From the
editor’s desk…
Welcome
to Pipes & Wires #134 … this rather lengthy issue covers a lot of ground.
We start with a couple of transmission grid regulatory matters and the
introduction of some new safety standards in New Zealand, and then look at some
unfolding energy policy matters in Latin America. We then examine an unfolding
water and sewerage regulatory program in Australia, along with plans to partially
privatise electricity distribution. We then look at water metering and an
electric company merger in the US, and end this issue with a look at the
abandoning of a proposed gas pipeline and some generation closures in Europe.
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Recent client projects
Here’s
a sample of work done for clients over the last few years that demonstrate the
breadth of skills, insight and experience that is available from Utility
Consultants....
· Advising a major global consultancy on
specific features of emerging electricity transmission and distribution
regulatory regimes, including period length, potential for re-opening
determinations, caps & collars, total expenditure levels and incentive
mechanisms.
· Examining the economic efficiencies of
an EDB’s pricing methodologies.
· Advised on the wider philosophical and
potential tax issues of the way consumer discounts are paid by EDB’s.
· Prepared an independent engineer’s
report to justify proposed alternative asset lives.
· Advised an electricity business on the
regulatory implications of bringing externally contracted field services back
in-house.
· Identified economic and regulatory
arguments to support inclusion of transmission interconnection charge risk into
network tariffs.
· Advised lines businesses on a
regulator’s proposed treatment of CapEx and OpEx.
· Advised an international investor on
gas distribution policy and regulatory trends.
· Identified national energy policy
implications for lines businesses.
· Assisted a lines business to identify
the burden of proof implied by regulatory determinations.
· Suggested amendments to a gas
transmission AMP to strengthen the economic arguments.
· Identified electricity network
investment characteristics as part of an acquisition study.
· Developed an AM framework for a gas
distribution business to link AM to regulatory requirements.
· Identified OpEx – CapEx tradeoffs for an electricity lines
business.
· Performed various substation growth and
reinforcement assessments.
· Performed network physical and business
risk studies.
· Compiled disaster recovery and business
continuity plans.
Pick
here to download a profile of recent
projects, or here to contact Phil.
Matters for attention in NZ
Readers’
attention is drawn to the following matters…
· Revised standard NZS7901:2014 for
Safety Management Systems (refer to article below).
· Likely increased obligations for worker
safety (refer article below).
Global
The editor comments on infrastructure
investment levels
A
really excellent documentary called Making New Zealand has recently been screening on Prime
TV on Sunday nights, and the episode on 25th May focused on the
development of NZ’s railway system. That episode was fascinating, but like
almost all commentaries on NZ’s railways it inevitably emphasises the apparent
“run down” of the rail system under private ownership during the 1990’s.
That
shows a disappointing but certainly not surprising lack of insight. The
documentary clearly identifies many of the major strategic threats to rail
which manifested as declining freight tonnages and declining long-haul
passenger numbers. However in the next breath it clearly fails to recognise
that the range of options available to a private company are limited to
commercially sustainable responses, with the only genuinely sustainable
response being to reduce investment levels to within the revenue envelope. In
contrast a government department could’ve adopted a non-commercial response
including just continue sinking money into it … apparently British Rail did
exactly that in the late 1970’s, costing the taxpayer about £100m per year (at
least that’s what the documentary on the InterCity 125 said). And look where it got them.
An amusing note - some things just
don’t change…
Most
of us are only too well aware that electric and gas companies have to compile
extensive annual returns of performance data. It would appear that this is
certainly not a new thing.
Back
when I was young and single, I boarded with an old lady whose brother had
retired as the city electrical engineer in the late 1970’s. When this chap was
an engineering cadet … way back in 1937 … his job was to … compile the annual
statistical return for the city council electricity department !! Fancy that…
New Zealand
NZ – Draft Decision for Transpower’s RCP2
Introduction
New
Zealand’s national transmission grid owner, Transpower, is working towards the commencement
of its second regulatory control period (RCP2) which begins on 1st
April 2015. This article examines the Commerce Commission’s recently announced Draft Decisions on the expenditure allowances and
quality standards.
