National Grid Share Discussion Threads

[gbb483] 19/7/2014 22:16

Given the massive electrical storms it'll be put down to "an act of god".

[steep] 19/7/2014 09:10

Would the significant power outage in London yesterday due to a National Grid failure be expected to impact share price at all?

[spacecake] 09/7/2014 06:46

EU Funds First Large-Scale Clean Fuel Project
U.K. Coal-Powered Plant to Test Carbon Capture and Storage Technology

In a breakthrough on Tuesday, the European Commission said it was giving €300 million ($408 million) to a U.K.-based project to capture emissions from a coal-burning power plant. The funding is the initial allocation from a €1 billion fund to encourage innovative clean-energy projects in the EU.

The White Rose project in Yorkshire, England, is set to be the first major test-case for CCS in Europe, where progress on the technology has been slower than in Canada and the U.S.

[spacecake] 07/7/2014 14:24

From the FT......


Energy prices for British consumers would fall by £1bn a year if electricity interconnectors between continental Europe and the UK were doubled by 2020, according to the operator of the UK's gas and electricity networks.

"The £1bn price saving could be achieved for an investment of £3bn," said Steve Holliday, chief executive of National Grid.



google "interconnector" for the story

[redartbmud] 07/7/2014 14:20

Dragon
Presupposes The 'Dynamic Duo' have brains and common sense. The jury is out at present.

[dragonsteeth] 07/7/2014 12:09

Always have a "Plan B " LG.! Plan B " Buy back in early June after Ed and Nick form a coalition, FTSE drops alarmingly prior to rising as fears are overdone and Ed realises he needs to go a courting industry in a moderate manner "

[lord gnome] 07/7/2014 09:10

The political threat is the real danger in my view. As we get towards the end of the year and the election looms larger in everyone's mind, political risk will be factored in to share prices. Labour will undoubtedly try to demonise the utilities to try to gain cheap electoral support.
Sell in January after the Santa rally and then buy back in May after the Tories win a big majority? Sounds like a plan.

[redartbmud] 07/7/2014 08:38

I am not running for the hills either, but I am aware of:
1. Interest rate conundrum.
2. Potential adverse change of government. Millipede & Flat Ed want the utilities to operate as quasi government departments. They would crucify shareholder value IMHO.

[lord gnome] 07/7/2014 08:27

I think that situation is still some way off Septimus. I won't be running for the hills just yet.

[redartbmud] 06/7/2014 12:43

Septimus

Yes the vexed question.

red

[septimus quaid] 05/7/2014 21:58

Increasing interest rates must be a bit of a double whammy for NG: increases the cost of borrowing (putting pressure on profits) and less desirable "safe haven" as similar returns can be found in building societies, banks etc.

[utyinv] 04/7/2014 23:25

Red,

I am not referring to debt or what NG need to spend or are spending on Cap-ex which anyone who knows the Company well will appreciate.

I am referring to the recent re-structure where NG Directors would be hard pushed to defend some of the decisions that they presided over.

[redartbmud] 04/7/2014 21:49

Uty

I have been to recent AGM's and raised the question of debt levels.
1. The model set by the regulator/government favours debt financing of capital projects.
2. The financial institutions are keen to provide cheap funding to a business that is perceived to be an excellent credit risk.
3. The Grid needs to spend heavily on improvements to/replacement of existing infrastructure, as well as expand the network and connect new sources of power eg wind farms. A figure og £20bn over 5/6 years rings a bell.

I can only see continued borrowing and spending in the short/medium term.

red

[septimus quaid] 04/7/2014 21:05

I live in an all-electric home, tariff (inc VAT) as follows:

Daily standing charge = 16.422p
Peak = 19.026p/kwh
Off-peak = 7.539p/kwh

Based on an estimated annual consumption of 7,000kWh (and 60% off-peak) works out at 13p/kwh or £75/month

Being all-electric you do save on gas standing charges plus boiler installation costs and maintenance and it's unlikely, in this day and age, that you're going to have an all-gas house.

I don't feel my situation is getting close to being disastrous. Compared to Europe, we get our electricity quite cheap. Even left wing organisations like the BBC don't try too hard to conceal the truth:

[utyinv] 04/7/2014 20:13

AGM looming.

