Utilities

Enel woes reflect euro zone’s new normal

9 Mar 2012

Big cuts to the debt-laden Italian utility’s earnings and payout guidance suggest years of tough going in Spain and Italy. The shares are 40 pct off their 2011 highs, but windfall taxes, slack demand and the sector’s lowest dividend yield mean investors’ pain may not be over yet.

Veolia board coup attempt just a bad French farce

23 Feb 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy and Henri Proglio, the former chief of Veolia, are reported to be pressuring the water company’s board to oust current CEO Antoine Frerot. Whatever the latter’s merits, the episode looks to exemplify some of France’s worst political and business habits.

CIC only dips toe into UK with Thames Water stake

20 Jan 2012

As the UK’s chancellor hunts out investors for a $46 billion infrastructure plan, China’s investment in the London utility looks timely. Yet returns on investing in a mature water company are very different from funding risky new projects. Osborne has more schmoozing to do.

Connecticut finally steps up to vet utility merger

18 Jan 2012

More than a year on, the U.S. state reversed its earlier rubber-stamping of Northeast Utilities’ $4.7 bln takeover of NSTAR. It took a couple of storms to expose Northeast’s electrifying incompetence and wake Connecticut’s watchdogs. Now they needn’t be shy of killing the deal.

China firepower pips politics in $3.5 bln EDP win

23 Dec 2011

Portugal has got a neat deal from China’s TGC for 21 pct of its main utility: a top price and a jumbo credit facility. China can press its advantages when it sees strategic value like EDP’s technology and LatAm growth. That mattered more than German lobbying for E.On’s rival bid.

Savvy NRG step may tip scale against utility deal

16 Dec 2011

It’s uncommon to see a supplier try to spoil a marriage between customers. But the U.S. power producer is hoping to break up Northeast Utilities’ $4.7 bln takeover of NSTAR. NRG’s arguments hint at how big and inflexible a utility the deal, if approved, could create.

Clock is ticking on Veolia’s efforts at renewal

6 Dec 2011

The French utility has been hit hard by the economy and its own hubris. Chairman Antoine Frerot is trying to regain the initiative by selling 5 bln euros of assets and widening cost cuts. That’s sensible, but he needs results fast. Investors’ patience must be wearing thin.

New England power merger deserves final nixing

5 Dec 2011

A report on Northeast Utilities’ handling of a snowstorm from a former U.S. disaster official makes it clear: the company failed in the duties that come with its monopoly. Regulators have all the evidence they need to power down the utility’s $4.7 bln takeover of rival NSTAR.

Exclusive: Ditching CEO won’t save US utility deal

18 Nov 2011

Northeast Utilities parted ways with the head of its biggest division, CL&P, after the utility’s bungled storm response. Investors think that makes the pending $4.7 bln takeover of NSTAR more likely. Not so fast: Connecticut plans to reopen the merger review by hook or by crook.

When is a merger-of-equals really a takeover?

7 Nov 2011

One easy way to tell is when the top brass get rich, undeserved paydays. Take NSTAR’s pending $4.7 billion “merger” with Northeast Utilities. NSTAR’s top five executives could feast on $50 mln of payouts from change of control even though they’ll stay, and even run, the place.

Less, not more, better for New England utilities

3 Nov 2011

Too many customers of Northeast Utilities lost power for too long after recent storms. As with banks, risk management and regulation failures are to blame. Towns that run their own utilities offer an alternative; meanwhile, Northeast’s planned $4.7 bln deal needs to be torpedoed.

Irene should blow U.S. utility deal off course

1 Sep 2011

The $4.2 bln merger of Northeast Utilities and NSTAR is up for approval. But blackouts following the hurricane have exposed NU’s deficiencies serving customers despite charging America’s highest rates. Regulators should ensure service is on a better track before they OK any deal.