Regulatory framework
The
regulatory framework is Subpart 7 of Part 4 of the Commerce Act 1986. This provides for the Commission to inter alia set an Individual
Price-Quality Path (IPP) for a supplier using any process and in any way it
thinks fit as long as the relevant Input Methodologies are used.
Key dates
The
key dates for RCP2 were…
· December 2013 - Transpower submits its RCP2 Proposal (rate case).
· February 2014 – Commission publishes an
issues paper and invites submissions on the Proposal.
· May 2014 – Commission publishes its
Draft Decision.
Key features of the RCP process to date
Key
features of the RCP process to date include…
|
Parameter |
Proposal |
Draft
Decision |
Final
Decision |
|
OpEx |
$1,309.3m |
$1,237.5m |
|
|
Base
CapEx |
$1,188.6m |
$1,055.3m |
|
|
HVDC
availability |
98.5% |
98.5% |
|
|
HVAC
availability |
99.6% |
99.6% |
|
The
grid performance measures (availability) have a superimposed cap & collar
mechanism to provide financial incentives to out-perform the targets.
Next steps
The Commission
expects to release its Final Determination by 31st October 2014,
noting that the Decision may be delayed depending on the timing of the WACC
Decision.
NZ – revised standard for Safety
Management Systems
Introduction
All
electric and gas companies (subject only to minor exceptions) are required to
have established and to continue to maintain a Safety Management System, for
which the most popular approach was to implement NZS 7901:2008. This article
takes a quick look at the revised standard NZS7901:2014.
Legal framework
The
legal framework is the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, which in turn are made pursuant to ss169, 169A and 169B of the Electricity Act 1992.
Part 4 addresses safety of works, and in
particular ss47-56 set out the requirements for a Safety Management System.
These regulations further specify at s48(1) that every Safety Management System
must comply either with NZS7901 or to the specifics of ss49-50. Most electric
companies chose to implement NZS7901.
Legal status of the revised standard
It
is understood that the Minister has approved NZS7901:2014, however given that
the Regulations specifically cite NZS7901:2008, it is not expected that
electric and gas companies will need to comply with NZS7901:2014 until the
Regulations are amended. However electric and gas companies could possibly
voluntarily adopt NZS7901:2014 using the “alternative approach” under
s48(1)(b).
Key features of the revised standard
The
following components of NZS7901:2008 appear to have been revised for
NZS7901:2014…
· s2.7 has been amended to emphasise
treatment of significant risks.
· s4 has been amended to emphasise
management of risks (with all level 2 headings amended to reflect this revised
emphasis).
· s5 has been amended to include
Communications at s5.9
The
overall emphasis has been revised to focus on risk management broadly in
accordance with ISO 31000:2009.
Next steps
Amendment
of the Regulations to make NZS7901:2014 the new legal standard is expected to
be the next step. It would probably be useful for electric companies to have an
advance think about the revised requirements and how they need to be aligned to
a risk basis … pick here to discuss with Utility Consultants,
or call Phil on (07) 854-6541.
NZ – proposed changes to Transpower’s
Input Methodologies
Introduction
The
Commerce Commission recently released a consultation paper proposing amendments to two of the Input Methodologies (IM’s) that apply
to Transpower. This article examines those proposed amendments.
Legal framework
Transpower’s
regulatory framework is established by Part 4 of the Commerce Act 1986, viz…
· Subpart 3, which defines inter alia the purpose of IM’s, the matters that must be addressed
by the IM’s, and the process that the Commission must follow in determining the
IM’s.
· Subpart 7, which provides for an Individual
Price-Quality Path to be applied as the Commission sees fit subject to
correctly applying all applicable IM’s.
