Ageing Nuclear Stations Hinder British Energy
Posted on: Thursday, 15 December 2005, 21:00 CST
By Robert Lea, Evening Standard, London
Dec. 13--The ability to keep its three-decades-old nuclear power stations generating electricity is holding back profits at British Energy.
Responsible for around a fifth of the nation's electricity, the nuclear generator admitted today that a series of outages and unplanned maintenance at its eight power stations meant output during the summer was lower than expected and that it would miss production targets for the year.
The news is a blow to BE, which has seen money cascade down to its bottom line from soaring electricity prices.
Saved from bankruptcy in a major debt-for-equity restructuring last year, BE had hoped to throw off its shaky operational reputation in a bid to win contracts should the Government give the go-ahead for the building of more nuclear power stations.
The company today reported operating profits slowed in the second quarter to 2 October, resulting in half-year earnings of £135 million.
Higher electricity prices improved profit margins, but output was down due to outages at Hartlepool and Heysham, Lancashire. Output for the year will not now exceed 61 terawatt/hours, against previous targets of 63 TWh.
BE shares, which have doubled since their relisting earlier this year, slid further from their recent high today, by 434p to 48514p. The company indicated its only non-nuclear asset, the £1 billion-rated Eggborough coal-fired station in Yorkshire, could be sold.
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BGY,
Source: Evening Standard
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