Power giants in profit cut threat

OFGEM TO CRACK DOWN ON NETWORKS

Camelot has lost a legal bid to prevent the handover of the National Lottery licence to rival Allwyn after the High Court yesterday ruled it could go ahead. A spokesman for Camelot, which has run the lottery for 28 years, said it was considering its next steps while a separate legal challenge continued.

PROFITS at six power monopolies face being cut under proposals announced by Ofgem yesterday.

The industry regulator set out plans for distribution network operators – companies that get power to millions of homes and businesses – to spend nearly £21billion over the next five years on maintenance and improvements.

The watchdog vowed the extra investment would come from the network companies raking in smaller profits, rather than higher bills for customers.

The network costs element of the average household’s annual energy bill will remain at £100, it said.

Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said: “We’re determined to get the best possible deal for consumers and the proposals we’ve published today will mean that substantial additional investment can be made to deliver net zero without placing any further pressure on bills.”

The energy networks were criticised in the wake of Storm Arwen last year, which left some homes without power for 10 days. An investigation found many damaged wooden power poles were more than 40 years old.

The monopolies include Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), Northern Powergrid and UK Power Networks. SSEN’s owner, SSE, called the plans “tough and stretching”.