· Subpart 9, which inter alia subjects all electricity distribution businesses to
information disclosure.
The IM’s that the Commission proposes
to amend
The
Commission proposes to amend the following two IM’s…
· Transpower Input Methodologies Determination 2012 (NZCC 17).
· Transpower Capital Expenditure Input Methodology Determination 2012 (NZCC 2).
Proposed amendments to NZCC 17
Some
of the features of NZCC 17 that the Commission proposes to amend include…
· Including a few extra definitions, with
cross references to NZCC 2.
· Amending the way unallocated
depreciation is calculated.
· Adjustments to asset values.
· Defining the upper limit of
transmission alternative operating costs.
Proposed amendments to NZCC 2
Some
of the features of NZCC 2 that the Commission proposes to amend include…
· Adjusting the base CapEx allowance.
· Amending the definition of forecast
CPI.
Next steps
The
Commission will receive submissions until 5pm, Friday 27th June 2014
and expects to make its Final Decisions in August 2014.
NZ – supporting the new Health and
Safety at Work Act
Introduction
The
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) have recently released
a discussion document for new health & safety
regulations. This article examines Chapter 6 of the discussion paper which deals with Regulating Major Hazard
Facilities.
Legal framework
The
legal framework is still being worked on, with the Health and Safety Reform Bill progressing its way through the
legislative process. It is expected that the Bill will pass into law and become
the Health and Safety at Work Act which will supersede the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
Chapter 6 of the discussion paper
The
focus of Chapter 6 is regulating major hazard facilities under the proposed
Act. The current regulatory framework is considered deficient in that only a
small number of potentially hazardous facilities such as mining and oil
refining are covered, and it is considered prudent to extend this coverage. A
couple of comments on Chapter 6 include…
· It appears that WorkSafe NZ will have significant powers to
designate a facility as a Major Hazard Facility if hazardous substances are
present or likely to be present in quantities above specified limits. The list
of typical facilities cited as examples appear to have chemicals, combustion or
high pressures as a common factor and other than citing geothermal binary cycle
power plants (presumably because of the potentially hazardous nature of the
working fluid) in the list of examples no explicit mention of electricity
occurs.
· It is not clear whether electricity
itself might be considered as a hazardous substance. Again, the text of Chapter
6 doesn’t specifically note electricity as a “high-hazard industry”, however
this doesn’t appear to be an exhaustive list.
· It is proposed that the quantities of
hazardous substances be added to reach an overall threshold quantity.
· Very extensive immediate notification
requirements are proposed for a range of events that any electric company could
be exposed to including electric shock, falls, structural collapse or failure,
collapse of an excavation, ingress of water or gas into underground workings,
escape of a pressurised substance, escape of gas or steam, or failure of an
underground ventilation system.
· An apparent expectation that risk
assessments will give more consideration to the consequences of events and not
simply dismiss risks because of a low likelihood of occurrence.
Next steps
The
MBIE will receive submissions on the discussion document until Friday 18th
July 2014.
Latin America
South America – the Andean interconnect
Introduction
Interconnection
of national electricity transmission grids seems very fashionable these days.
This article examines some of the key features of the proposed transmission
interconnection along the west coast of Latin America.
Overall plans
The
development of an Andean electricity corridor received a boost back in 2011
when Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile agreed to accelerate the
construction of transmission lines by setting a roadmap for the
interconnection. More recently, in April 2014, the 5 member countries met and
signed the Lima Declaration for Andean Electrical
Interconnection and Integration.
The governance arrangements
The
key governance body is the Council of Energy Ministers of the Andean Electrical Interconnection System (SINEA) which includes the respective
ministers of energy, and which is supported by the Regulatory Body Working
Group (GTOR). The role of the GTOR will be to harmonise the regulatory
frameworks.
Key steps in the formation of the
interconnection
Key
steps include…
· Interconnection of Peru and Ecuador by
2015.
