Category Archives: Utilities

Harry Potter fans force relocation of £430m undersea cable to avoid Dobby’s ‘grave’

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Power cable linking UK and Ireland now passes near Bronze Age human burial remains instead of fictional grave on Welsh beach

Harry Potter fans have forced a new multimillion-pound power cable between the UK and Ireland to be relocated after complaining it would desecrate the “grave” of Dobby, a fictional elf.

The character was laid to rest on Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Fans of the wizard series come to leave stones reading “Here Lies Dobby” despite being asked not to by the land owner, the National Trust, because the beach is an ecologically sensitive site.

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Turn failing water firms into not-for-profit cooperatives, MPs and mayors tell PM

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Labour politicians say mutualised model puts public in control without adding debt to government’s balance sheet

MPs and mayors close to Andy Burnham have told the prime minister there is a “third way” to gain more control of failing companies, as the row over whether or not to nationalise Thames Water rumbles on.

Burnham is said to be concerned about the increase in government debt that Treasury projections show could be a result of nationalising water companies.

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‘Customers prefer AI chatbots,’ says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre jobs axed

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CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins

The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.

Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month.

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Thames Water creditors seek talks with Burnham as nationalisation looms

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Consortium preparing for potential legal battle amid reports new PM could put the company into temporary public ownership

The group of investors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have said they are willing to discuss greater public control but are also preparing for a potential multi-billion pound legal battle amid reports that Andy Burnham could temporarily nationalise the company.

London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors that hold £17bn of the company’s £21bn debt, has said it is open to government involvement with Thames Water, but indicated that this does not include public ownership in the struggling company.

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South East Water supply disruption hits thousands of properties in Kent

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People in Tunbridge Wells area face lower pressure, intermittent supply or no water after ‘instrument failure’

Thousands of homes and businesses in Kent are facing water supply problems for a second day, including a “complete lack of water” in some cases, South East Water said.

About 7,000 properties in the Tunbridge Wells area could face low pressure, intermittent supply or no water, after an “instrument failure” at a nearby water treatment works, SEW said.

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Thames Water has funds to survive until end of year but warns of uncertainty over future

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Annual results show struggling firm’s net debt has risen to £18.5bn, up from £16.8bn a year earlier

Thames Water has said it has sufficient funding to survive until the end of the year but warned of “material uncertainty” over its future as it scrambles to recapitalise to avoid nationalisation.

The UK’s largest water company, which serves 16 million customers in London and the south of England, said it continued to work with creditors, regulators and the government on a recapitalisation plan.

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Europe’s heatwave drives electricity prices to new highs as demand soars

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Great Britain has paid at least six times the normal price for imported power as millions turn on air conditioning and windfarm output sags

The heatwave has prompted a sharp rise in electricity prices across European markets as millions turn to air conditioners and electric fans to battle record high temperatures, which have also caused a string of power plant outages across the continent.

Great Britain imported electricity from Europe at more than six times the normal price on Tuesday as the high-pressure heat dome has slowed wind speeds, hitting renewable energy generation, and led to outages at multiple gas plants across the country.

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Unions attack ‘year-long delay’ for Tata Steel furnace’s grid connection in south Wales

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Government urged to help speed up vital industrial project amid growing alarm over National Grid delays

Trade unions have called for the government to intervene to speed up Tata Steel’s connection to the electricity grid in south Wales, after the company said its new furnace would be delayed by up to a year.

Tata Steel last month told investors that National Grid had said it would face a six- to eight-month delay. That could stretch to 12 months amid unexpected engineering difficulties.

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South West Water admits criminal offence over Devon parasite outbreak

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Firm admits supplying water unfit for human consumption after nearly 150 people fell ill

A major utility company has admitted supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak in Devon made almost 150 people sick.

South West Water (SWW) pleaded guilty to the criminal offence relating to the cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, which affected 2,500 homes.

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Ofwat letting water firms charge twice to tackle sewage, court to hear

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River Action bringing legal action against water regulator over who should foot bill for firms’ past failures to invest

Ofwat is unlawfully allowing water companies to charge customers twice to fund more than £100bn of investment to reduce sewage pollution, campaigners will allege in court on Tuesday.

Lawyers for River Action say the bill increases being allowed by Ofwat – which amount to an average of £123 a year per household – mean customers will be paying again for improvements to achieve environmental compliance that should have been funded from their previous bills.

