Pipes & Wires

INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS OF COOL ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE STUFF

Issue 145 – September 2015

 

From the editor’s desk…

 

Welcome to Pipes & Wires #145. This month we start with some analysis of a new Bill to further regulate connection of distributed generation in NZ, and then look at an analysis of the UK’s regulatory successes and failures. We then move on to examine the beginning of a big merger in the US and the rejection of another big US merger at the last regulatory hurdle. We then move into the energy policy and markets space to examine the UK’s new nuclear station, the closure of thermal plant in NZ and the curtailing of wind subsidies in the UK. This issue then concludes with an analysis of the electricity distribution revenue determinations in three Australian states. So … happy reading.

 

Matters for attention in NZ

 

Readers’ attention is drawn to the following matters…

 

·      The Health and Safety Reform Bill has now passed into law as the Health and Safety at Work Act and will come into effect on 4th April 2016.

 

·      Changes to the requirements for connecting embedded generation to distribution.

 

·      Increasing interest in ISO 55000:2014 in regard to asset management practices and systems, and the associated withdrawal of BSI PAS 55:2008.

 

·      Revised standard NZS 7901:2014 for Safety Management Systems.

 

Interesting fact…

The world’s 7 largest power stations could each supply New Zealand’s entire maximum demand all by themselves.

 

Regulatory policy

 

NZ – regulating connection of small renewable generation

 

Introduction

 

Regulating the connection of renewable distributed generation (RDG) to overcome perceived entry barriers is certainly not a new issue. This article examines the key features of the Electricity Industry (Small-Scale Renewable Distributed Generation) Amendment Bill which was introduced to Parliament in August 2015.

 

Key features of the Bill

 

The Bill proposes to amend various clauses of the Electricity Industry Act 2010 as follows…

 

·      Extend the Electricity Authority’s objectives to include encouraging greater use of renewable energy including from distributed generation sources (by amending s15).

 

·      Extend the Electricity Authority’s functions to include preparing and monitoring the use of the small-scale renewable distributed generation electricity purchase agreement (by amending s16(1)(h)).

 

·      Requires the Electricity Authority to amend the Electricity Industry Participation Code within 1 year of the Bill becoming law so a wide range of matters relating to contractual terms and conditions for connecting small-scale renewables are embodied in a pro-forma electricity purchase agreement (by inserting a new s43A).

 

·      Extends the Minister’s powers to overrule the Electricity Authority if the Minister considers that the Code provisions are unsatisfactory (by inserting a new s43B).

 

·      Attaching the electricity purchase agreement obligations to the land (by inserting a new s44A).

 

The electricity purchase agreement that is central to the Bill’s goal will regulate the price paid by a retailer to the RDG to a level greater than the wholesale electricity price, and require a nationally consistent connection process.

 

Progress of the Bill

 

The Bill has only been recently introduced as a Members’ Bill, which are debated every second Wednesday. Pipes & Wires will comment further as the Bill progresses through the various Readings and Select Committees.

 

The wider issue of subsidizing renewables

 

Subsidies (whether direct or indirect) for renewable energy are indeed a thorny topical issue. We might well ask why RDG needs further regulatory support given that Part 6 of the Code already places considerable obligations on distributors. A quick reading of the Bill suggests that distributors will end up absorbing connection costs as the technical variations between individual RDG’s emerge.

 

UK – taking stock of regulatory successes to date

 

Introduction

 

Former UK electricity regulator Professor Stephen Littlechild was the recent guest of the Electricity Authority, and he presented a lecture entitled “Top Of The Pops – 12 Big Issues In UK Infrastructure Regulation” which is well worth watching if you’ve got a spare 50 minutes.

 

How successful has regulation been ?

 

In a humorously presented lecture, Stephen examines how successfully the UK’s infrastructure has been regulated over the last 25 years or so on the following 2 dimensions…

 

·      Whether regulatory outcomes have been better or worse (overall yes).

 

·      Whether there has been less regulatory burden (overall no).

 

The outstanding points

 

Stephen did make a couple of very outstanding points in his lecture (and these are largely my words, not his)…

 

·      In the face of advancing technologies (particularly communications, but also electricity distribution), there is a diminishing case for price regulation of legacy technologies. The suggested approach is to regulate the 2nd most recent technology, not the most recent (so it can find its feet) or the legacy (which is probably subject to competition by now anyway).

