British Energy races against time after worst power cuts in a decade

British Energy today vowed to get the Sizewell B nuclear power station working again within days after Britain suffered its worst blackouts in a decade. Half a million people were hit by unscheduled power cuts on Tuesday after seven power stations, including Sizewell B in Suffolk, unexpectedly stopped working within hours of each other.

The blackouts forced hospital operations to be cancelled at High Wycombe after an emergency generator caught fire, and also cut the lights at the town's shopping centre. Thousands of homes were left without power in south London, while in the north east the problems reportedly left eight people trapped in a lift. Cheshire, Liverpool and Lincolnshire were also hit.

The other power stations which suffered power outages included the coal-fired Longannet plant in Fife, and sites in Kent, Nottinghamshire, South Humber and Deeside. The outages forced the price of wholesale electricity up 35% to a new record high of £95 a MW hour.

It is unclear why so many power stations shut down at the same time. Maintenance work is often scheduled for this time of year, as the typically mild weather means demand for power - for heating or air conditioning - is less. Speaking after British Energy reported that earlier power plant problems had eaten into its profits for the last financial year, chief executive Bill Coley pledged that the 1,180MW plant would be back online soon.

"It appears to be an instrument problem. There is no issue with the plant and it should return (to operation) very quickly," Coley said. This is Sizewell B's first outage in three-and-a-half years. British Energy suffered boiler closure unit problems at two other sites last year - Hartlepool and Heysham 1 plants - which forced it to buy power on the open market to meet its contracts.

In its financial results for the 12 months to March 31, published this morning, British Energy blamed these problems for a drop in earnings before interest before tax, depreciation and amortisation, which fell to £882m from £1.2bn last year.

Two other plants also ran at below their previous full load capacity. Fuel prices for the company's coal-fired plant at Eggborough were sharply higher.

Coley said the company had made "good operational progress" despite its disappointing financial performance, and claimed that Sizewell B was operating to "world class standards". "We are well positioned to manage our existing business to best advantage and look ahead to playing a pivotal role in the new build process," he added.

British Energy has been at the centre of intense bid speculation since the government gave the green light to the construction of new nuclear power plants. The company is well placed because its existing sites are seen as the most likely locations for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

A number of companies have looked at British Energy's books and the company has said it is in discussions with a number of interested parties. Though the generator has declined to name its potential partners, though they are thought to include France's state owned EDF and a combination of Spain's Iberdrola and the German utility RWE.

All three companies already have generating capacity in the UK as well as large supply businesses, so their acquisition of Britain's biggest independent generator would cause some concern among other independents. The discussions are continuing, British Energy said today. The company's shares fell 9p this morning to 728p.

(By Mark Milner and Graeme Wearden, The Guardian, 28/05/2008)