UK Prime Minister Johnson Nationalizing National Grid — Parent Company of RI Entity UPDATED
Wednesday, April 06, 2022
The Guardian of London is reporting on Wednesday that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "poised to nationalize a key part of the electricity network in the biggest overhaul to the UK's energy system in decades. National Grid is to be stripped of its role in running the electricity system more than 30 years after the industry was privatized.”
The implications for Rhode Island’s division of National Grid is unknown.
The British company was in the midst of selling National Grid in Rhode Island to PPL of Pittsburgh in a $5.3 billion deal.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThat sale has been held up by filings by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. A case is pending in from of Judge Brian Stern in Rhode Island Superior Court. The next hearing is scheduled for April 12.
Stern issued a 21-page decision on Friday finding for RI Attorney General Peter Neronha’s petition to block the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers' approval of the $5.3 billion deal selling National Grids holdings to PPL.
The Division had approved the mega-deal last month and Neronha filed to block the deal. Stern's decision stops the deal from moving forward in the short-term.
“Petitioner’s [Peter Neronha] Emergency Motion to Stay the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers’ Order is granted. This Court recognizes the importance of the underlying transaction in this matter and the impact the transaction will have on Rhode Island as a whole,” wrote Stern.
"The announcement of a Future System Operator (FSO) in the UK, will have no impact on the sale of The Narragansett Electric Company to PPL Rhode Island Holdings, LLC, or National Grid’s operations in the US. National Grid’s current ESO responsibilities for the UK marketplace have no relation to our Rhode Island business and we remain confident that the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers’ approval of the sale will be upheld. We look forward to closing the transaction as expeditiously as possible. National Grid also welcomes the announcement and creation of the FSO in the UK, which will play an important role in achieving net zero,” said Ted Kresse, Director of Communications for National Grid Rhode Island.
Global Implications?
“National Grid Electricity System Operator, a separate legal entity from the FTSE 100 company, is responsible for balancing electricity supply and demand but this body will be effectively nationalized and turned into a so-called Future System Operator (FSO) giving ministers greater powers to oversee the system,” writes the Guardian.
“Ministers and regulators believe the move will help create a system better equipped to cope with the complex demands of lower-carbon energy supply, while keeping costs down. Critics have warned that National Grid may not be best placed to oversee a system that needs to be able to cope with significant spikes in demand in the future such as thousands of drivers plugging their cars in to charge at the same time,” the report adds.
It will also avoid any potential conflicts of interest with National Grid, which will continue to own the main electricity transmission network as well as the country’s largest electricity distribution network, according to the report.
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