings of pension funds PFA and PKA. "Digital technologies are having a significant impact on the energy industry" Centrica Business chief executive Mark Hanafin says customer service is being revolutionised in the sector.

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