Privatization in the U. K
Under Margaret Thatcher's privatization initiative, the 65,000 MW system under the authority of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), the government owned generation and transmission company, will become three publicly held companies on January 1, 1990. National Power will receive 70% of CEGB's generating capacity including its nuclear assets. PowerGen will receive the remaining 30%. The National Grid Company will inherit CEGB's transmission assets. Barriers to entry for independent power producers are still evident, however. There is no standard contract for the purchase of power from independent producers. Furthermore, the purchase price for power is unknown and many developers feel it must rise from the current 5.4{cents}/kWh to 7.8{cents}/kWh for an adequate rate of return for private power producers. Finally, many British power experts told the trade mission they fear National Power and PowerGen, with their large generating capacities and economies of scale, may try to bar independent power producers from entering the market. They may do so by undercutting the price of independent power production and monopolizing the real estate for potential power projects in southern Britain.
- OSTI ID:
- 6977014
- Journal Information:
- Independent Energy; (USA), Journal Name: Independent Energy; (USA) Vol. 19:7; ISSN 1043-7320; ISSN XY987
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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