 

·      Regulators powers should be set by a separate agency, including proving the need for regulation against 3 economic criteria.

 

·      Regulators should consider less burdensome regulatory instruments such as negotiation or monitoring for smaller players within a market segment (quoted in the context of the 3 London airports).

 

·      Regulation tends to drive industries around a cycle of vertical disaggregation and re-aggregation (citing the example of how Britain’s railways seem to be turning back into something similar to the big 19th century railway companies).

 

All in all, a thoroughly excellent lecture.

 

Mergers & acquisitions

 

US – Southern Co makes a bid for AGL Resources

 

Introduction

 

Southern Co recently announced a $12b deal to acquire AGL Resources, a gas distribution and retail business. This article examines the key features of the deal to set some context for future analysis.

 

An overview of Southern Co.

 

Southern Co is an electric utility holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia with 42,000MW of generation capacity and 4,200,000 electric customers supplied through its regulated subsidiaries Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Mississippi Power and Gulf Power. Annual revenues are about $18b and the asset base is about $65b.

 

An overview of AGL Resources

 

AGL Resources is a gas distribution company also based in Atlanta, Georgia that supplies about 4,500,000 natural gas customers through regulated networks in Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. AGL also supplies gas to 1,100,000 retail customers in states that have deregulated their gas markets. Annual revenues are about $5.4b and the asset base is about $15b.

 

Key features of the deal

 

The deal is valued at about $12b, and comprises an offer of $66 for each AGL share plus the assumption of $4b in debt. The deal is expected to be concluded in the 2nd half of 2016.

 

The strategy behind the deal

 

Key elements of the traditional electric utility business are in decline …

 

·      Total kWh’s are declining as economies remain soft.

 

·      Rooftop solar penetration is further eroding conveyed kWh.

 

·      Efficiency programs gain traction, further eroding conveyed kWh.

 

·      Nuclear is proving very expensive and politically difficult.

 

·      Coal faces new climate change pressures.

 

In contrast, gas utilities are finding new life as …

 

·      Gas-fired generation substitutes for coal.

 

·      Gas-fired generation is increasingly required to buffer wind and solar generation.

 

·      Gas is increasingly used as an end-use fuel.

 

So buying a gas business to capture growth, capture synergies from dual-fuel customer offerings and securing gas supplies to generation plant would make pretty good sense.

 

Regulatory approval required

 

In addition to shareholder approval, the following regulatory approvals are required…

 

·  Utility regulators in Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey.

 

·  Clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act 1976 by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice.

 

Pipes & Wires will provide further analysis as various approvals emerge over the next 9 months or so.

 

US – Washington DC regulator rejects the Exelon – Pepco merger

 

Introduction

 

Previous issues of Pipes & Wires have examined Exelon’s proposed acquisition of Pepco and last month noted that only 1 regulatory approval was still required (from the Washington DC Public Service Commission). This article examines the DC PSC’s rejection of the merger.

 

Key features of Exelon’s offer

 

Exelon made a $6.8b all-cash offer of $27.25 per Pepco share, which represented a 24.7% premium to Pepco’s closing price on the announcement day. The enlarged Exelon would’ve been America’s largest electric and gas company with about 10,000,000 customers spread across Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington DC.

 

Key aspects of the PSC’s rejection

 

Key aspects of the PSC’s rejection include…

 

·      Impact on Washington DC’s financial health (presumably due to the loss of executive jobs).

 

·      Impact on the management of Pepco’s operations, especially the contentious issue that Pepco’s regional president may not be part of Exelon’s executive team.

 

·      Public safety and reliability risks.

 

·      Risks from the enlarged company’s activities outside of Washington DC, including Exelon’s nuclear generation.

 

·      The ability of the DC PSC to effectively regulate the enlarged company.

 

·      Competition in retail markets that could affect Pepco customers.

 

·      Environmental and conservation goals, and in particular that the PSC sees Exelon’s nuclear generation as inconsistent with Washington’s renewable energy targets.

 

So … all in all a very disappointing outcome for Exelon.

 

Energy policy & markets

 

UK – the new Hinkley Point C hits a few difficulties

 

Introduction

 

Way back in mid-November 2009 the UK government announced possible sites for what former Prime Minister Tony Blair figured would be 10 new nuclear stations. One by one each of those options fell over until only Electricité de France’s (EDF) proposed Hinkley Point C remained. This article examines some of the recent issues that have beset Hinkley Point C.