· Final connection with Chile by 2021.
Likely policy outcomes
Expected
policy outcomes include…
· More efficient use of hydro generation.
· Connection of renewables
· Formation of a regional electricity
market.
Certainty,
efficiency and equity for participating countries are seen as the necessary
underpinning principles.
Chile – examining the new energy policy
Introduction
Chile’s
new president Michelle Bachelet recently announced her energy policy as the country faces
some major energy issues. This article examines the issues Chile faces, and
considers (in the light of hindsight) whether those policy features are likely
to fix the issues.
The issues Chile faces
The
key energy issue Chile faces is high energy prices which are reducing the
competitiveness of its exports, especially mining. Within this overall issue,
Chile also faces the following contributory issues…
· A lack of national energy resources,
including prolonged droughts in its hydro catchments.
· Environmental barriers to new hydro
developments.
· The possibility of reduced gas supply
from Argentina as Argentina’s own demand for gas-fired electricity increases.
· A border dispute with Bolivia
preventing gas imports.
· Entry barriers to the electricity
market.
· Market structural issues.
· Concerns over how the target of 20%
renewable energy by 2025 has been approached.
· Balancing a stated preference for
increased central planning with encouraging private sector investment.
Key features of the energy policy
Key
features of the policy include…
· Reducing the marginal cost of
electricity in the Central Interconnected System from US$151/MWh to US$106/MWh by 2017.
· Reduce the bid prices of electricity
for residential and small commercial customers by 25% by 2024.
· A goal of having 45% of all new
generation capacity installed by 2025 as renewable.
· Strengthening ENAP’s balance sheet so it can develop new
infrastructure.
· Substitution of LNG for diesel-fired
generation.
· An ambitious energy saving target of
20% by 2025.
Will the new energy policy work ?
A couple of bits of the
policy stand out as potentially problematic…
·
Criticism of “the margins
that exist in the industry” alongside an expectation that “all sector players …
participate in resolving the challenges”. As noted above, balancing the
downward pressure on margins whilst encouraging investment will be challenging.
Globally we are seeing an increasing number of governments that are expecting
investor-owned gas and electric companies to implement public policy but without
getting paid for it, and the emerging picture is that those companies are
already migrating their capital to more favorable jurisdictions.
·
A target, albeit cautiously
expressed, of increased renewables whilst calling for significant reductions in
wholesale electricity prices. The evidence is that conventional renewables such
as wind and solar have caused significant price increases in Germany, Spain and
the UK. So unless Chile has got plans for renewables with a different
underlying cost structure it is not clear how both of these objectives will be
met.
Australia
SA – water under pressure
Introduction
The
Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) has begun compiling
the preliminary stages of the Second Price Determination that will apply to SA
Water from 1st July 2016. This article examines the
key features of the Draft Framework & Approach.
Legal framework for the water & sewerage
revenue controls
The
legal framework is set out in the Water Industry Act 2012, in particular Part 4, Division 3
which provides inter alia for ESCOSA
to make determinations pursuant to the Essential Services Commission Act 2002 and also requires ESCOSA to comply
with any Pricing Order issued by the State Treasurer.
The drinking water & sewerage price
inquiry
ESCOSA
is concurrently running an inquiry into drinking water & sewerage prices
that includes examination of the following issues…
· Reforming drinking water tariffs to
better reflect costs.
· Reconsidering whether “property” is the
best basis for pricing sewerage, and indeed whether customers should be defined
as end-users rather than land-owners.
· The possibility of pricing water and
sewerage services by location rather than at the current statewide approach.
· Increasing the penetration of water
meters and introducing smart water meters.
Key features of the Draft Framework
& Approach
The
key features of the Draft Framework & Approach include…
· Consideration of moving from the
current 3 year control period to either a 2 or 5 year period. It is
acknowledged that a 2 year period would embody a greater administrative cost,
but would also provide greater flexibility to reflect changing external
drivers. It is also acknowledged that a longer period provides stronger
incentives to under-spend as the benefits would be kept for longer (before the
next reset reallocates those benefits). ESCOSA has indicated a preference for 3
or 4 years.
