伯恩斯坦公用事业日报- 6月2日

www.bernsteinresearch.com as an attractive destination for global investments. The coalition’s so-called “immediate action programme” does not contain majorprovisions beyond what is already laid out in the coalition agreement. It focuses on the €500 billion fund for infrastructure and climateneutrality, tax incentives for e-mobility, and reforms to electricity taxes and CO2 storage laws to be implemented in the coming months.Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed hopes for swift parliamentary decisions on reducing bureaucracy, while the energy industryassociation BDEW welcomed the government's urgency but criticized the absence of new gas power plant construction in the actionplan, highlighting the need for timely tenders to support the coal phase-out and ensure energy security.IBERIACosts of technical curtailments reach new records in Spain (Platts).Exacerbated grid stability concerns following Spain’s April28 blackout have substantially elevated technical curtailment costs in the country’s short-term electricity market, system data fromgrid operator REE shows. Such costs, which were on average €3.5m/day during the first quarter of this year and €3.4m/day acrossthe entire year 2024, surpassed €13m April 30 alone, after which they topped €18.5m May 2. Technical curtailment costs so far inMay, totaling €386.5m, have been more than twice as much as those of May 2024 and nearly five times the technical costs reportedin the same month of 2023.NORDICSVestas receives 127 MW of orders in Italy (Vestas). OnMay 30, Vestas announced 127MW of onshore wind orders in Italy for10 V162-6.4MW turbines and 14 V136-4.5MW turbines. Earlier in May, Vestas announced four onshore orders in Germany totalling149MW. This brings Vestas' Q2 order intake so far to 276MW.UKResults of AR7 may not come until 2026 (Recharge).The results of the UK’s upcoming AR7 renewables auction may not bepublished until 2026. DESNZ published a detailed timeline for the upcoming national renewable energy auction. The applicationwindow for the auction will run from 7-27 August. After this, a “qualification assessment window” will begin, lasting until lateSeptember. After this qualification assessment window, the government has decided to split the timeline for awarding CfDs to onshorerenewables projects and offshore wind technologies. For onshore renewables, if no projects pursue appeals, the applicants will benotified of results in November. If appeals are pursued, this could however be pushed back until the end of January. For offshore wind,the earliest projects will be notified of results is in December. If there is a protracted appeals process, that could stretch until lateFebruary.UK power system balancing costs forecast 7% higher in 2025 (Platts).The UK’s power system balancing costs fell in April year-on-year but remain historically high, according to NESO. April’s costs totaled £152m, down from March’s £253m, driven by reducedwind curtailment and lower constraint costs (£113m less than March, £69m less than April 2024). However, costs are expected torise, averaging £230m/month for the rest of 2024, compared to £218m/month last year. Full-year 2025 costs are forecast at £2.7bn,a 7% increase from 2024’s £2.5bn.Constraint payment surge will be ‘intolerable’ for ministers (Utility Week).EDF UK Chair Alex Chisholm has warned thatspiraling constraint payments, projected to reach £3bn annually by 2030, will become “intolerable” for the government. Speakingat Aurora’s Spring Forum, Chisholm emphasized the need to balance local opposition to new pylons with the broader political andeconomic pressures of failing to upgrade grid infrastructure. Constraint payments, awarded by NESO to renewable operators whenthe grid cannot absorb excess electricity, are a growing concern. Chisholm also highlighted risks to electric vehicle adoption if thepower distribution system fails to meet demand. He urged the government to focus on securing local support for energy projects,suggesting community benefit payments as a way to ease opposition.Cunliffe review unlikely to deliver big reform of water industry (The Times).The long-awaited interim report from Sir JonCunliffe’s independent water commission is expected this week, following seven months of review. The inquiry, billed as the biggestreform of the water industry since its 1989 privatisation, examined issues such as rising customer bills, environmental regulation,financial resilience, and attracting long-term investment. However, hopes for sweeping reforms, including replacing Ofwat, theEnvironment Agency, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate with a single super-regulator, appear unlikely at this stage. Instead, Cunliffeis likely to recommend refocusing existing regulators, with significant reforms deferred to the final report or abandoned altogether.The water industry has faced criticism for polluting practices, rising costs, and generous dividends, but urgent regulatory changesmay not materialize in this interim stage.E