Some interesting questions may be raised, questioning the logic of some restructure decisions which could cost the Company and Shareholders mega in more ways than one, ie, Reputation!

[tonio] 04/7/2014 16:49

Yes Pierre, here is a comparison of home heating costs using different sources (hxxp://www.thegreenage.co.uk/cheaper-heat-home-gas-electricity/ Jan2014).

Mains Gas – 4p / kWh
LPG Gas – 7.5p / kWh
Heating Oil – 6p / kWh
Bottled Gas – 14p – 32p / kWh
Electricity – 15p / kWh

So if people are forced to live in an all-electric home it is shockingly expensive. Maybe this is where the government should be spending money - to either subsidise their costs or replace the heating systems. It seems a much more worthy endeavour than building wind farms.

[m100] 04/7/2014 16:32

This is not really a comment about NG but about the state of the generators and the rest of the industry. Never forget the aim of just about any company is to make money. We have neither a coordinated nationalised electricity (and gas) industry nor do we have a free market. 'Mining' subsidies from consumers and preferably moving them offshore without paying UK tax is quite clearly priority number one. Everything else just gets in the way. Long term planning and long term investment in generation in the UK is close to zero and has been since before 1990, there are exceptions where new generation has been sited in optimal locations with an appropriate 'fuel' and near full use of any by-product like waste heat but these are very few and far between.

[pierre oreilly] 04/7/2014 16:13

Maybe if you had electric heating at about 3 times the cost of gas heating you would understand why people complain. I expect these days all electric homes are biased more to the less well off (but obviously not in all cases). A growing number of people are in fuel poverty and for them sometimes the choice is to heat or eat, or to keep their kids warm or well fed. Doesn't surprise me that people complain about electricity prices which are higher than they need to be.

It does grate that virtually everything in the esi used aim for maximum efficiency of all systems, thereby minimising the cost to consumers for the required quality. These days, seems to me that much of the esi is driven by the ideology of some influential people with little regard to the eventual effects of expensive electricity, which, for a growing number of people, is disasterous.

[tonio] 04/7/2014 15:30

Why people go on about the cost of electricity is a little puzzling to me.
It is the cost of gas central heating and cooking that dominates my fuel bill.
In addition, compared to Europe I understand electricity prices are quite reasonable.
Of course wind farm and solar cell subsidies are iniquitous and based on a load of hot air originated, sadly, by predictions of our Met Office on the basis of computer modelling of our very complex climate. Computer modelling predictions in any field really need to be checked against experimental observations and it seems to me they have failed most of whatever tests can be done.
Anyway it is a fait accompli, we are stuck with wind farms as 21st century follies so need to make the best of them -meaning a lot of work for NG - so not a bad thing for shareholders - and the gas resulting from fracking will also need to be transported...

[m100] 03/7/2014 10:02

The only solution is to remove all subsidies and feed in tariff payments and let consumers choose their electricity supply source. Insufficient generation and supply is selectively disconnected using smart meters.

The committed greens get their much loved but intermittent wind and solar but have to pay the full feed in tariff rate. The smart ones get dependable, predictable, economic, nuclear, coal, gas, hydro, pumped storage, the interconnectors and no wind or solar.

But this is a one time choice, no chopping and changing, you and your entire family are stuck with it for at least 20 years / one generation regardless of house moves. It's survival of the fittest, in a few years the greens will cease to be an issue.

[2hoggy] 03/7/2014 09:35

More wind farms more risk of power shortages.

The politicians have made a total hash of power generation,like most things and they say you need the best brains in parliment.

[pierre oreilly] 03/7/2014 09:16

Billions of pounds of subsidies could be wasted, according to government-appointed experts who have accused National Grid of exaggerating the risk of blackouts. The energy group this week unveiled new subsidies for power stations to be kept on standby to keep Britain's lights on. These "retainer" payments, lasting up to 15 years from 2018, will add an estimated £13 to household bills. - The Times

As more intermittent capacity is added and conventional capacity is reduced, the risk of blackouts at the peak will become severe. I'd like to hear how the 'government appointed experts' come to their conclusion the risk is being exaggerated.

[lord gnome] 01/7/2014 15:56

May have something to do with the news of the deal for the Cumbria Nuclear plant, but I am clutching at straws there.

[adelwire2] 01/7/2014 15:52

Why gd rise today?