· An expectation that non-commercial
activities should be fully funded by the State Government, and not by SA
Water’s customers.
· An expectation that SA Water will
deliver statutory obligations (such as public health) in an efficient manner,
and not just expect to pass through whatever it costs.
· An expectation that SA Water will
adequately consult its customers to determine inter alia service levels and price-service tradeoffs.
· ESCOSA expects (subject to suitable
performance and public feedback) to continue using the 3 classifications of
services adopted for the First Price Determination, namely Direct Control Services,
Excluded Services and Non-Regulated Services.
· ESCOSA expects to use a building block
method, and to set average prices for services.
· ESCOSA expects SA Water to submit
prudent and efficient expenditure in a similar manner to the First Price
Determination.
· ESCOSA expects to use the same roll
forward methodology to forecast the RAB at 1st July 2016, noting
that it will also carry out an ex-post efficiency review of CapEx from the
First Price Determination.
SA
Water has responded to this Draft, and as ESCOSA’s work progresses Pipes &
Wires will make further comment.
NSW – plans to partially privatise electricity
distribution
Introduction
The
Australian state of NSW regularly announces plans to sell various bits of its
electricity supply chain. This article examines Premier Mike Baird’s recently announced plans to sell stakes
in the electricity distribution businesses.
The proposed sale
Details
seem sketchy, but it appears that the most politically tenable of Baird’s
options is to offer 99 year leases of 49% of Ausgrid and Endeavour
Energy, which is estimated to yield about $15b for the State’s
coffers. Given that these distribution businesses would presumably remain
revenue-regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator it is not clear where the political
opponents concern that line charges would rise comes from, nor why Essential
Energy would be excluded from the process.
Assets sold to date
Readers
will recall that the three electricity retail businesses have been sold, and
that Australian Gas Light (AGL) is attempting to buy Macquarie
Generation. At the time of writing this article AGL is challenging an ACCC decision to block the Macquarie
acquisition.
Possible uses for the sale process
Possible
uses for the sale proceeds include a second Sydney harbor rail crossing or a
second major Sydney airport.
North America
US – smart water meters in San
Francisco
Introduction
The
irony of connecting “smart meters” and “California” in the same article
probably won’t be lost on most Pipes & Wires readers. This article examines
the City Of San Francisco’s $56m roll out of smart water meters to 180,000
homes and businesses which is expected to lead to a 10% voluntary reduction in
water consumption.
What actually is the problem used to
justify smart water meters ?
California
is currently in the grips of a drought, and it is thought that the first step to
reducing water consumption is to make people aware of how much water they’re actually
using.
Some possible issues with water
metering
· Unless consumption information is
associated with real-time tariffs that are high enough to actually hurt, will
consumption really decrease ? The emerging picture from smart electricity
metering is probably not.
· How discretionary is the consumption ? People
still need to perform life’s basic tasks like bathing, ablutions, cooking and
laundry. It may well be that a few simple measures like turning off the water
when soaping up in the shower, or not leaving the tap running whilst brushing teeth will result in at least
some savings. However, in many regions those savings are already in place ie.
the low-hanging fruit has already been picked.
· Unless smart water meters can talk to
appliances and eliminate the need for human intervention, reduced consumption
would seem unlikely. We well understand the need for smart electric meters to
talk directly to appliances such as clothes dryers and dishwashers … will we
now get a second overlay of those same appliances talking to smart water meters
? And what if off-peak electricity doesn’t coincide with off-peak water …
appliances won’t run, so human behavior being what it is will probably just
override the automatic controls and any benefits will be lost.
