Namawinelake - Is the ESB Disguising a 2 Billion Power Station Investment in England ?

[C. Flower]

Sharp eyes over at Namawinelake. It seems that the ESB might be making heft investments overseas.

Is this preparation for privatisation ? Is it the ESB - and if so, is it acting under its mandate ?


http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/20...nt-in-england/

Is the ESB disguising a €2bn power station investment in England?

Last week Britain’s Private Eye magazine (page 9 of the current issue 1301, not available online) reported on the curious case of the proposed new power station at Thorpe Marsh near Doncaster in northern England. The 1,500 megawatt natural gas-powered station has been given the green light by David Cameron’s government. Nothing odd about this so far, though the development cost of the station is eye-watering – GBP 1bn (€1.2bn) to build and the operator also needs to have in place a contract with a natural-gas supplier to provide about GBP 0.5bn (€0.6bn) of gas a year to the station so that it can generate electricity. The developer would then have a contract to supply electricity to the UK’s national grid and would generate income and profit over a couple of decades which would pay for the initial investment.

What is odd is the development has been awarded to a company, Thorpe Marsh Power Limited, which doesn’t have assets of any great account. However the Eye reports that this company is fronted by a certain Peter Wilcox who has previously been associated with power companies whose registered address was 52/54 Gracechurch Street in the City of London. Which just happens to be the registered address of companies in the ESB international group.

[C. Flower]

bump!

[PaddyJoe]

Hmm. It's a bit tenuous, isn't it? The only apparent link between the ESB and this power plant project is a guy who has been associated with companies who share the same London business address as some companies in the ESB group.
It's not much to hang a story on.

[jpc]

Hmm. It's a bit tenuous, isn't it? The only apparent link between the ESB and this power plant project is a guy who has been associated with companies who share the same London business address as some companies in the ESB group.
It's not much to hang a story on.

That was the story of the bubble as well.
But strange things happened all the same!

[PaddyJoe]

That was the story of the bubble as well.
But strange things happened all the same!

True. I wouldn't rule it out but I'd like to see a stronger link with the ESB than the one Private Eye mentions.
Thorpe Marsh Power Ltd is described here as a company involving General Electric and Acorn Power:
http://www.ableuk.com/propertydev-thorpemarsh.htm

[PaddyJoe]

There's a piece here from November 2009 about local residents organising to oppose plans for a new power plant:

RESIDENTS have set up a campaign group to oppose plans for a £700 million gas-fired power station on the site of the former Thorpe Marsh power station.

The Star revealed in August that Acorn Power Development UK hoped to go ahead with the scheme which they expected to create up to 600 jobs building it, and 40 to 50 running it.

But some residents are opposing the plans saying the plant will not only be a major blight on Barnby Dun but the whole of Doncaster.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/f..._plan_1_304544

[C. Flower]

True. I wouldn't rule it out but I'd like to see a stronger link with the ESB than the one Private Eye mentions.
Thorpe Marsh Power Ltd is described here as a company involving General Electric and Acorn Power:
http://www.ableuk.com/propertydev-thorpemarsh.htm

I agree with you - and the Eye wouldn't always be the most reliable.

It's something that could be clarified quite easily, I'd have thought ?

[PaddyJoe]

I agree with you - and the Eye wouldn't always be the most reliable.

It's something that could be clarified quite easily, I'd have thought ?

According to NWL, Private Eye has asked the ESB for a response but hasn't received one yet

[Count Bobulescu]

The London address could be just coincidence. It's commonplace to have thousands of companies registered at one "warehouse" address. In the US lots of companies that otherwise have no connection with Delaware, are "registered" there for legal reasons, even though they have few, if any, offices or employees there.

[C. Flower]

The London address could be just coincidence. It's commonplace to have thousands of companies registered at one "warehouse" address. In the US lots of companies that otherwise have no connection with Delaware, are "registered" there for legal reasons, even though they have few, if any, offices or employees there.

This is true. A lot of company "registered office" addresses are just a letter box.

[PaddyJoe]

An investment like this would fit perfectly with ESB International's strategy:

ESBI Investments is responsible for the identification and development of power generation investment opportunities in the global energy sector, with a primary focus on UK and European markets.

We are responsible for the expansion of ESB's international energy portfolio by identifying, developing and acquiring substantial power generation assets and, where appropriate, through joint venture partnerships.

Our investment strategy

ESBI's primary investment focus is on the deregulated, competitive British energy market. Additional electrical interconnection between Ireland and Britain will lead to the evolution of a single electricity market by 2020 and further investment in power projects in the UK affords ESBI the opportunity to deliver growth in a neighbouring market of strategic importance.

Drawing on our substantial CCGT expertise and experience in the global energy market, ESBI is developing a generation portfolio in Britain of the order of 3,000MW over the next decade, in addition to its existing assets.

http://www.esbi.ie/our-businesses/in...nvestments.asp

[Count Bobulescu]

PJ, that's significant.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Wasn't the ESB privatised not so long ago?

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Just been scanning through the ESB profile on wikileaks and I am left wondering whether via shareholdings or debt bondholding there may be an interesting angle available ... bearing in mind Ireland's corporation tax profile I wonder whether a UK power company has taken an interest in ESB Ireland and is running an investment in the UK power scene from Ireland to take advantage of Irish corporation tax arrangements such as the Irish 'double-sandwich'.

If a company from say the Netherlands took a shareholding in the ESB and then set about investing in the UK power sector they'd have all the element for an investment which was very tax efficient.

Could all be done under the aegis of ESB Ireland as well- there is the danger of these recently privatised companies being used by a group of investors operate moneymaking schemes which have nothing to do with the supply of electricity. It could even be a British group getting around the regulations on competition within the British energy market by taking a stake in the ESB and making it look like the ESB were the ones investing- a sort of international 'arms-length' transaction for a UK power sector player.

The energy infrastructure in the UK is of interest to various groups- I know of one Hong Kong oligarch who owns the high speed rail link to the Channel Tunnel via a UK subsidiary and also bought a part of the power grid in the South East of England at the same time.

[srameen]

I can't see what the issue is here. ESB has power stations in the UK already e.g. Corby and in Spain, as well as other countries. This investment (IF they are involved) is perfectly in line with their stated objectives as an international company. Such acquisitions would have nothing to do with privatisation plans.