 

The increase in cost

 

Most of us are familiar with the cost of major construction projects escalating (the unworthy cynics might say as the project progresses from the political phase to the engineering phase and then to the construction phase). The publically stated costs of Hinkley Point C have increased from an initial Ł10b through a series of significant increases to a most recent gob-stopping Ł24.5b.

 

Difficulties with the reactor type

 

It is proposed to use two 1,600MW European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) at Hinkley Point C, of which 4 are under construction (1 in Finland, 1 in France and 2 in China). In addition to construction delays and cost increases, the #3 reactor under construction at Flamanville in north-western France has experienced some technical difficulties…

 

·      Reduced mechanical strength of the pressure vessel head due to high carbon concentrations.

 

·      Discovery of multiple malfunctioning relief valves on the reactor vessel.

 

Legal challenges to the funding model

 

Readers might remember that prohibition of state aid is one of the European Union’s founding principles, so not surprisingly the funding mechanism for Hinkley Point C (based on a 35 year Contract For Difference model that would top up the revenue over and above the wholesale price) took some working out. After an 11 month investigation the EU approved an amended funding model that didn’t breach the prohibition on state aid.

 

Austria and Luxembourg recently announced that they will challenge the EU’s decision in the European Court Of Justice, ostensibly on the basis of their strongly anti-nuclear views and that state aid must be targeted towards new (ie. renewable) technologies. This challenge could be a lengthy process, and although recent media commentary suggests that it will be unsuccessful, there remains a finite possibility of the challenge succeeding in which case EDF would need to refund the UK government.

 

NZ – closing thermal generation and the impact on the supply curve

 

Introduction

 

Last month (August 2015) two of New Zealand’s generation companies announced the closure of some large thermal generation plant…

 

·      Genesis Energy announced that the two remaining 250MW coal and gas fired units at Huntly would be closed by the end of 2018 (in addition to the previous decisions closing the other two 250MW units).

 

·      Contact Energy announced that it would close the 400MW combined cycle plant at Otahuhu B at the end of September 2015.

 

This is in addition to Mighty River Power announcing back in March 2015 that it would close its 140MW gas-fired plant at Southdown. This article examines the possible implications of those plant closures during a dry year.

 

The loss of generation capacity

 

In practice these prima facie closures could mean the following…

 

Effective date

Closure

MW withdrawn

Cumulative MW withdrawn

October 2014

Huntly #3.

250

250

June 2015

Huntly #4.

250

500

September 2015

Otahuhu B.

400

900

Late 2015

Southdown.

140

1,040

Late 2018

Huntly #1 and #2.

500

1,540

 

Possible re-thinks on plant closures

 

Closing a thermal plant is like any other cost-benefit decision … the value of the likely generation during a dry year needs to exceed the standing costs of keeping the plant in various states of readiness, and of course the value of that generation will be determined by the interaction of supply and demand going forward, which in turn will depend on other companies plant closures (the supply curve).

 

Within days of the Contact announcement there was speculation that Genesis might re-think closing Huntly #1 and #2 because those 2 units could be significantly more profitable once Otahuhu B is withdrawn. However the thrust of this article is not so much the detail of market behavior and fluctuations during average years, but the security of supply implications during dry years. 

 

What about a dry year ?

 

For those readers unfamiliar with NZ’s electricity system, a dry year is when we get low inflows to our relatively small hydro lakes, due either to low rainfall in key catchments or low snow fall on the eastern side of the Southern Alps during the previous winter. Given that about 65% to 70% of NZ’s annual generation is from hydro, a dry year has obvious implications … the need for “hydro firming” was spotted over 60 years ago and was one of the reasons for building the 180MW coal-fired station at Meremere in the mid-1950’s.

 

Extending this concept of “dry year” to a system that now includes a lot of wind and will almost certainly include an increasing penetration of solar, the need to cover off an “unfavorable climate” year should be obvious … a year in which significant chunks of hydro, wind and solar have to be withdrawn from the supply curve for weeks and possibly months with no thermal to step in. We might well ask if there is sufficient geographical diversity and sufficient independence between rainfall, snowfall, wind and cloud cover for the national renewable portfolio to be considered secure enough to keep the supply curve far enough to the right.