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Energy firms complete UK’s first ‘hydrogen blending’ trial to power grid

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A 2% blend of low-carbon gas injected into gas grid to fuel Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire is a UK first

Energy companies have injected green hydrogen into Britain’s gas grid and used the low-carbon gas to generate electricity, in a landmark development for the UK’s climate ambitions.

For the first time in the UK, a 2% blend of green hydrogen was injected into the gas grid and blended with traditional gas to fuel the Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire which generated electricity for the power system.

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Ofwat to be abolished in ‘reset’ of water industry regulation

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Environment secretary backs plan to end sewage spills and financial mismanagement in England and Wales

A new water regulator will replace the powers of Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency to “reset” a sector tarnished by scandals over sewage spills and financial mismanagement, after a major review of the sector.

The government will adopt the recommendation for England and Wales made in the review it commissioned from Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, which was released on Monday. In England, the powers of Natural England will also be subsumed.

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Southern Water issues hosepipe ban for 1m people in Hampshire and Isle of Wight

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Announcement takes number of people hit by restrictions across England to about 8.5 million

Southern Water has become the fourth English utility to issue a hosepipe ban, taking the number of people hit by such restrictions to about 8.5 million.

The latest ban, which comes into force for about 1 million residents across large swathes of Hampshire and all of the Isle of Wight from 9am on Monday, comes after Yorkshire, Thames and South East Water announced similar measures.

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Treasury threatens Defra with £4bn bill if Thames Water nationalised

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Exclusive: Treasury threat an example of ‘scare tactics’ to help force through private sector deal, sources suggest

Whitehall officials have been at loggerheads over the fate of Thames Water since the Treasury told the environment department that it would have to meet the cost of a multibillion pound temporary nationalisation.

Britain’s biggest water company recently came within days of running out of money. Thames is in a desperate race to find a buyer willing to inject cash, with the US private equity firm KKR in pole position.

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Macquarie ‘very proud’ of Thames Water ownership despite loading it with debt

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Some analysts claim investment bank set supplier on course for collapse before selling it in 2017

The investment bank that sold Thames Water in 2017 after loading the company with debt has said that it is “very proud” of its record, even as the water utility teeters on the verge of collapse.

Australia-headquartered Macquarie led a consortium that owned Thames Water from 2006 until 2017. Macquarie has been criticised by some politicians and analysts for its control of the business, accusing the bank of setting it on course for financial collapse.

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Scottish Water staff to strike for two days as pay standoff continues

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Emergency repairs and quality checks for 5m people in Scotland will not be done on Tuesday and Wednesday, union says

Scottish Water staff will strike for two days from the early hours of Tuesday as a standoff over pay continues at the state-owned company.

The striking workers’ union warned that emergency repairs and quality checks to water supplied to 5 million people across Scotland would not be carried out during the action on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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River campaigners to sue Ofwat over water bill rises

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Group claims regulator signed off on ‘broken system’ making customers pay for industry’s neglect

An environmental group is to take legal action against Ofwat, the water regulator, accusing it of unlawfully making customers pay for decades of neglect by the water industry.

River Action will file the legal claim this month, arguing that bill rises for customers that have been approved by the regulator could be used to fix infrastructure failures that should have been addressed years ago.

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Energy network owners have made £3.9bn from higher bills, says report

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Citizens Advice believes Ofgem made flawed interest rate calculation for companies in Great Britain

The companies behind Great Britain’s gas pipes and power lines have pocketed a windfall of nearly £4bn from household bills during the energy and cost crisis, according to a report.

The analysis, by Citizens Advice, argued that energy network owners were able to make the “excess profits” over the past four years after the industry regulator misjudged their costs.

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Thames Water wins court backing for £3bn debt package

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Deal approved at high court gives company £1.5bn in upfront cash to stave off collapse

Thames Water has won court approval for an emergency debt package worth up to £3bn that should stave off the collapse of Britain’s biggest water company for at least another few months.

London’s high court said on Tuesday that the deal could proceed, after hearing four days of complex arguments earlier this month over whether it should go ahead. The deal will allow the company to avoid special administration, in effect a temporary nationalisation.

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Thames Water seeks high court approval for £3bn debt lifeline

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Hearing to rule on whether to grant emergency funds to water utility, which says it may run out of cash by March

Thames Water will seek court approval for up to £3bn in emergency funding, which could stave off temporary nationalisation, at a court hearing in London.

A high court judge will hear from Britain’s biggest water supplier and groups of rival creditors on Monday before deciding whether to approve the rescue. Without the debt lifeline, Thames Water has said it could run out of cash by March.

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