· Abundant water at zero marginal cost is
generally accepted as a birth right in many countries. Attempts to meter
consumption will almost always set hearts and minds racing to the inevitability
of paying for volume consumption (and to be fair and balanced, in some cases the
introduction of volume charges has not been offset by the removal of the fixed
charge embodied in the “general rate”, so arguably some water customers may
well have been paying twice).
· Like many infrastructure issues, the
public’s thinking is very simplistic. Water meters are a politically hot topic
where I live in Hamilton, NZ. Some recent thinking expressed in a local
newspaper went along the lines of “Hamilton has water shortages, and Hamilton
doesn’t have water meters. Tauranga doesn’t have water shortages, and Tauranga
does have water meters. Therefore water meters would solve Hamilton’s water
shortages”. Probably a nice line of thinking if you’re standing for election to
Council and can ignore the differences between two water supply systems, but
pretty unhelpful for the City Engineer who has to deal with the real details
like balancing supply with cost.
So where might this go ?
Given
the opposition that electric and gas companies are facing to their smart
metering, it would seem very naïve to think that smart water meters won’t face
similar opposition (and of course the cost of installation is likely to be much
greater). Pipes & Wires will comment further as news emerges.
US – Exelon seeks FERC approval to
acquire Pepco
Introduction
It’s
been a while since Pipes & Wires has examined mergers in the US electric
industry. This article examines Exelon’s recently announced plans to acquire Pepco.
A bit about Exelon and Pepco
Exelon
is among the largest of America’s electric companies, with about 35,000 MW of
generation supplying about 7,800,000 customers through its subsidiaries Baltimore
Gas & Electric, Commonwealth
Edison and the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO). Annual revenues are about
$25b.
Pepco
Holdings supplies about 2,000,000 electric and gas customers in the Delaware,
Washington DC, Maryland and New Jersey areas through its regulated subsidiaries
Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic
City Electric.
If
the merger is successful, the combined electric and gas companies will supply
about 10,000,000 customers.
Key features of Exelon’s offer
Exelon
has made a $6.8b all-cash offer of $27.25 per Pepco share, which represents a
24.7% premium to Pepco’s closing price on the announcement day.
The various regulatory approvals
The
following regulatory approvals are currently being sought…
· Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission.
· District
of Columbia Public Service Commission.
· Delaware Public Service Commission.
· Maryland Public Service Commission.
· New
Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
· Virginia
State Corporation Commission.
In
addition, the usual securities market approvals are also being sought. Pipes
& Wires will examine the progress of these various approvals in due course.
UK
and Europe
Austria – abandoning the proposed Tauern
Gas Pipeline
Introduction
The
promoters of the Tauern Gas Pipeline recently announced that they are
abandoning the proposed gas transmission pipeline, apparently because of
“challenging regulatory and industry conditions”. This article examines the
proposed pipeline, its importance and the apparent disconnect between policy
and regulation.
Details of the proposed pipeline
The
proposed Tauern Gas Pipeline was developed by Tauern Gas Leitung (TGL) and
proposed a 290km long, 900mm diameter, 100 bar pipeline running approximately
north-south between Haiming and Tarvisio which would interconnect the two
pipelines that run respectively west and south-west from Baumgarten. The TGL
was expected to cost €1.2b and take 3 years to complete.
One
of TGL’s key purposes was to provide a more direct linkage between the LNG
importing facilities on the Mediterranean coast and northern Europe.
The pipeline promoters
The
TGL promoters are…
· E.On Ruhrgas – 48.05%.
· Energie Oberosterreich – 16.90%
· Salzburg – 16.90%
· Rohölaufsuchungsgesellschaft
– 9.81%
· Kelag – 7.5%
· TIGAS – 3.79%
The policy disconnect
The
TGL was recognised as a priority project by the EU Energy Commissioner for strengthening security of gas
supply and was included in the trans-European networks (TEN-E). However, from the limited
information available in English, it appears that because some of the promoters
are vertically integrated energy companies they would be prohibited from
participating in TGL, and must therefore sell down their stakes. Unfortunately
it also appears that there are no other obvious willing investors ready to step
up.