 

UK – ending the on-shore wind power subsidies

 

Introduction

 

Subsidies for wind power have become increasingly politically sensitive. This article examines the recent announcement that subsidies for new on-shore wind farms in the UK will be curtailed as of 1st April 2016.

 

How the UK subsidies work

 

Under the current Renewable Obligation (RO), electricity suppliers have to source an increasing percentage of the electricity they on-sell from renewable generators.

 

The basis of the RO process is the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC). A renewable electricity generator that has been accredited by Ofgem can issue an ROC to an electricity supplier that corresponds to the amount of renewable electricity purchased by that supplier. At the 31st of March each year, the number of ROC’s held by an electricity supplier is compared to the amount of electricity it has sold, and if the required percentage of renewables is not covered off by ROC’s then that supplier pays into a fund. That fund is then allocated to those suppliers who have covered off their RO’s.

 

The starting point for valuing an ROC is that 1 ROC is issued for each 1 MWh of eligible renewable generation. From that starting point, a multiplier is applied for specific technologies eg. an off-shore wind farm receives 2 ROC’s per MWh, whilst an on-shore wind farm receives only 0.9 ROC per MWh (and a landfill gas plant only receives 0.5 ROC per MWh).

 

Ending the subsidies

 

The UK government recently announced that the subsidy for new on-shore wind farms will be curtailed from 1st April 2016, rather than the originally planned 2017. The most immediate response is that about 2,500 new on-shore wind turbines will not be built.

 

The various responses

 

 The responses from the various stakeholders are…

 

·      The English government said that it has sufficient on-shore wind power to meet its renewable energy commitments, and that new technologies must stand on their own feet.

 

·      The Scottish government said it will be disproportionally effected, and the removal of the subsidy could add about Ł3m per year to customer bills.

 

·      The wind energy trade association said customer bills will increase, whilst jobs and investment are at risk.

 

So … an interesting range of responses from parties with strong vested interests.

 

Regulatory decisions

 

Queensland – the 2015-2020 revenue determinations

 

Introduction

 

Last year both Energex and Ergon Energy submitted their Regulatory Proposals (rate cases) to the Australian Energy Regulator for the 5 year regulatory period beginning on 1st July 2015. Energex and Ergon submitted their Revised Regulatory Proposals in July 2015, which are summarised in this article.

 

The regulatory framework

 

The regulatory framework has its basis in s7 of the National Electricity Law, which states the National Electricity Objective which is inter alia to promote efficient investment in electricity services for the long-term benefit of consumers. Chapter 6 of the National Electricity Rules sets out the details for economic regulation of distribution services.

 

Key features of the process to date (Energex)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$1,738m

$1,877m

$1,874m

 

Total CapEx

$3,240m

$2,362m

$2,890m

 

Opening RAB

$11,313m

$11,334m

$11,334m

 

Regulatory depreciation

$502m

$455m

$480m

 

Smoothed DUOS revenue

$9,832m

$8,132m

$9,535m

 

P0

0%

40%

40%

 

X

2%

From -17% to 5%

From -2% to -27%

 

 

Key features of the process to date (Ergon)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx (nominal)

$2,035m

$1,788m

$1,779m

 

Total CapEx (real)

$3,555m

$2,182m

$3,441m

 

Opening RAB

$10,041m

$10,102m

$10,055m

 

Regulatory depreciation

$904m

$654m

$829m

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$8,229m

$6,012m

$7,728m

 

P0

15.85%

37%

37%

 

X

Varies

From -14% to 6%

From -31% to 2%

 

 

Pipes & Wires will comment further when the AER releases its Final Determinations.

 

South Australia – the 2015-2020 revenue determination

 

Introduction

 

Last year SA Power Networks submitted its Regulatory Proposal (rate case) to the Australian Energy Regulator for the 5 year regulatory period beginning on 1st July 2015. SA Power Networks submitted its Revised Regulatory Proposal in July 2015, which is summarised in this article.

 

The regulatory framework

 

The regulatory framework has its basis in s7 of the National Electricity Law, which states the National Electricity Objective which is inter alia to promote efficient investment in electricity services for the long-term benefit of consumers. Chapter 6 of the National Electricity Rules sets out the details for economic regulation of distribution services.

 

Key features of the process to date

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$1,554m

$1,334m

$1,422m

 

Total CapEx

$2,485m

$1,684m

$2,083m

 

Opening RAB

$3,829m

$3,829m

$3,829m

 

Regulatory depreciation

$936m

$554m

$642m

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$4,782m

$3,236m

$4,534m

 

P0

4.3%

28%

27%

 

X

0%

9.9% to 1.1%

-23% to 0%

 

 

Pipes & Wires will comment further when the AER releases its Final Determination.

