National Grid’s UK dominance under threat
NATIONAL GRID’s monopoly on electricity in England and Wales is set to be challenged by 12 companies, the sector’s regulator Ofgem said yesterday.
Equitix, a PFI specialist, and Balfour Beatty, which was yesterday fined for price-rigging in its construction bids, are among those challenging the utility’s dominance.
They will be bidding to operate £1.15bn of transmission links from windfarms around the UK, including in the Thames estuary and near to East Anglia.
The bidding companies, which also include a consortium led by two ex-Grid offshore chiefs, will be putting up money to connect nine wind farm projects.
The offer could see parts of the UK’s electricity network being run from overseas for the first time.
Scottish & Southern Energy and npower, which is run by German group RWE, are bidding along with Irish operators ESB International and Imera.
Denmark’s Dong, Statoil, which is based in Norway, a Dutch infrastructure fund, Canadian group Frontier Power and the ever-present Australian fund group Macquarie are also bidding.