So
it appears that one policy is gazzumping another. Pipes & Wires has long
recognised this as an issue (posed way back in Pipes & Wires #30 in the context of Victoria, Australia)
… what if the only parties willing to invest are the parties that are
prohibited from investing ? At a rough guess, I would’ve thought that securing
supply was far more important than guarding against the possibility of
anti-competitive behavior.
Spain – prohibiting generation plant
closure
Introduction
The
Spanish Ministry of Industry recently prohibited Iberdrola from closing its’ 1,600MW Arcos de la Frontera combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, despite the plant
being unviable. This article briefly examines what appears to be a confused
policy framework.
The factual position
From
the limited information available in English, it appears that the Ministry has
declined approval for Arcos de la Frontera to be shut down because the
transmission grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) claims that the shutdown would
cause grid stability issues because of the impending closure of a nearby coal
fired station.
The policy issues
The
policy issues include…
· Increasing gas prices.
· Decreasing generated MWh as heavily-subsidised
wind turbines squeeze CCGT’s out of the market.
· A market that only pays for generated
MWh.
· A policy framework that on the one hand
recognises the importance of quick-start plant, but on the other hand doesn’t seem
to want to pay for it. Seems like exactly the same issue as Germany faces
(refer to Pipes & Wires #119 and #123).
So
it remains to be seen how this will play out. It would seem that any statutory
requirement to create public policy outcomes (electric transmission grid
stability) without due compensation will simply drive energy policy outcomes in
the opposite direction to what is required.
General stuff
Guide to NZ electricity laws
I’ve
compiled a “wall chart” setting out the relationship between various past and
present electricity Acts, Regulations, Codes etc in sort of a chronological
progression. To request your free copy, pick here. It looks really cool printed in color
as an A2 or A1 size.
Recently released book “Small
Hydroelectric Engineering Practice”
Well-known
hydroelectric engineer Bryan Leyland has recently published a book entitled
“Small Hydroelectric Engineering Practice”. This is a comprehensive reference
book covering all aspects of identifying, building and operating hydroelectric
schemes between 500kW and 50MW. Pick here for more details.
A bit of light-hearted humor
What
if price control had been around in the 1920’s and 1930’s ? A collection of
photo’s with humorous captions looks at some of the salient features of price
control. Pick here to download.
Conferences & training courses
The following
conferences and training courses are planned...
· Myanmar Oil & Gas Summit – Yangon, 23rd
– 24th June 2014.
· NZ Coatings & Corrosion
Conference & Exhibition – Auckland, 29th – 30th
July 2014.
· Fundamentals of the NZ
Electricity Industry – Wellington, 23rd – 24th
September 2014.
· Fundamentals of the NZ
Electricity Industry – Auckland, 7th – 8th
October 2014.
· Africa Oil & Gas Expo –
Johannesburg, 9th – 10th October, 2014.
Utility
Consultants takes no responsibility for the content of individual courses or
conferences, nor for any administrative or travel arrangements.
Wanted – old electricity history books
If
anyone has an old copy of the following books (or any similar books) they no
longer want I’d be happy to give them a good home…
· Wonders Of World
Engineering (published 1937) – in particular editions 1 to 27.
· Distribution Of Electricity (WT Henley,
the cable manufacturer)
· Northwards March The Pylons.
· Two Per Mile.
· Live Lines (the old ESAA journal).
· The Engineering History Of Electric
Supply In New Zealand.
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Disclaimer
These articles
are of a general nature and are not intended as specific legal, consulting or
investment advice, and are correct at the time of writing. In particular Pipes
& Wires may make forward looking or speculative statements, projections or
estimates of such matters as industry structural changes, merger outcomes or
regulatory determinations. These articles also summarise lengthy documents, and it is important that
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