 

Victoria – the 2016-2020 revenue determinations

 

Introduction

 

The five electricity distribution businesses in the Australian state of Victoria recently submitted their Regulatory Proposals to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for the 5 year regulatory period starting on 1st January 2016. This article examines those Proposals and sets a framework for future analysis.

 

The regulatory framework

 

The regulatory framework has its basis in s7 of the National Electricity Law, which states the National Electricity Objective which is inter alia to promote efficient investment in electricity services for the long-term benefit of consumers. Chapter 6 of the National Electricity Rules sets out the details for economic regulation of distribution services.

 

Key features of the process to date (AusNet Services)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$1,356m

 

 

 

Total CapEx

$1,964m

 

 

 

Opening RAB

$3,547m

 

 

 

Regulatory depreciation

$478m

 

 

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$3,567m

 

 

 

P0

-6.3%

 

 

 

X

0%

 

 

 

 

Key features of the process to date (CitiPower)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$502m

 

 

 

Total CapEx

$995m

 

 

 

Opening RAB

$1,804m

 

 

 

Regulatory depreciation

$297m

 

 

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$1,718m

 

 

 

P0

0.12%

 

 

 

X

-3.5%

 

 

 

 

Key features of the process to date (Jemena)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$556m

 

 

 

Total CapEx

$856m

 

 

 

Opening RAB

$1,311m

 

 

 

Regulatory depreciation

$287m

 

 

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$1,465m

 

 

 

P0

-13%

 

 

 

X

About -1%

 

 

 

 

Key features of the process to date (Powercor)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$1,334m

 

 

 

Total CapEx

$2,331m

 

 

 

Opening RAB

$3,363m

 

 

 

Regulatory depreciation

$124m

 

 

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$3,662m

 

 

 

P0

3.6%

 

 

 

X

-3%

 

 

 

 

Key features of the process to date (United Energy)

 

Key features of the process to date include…

 

Parameter

Initial Proposal

($ nominal)

Preliminary Determination

Revised Proposal

Final Determination

Total OpEx

$800m

 

 

 

Total CapEx

$1,195m

 

 

 

Opening RAB

$2,189m

 

 

 

Regulatory depreciation

$640m

 

 

 

Unsmoothed revenue

$2,150m

 

 

 

P0

-7.19%

 

 

 

X

0%

 

 

 

 

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....

 

·      Facilitating a board workshop on the likely impact of solar on distribution.

 

·      Advising a major global investment bank on the revenue and capital cost characteristics of the New Zealand generation industry.

 

·      Assessing the investment characteristics of proposed CapEx increases to an investor-owned electric network.

 

·      Assessing three EDB’s asset management practices against ISO 55000:2014.

 

·      Assessing an EDB’s compliance with the lines – generation separation requirements of the Electricity Industry Act 2010.

 

·      Assessing an EDB’s compliance with the Electricity Industry Participation Code.

 

·      Compiling safe operating procedures for a wide range of distribution switches.

 

·      Advising an investor on the investment characteristics and regulatory constraints of small hydro development and grid connection.

 

·      Reviewing the engineering aspects of an EDB’s lines pricing methodology.

 

·      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.

 

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.

 

 

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...

 

·      Fundamentals of the NZ electricity industry, 19th – 20th October 2015, Auckland.

 

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…

 

·      Economic Operation Of Power Systems (Kirchmayer).

 

·      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.

 

Cool stuff

 

Newly published book – “Keeping The Lights On”

 

Well-known electricity historian and author Helen Reilly has recently published her latest book “Keeping The Lights On – The History Of System Operations In New Zealand 1939 – 2013”. Pick here to order your copy for only $46.50 from Grid Heritage. It’s a thoroughly good read, and complements Helen’s previous book “Connecting The Country”.

 

 

House-keeping stuff

 

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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 readers refer to those documents in forming opinions or taking action.

 

Utility Consultants Ltd accepts no liability for action or inaction based on the contents of Pipes & Wires including any loss, damage or exposure to offensive material from linking to any websites contained herein, or from any republishing by a third-party whether authorised or not, nor from any comments posted on Linked In, Face Book or similar by other parties.