British Energy plc
Type	Public
Founded	1995
Headquarters	East Kilbride, Scotland, UK
Key people	Adrian Montague, (Chairman) William Coley, (CEO)
Industry	Energy
Products	electricity generation
Revenue	£2,999m (2007)
Operating income	£794m (2007)
Net income	£465m (2007)
Website	http://www.british-energy.com

British Energy plc (LSE: BGY) is the UK's largest electricity generator by volume and a constituent company of the FTSE 100 Index. East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" In Physics and other Sciences energy (from the Greek grc ἐνέργεια - Energeia, "activity operation" from grc ἐνεργός In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need Electricity generation is the process of converting non-electrical Energy to Electricity. In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services In financial and business Accounting, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT is a measure of a firm's profitability that excludes interest and income tax expenses Net income is equal to the Income that a firm has after subtracting costs and Expenses from the total Revenue. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a Stock exchange located in London, England. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The FTSE 100 Index (ˈfʊtsiː footsie, abbreviated Financial Times Stock Exchange Index) is a Share index of the 100 most highly capitalised It is primarily an operator of formerly state-owned nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions

Contents 1 Operations 2 History 2.1 Bruce Power 2.2 Financial difficulties 2.3 Restructuring 3 Disposal of government interest 4 See also 5 References 6 External links 6.1 In the media

Operations

Eight nuclear power stations:

Power Station	MWe	Construction started	Connected to grid	Commercial operation	Estimated closure date
Dungeness B	1110	1965	1983	1985	2018
Hartlepool	1210	1968	1983	1989	2014
Heysham 1	1150	1970	1983	1989	2014
Heysham 2	1250	1980	1988	1989	2023
Hinkley Point B	1220	1967	1976	1976	2011
Hunterston B	1190	1967	1976	1976	2011
Sizewell B	1188	1988	1995	1995	2035
Torness	1250	1980	1988	1988	2023

One coal fired power station:

• Eggborough

In 2007 British Energy entered into a 7 year partnership agreement with Doosan Babcock Energy to provide technical, engineering and operational support across all British Energy sites. Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions There are two nuclear Power stations located on the Dungeness headland in the south east of Kent, England. Hartlepool Power Station is a Nuclear power station situated south of Hartlepool in County Durham, North East England. Heysham Power Station is a nuclear power station located in Heysham, Lancashire, England, operated by British Energy. Heysham Power Station is a nuclear power station located in Heysham, Lancashire, England, operated by British Energy. Hinkley Point B is a nuclear power station near Bridgwater, Somerset, on the Bristol Channel coast of south west England. Hunterston B Power Station is a nuclear power station in North Ayrshire, Scotland. There are two Nuclear power stations located near the small fishing village of Sizewell in Suffolk, England. Torness nuclear power station was the last of the United Kingdom's second generation nuclear power plants to be commissioned Eggborough Power Station is one of three power stations ( Ferrybridge, Eggborough Drax) which extend in a line about 4 miles apart from each other to the north Doosan Babcock Energy Limited, commonly known as Doosan Babcock, is a British based energy services company The agreement is worth around £550 million secures up to 800 jobs in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[1]

History

British Energy was established, and registered in Scotland, in 1995 to operate the eight most modern nuclear power plants in the UK. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It took the two AGR from Scottish Nuclear and five AGR and sole PWR from Nuclear Electric. An advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR is a type of Nuclear reactor. Scottish Nuclear was formed as a precursor to the privatisation of the Electricity Supply Industry in Scotland on 1 April 1990. An advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR is a type of Nuclear reactor. Pressurized water reactor ( PWR s (also VVER if of Russian design are generation II nuclear power reactors that use ordinary Water Nuclear Electric was formed as a result of the privisation of the UK Electricity Supply Industry The residual Magnox power stations from these two companies were transferred to the Magnox Electric which later became the generation division of British Nuclear Fuels. For other uses of the term see Magnox (disambiguation. Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed British Nuclear Fuels plc or BNFL manufactures and transports nuclear fuel (notably MOX) runs reactors generates and sells Electricity, reprocesses and The company was privatised in 1996.

It has major English technical offices at Barnwood (formerly the HQ of Nuclear Electric). Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Nuclear Electric was formed as a result of the privisation of the UK Electricity Supply Industry

In June 1999, in an attempt to become an integrated generating and retail company, British Energy bought the retail electrictity and gas supplier SWALEC based in Wales, providing 6% of the England and Wales electricity supply market. SWALEC (South Wales Electricity was an electricity supply and distribution company which was bought out in 1996 for £872m following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry However it was unable to purchase another retailer at a reasonable cost to create a widespread retail presence, so sold SWALEC a few months later to Scottish and Southern Energy. Scottish and Southern Energy plc ( is a leading British -based energy company ^[2]

British Energy bought the 2,000 MWe Eggborough coal fired station from National Power in 2000 to provide a more flexible power production facility to reduce penalty charge risks from the New Electricity Trading Arrangements introduced in March 2001. The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. National Power Plc was formerly an Energy company based in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the new arrangements led to a significantly lower electricity price for inflexible base load power stations such as British Energy had. Baseload (also base load, or baseload demand) is the minimum amount of power that a utility or distribution company must make available to its customers or the amount The purchase of Eggborough occurred at the peak of the market for power stations, and in 2002 the value of the station was written down by half. ^[3]

In 2005 British Energy announced a 10-year life extension for Dungeness B, that will see the station continue operating until 2018. ^[4] British Energy hopes most of its other advanced gas-cooled reactors will obtain similar life extensions as their estimated closure dates are approached. An advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR is a type of Nuclear reactor.

In June 2006, British Energy joined the Dignity at Work Partnership, an anti-bullying project. The Dignity at Work project is being led by trade union Amicus as it seeks to tackle the growing problem of bullying and harassment in the workplace. Peter Prozesky, Head of Operations at British Energy said: "We recognise the seriousness and the consequences bullying in the workplace could have on our staff and ultimately the company, and at British Energy Group we remain committed to fostering our value of respect. "

Bruce Power

In 2001, the company was the major partner in taking on the operating lease to become the licensed operator of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada. Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian Nuclear power station located in the communities of Inverhuron and Tiverton, Ontario Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The resultant subisidary was called Bruce Power. Bruce Power Limited Partnership is a Canadian business partnership composed of several Corporations. As part of the financial re-structuring, the sale to a consortium of Canadian investors was announced in December 2002 with the sale being completed in February 2003.

Financial difficulties

The company has been in financial trouble since 2002, when it first approached the British government for financial aid. This followed a slump in wholesale energy prices, a failure to obtain relaxations on the Climate Change Levy, and renegotiations of its back-end fuel costs with BNFL, as well as issues with a number of its reactors (resulting in much capacity being offline during critical periods of the company financial crisis) and a failure to complete a timely sale of its joint-venture share in AmerGen. The Climate Change Levy (CCL is a tax on energy delivered to non-domestic users in the United Kingdom. British Nuclear Fuels plc or BNFL manufactures and transports nuclear fuel (notably MOX) runs reactors generates and sells Electricity, reprocesses and Parties to the resulting talks included bondholders, significant but unsecured creditors, power purchase agreement counterparties, and a group of secured creditors known as the Eggborough banks, because they provided financing for the purchase of the Eggborough coal-fired power plant in 2000.

The plan that resulted from these talks would nearly eliminate any equity interest by existing stockholders, as the firm's creditors waived over £1bn of debts in return for control of the company. Shareholders would receive only 2. 5% of the shares of the new company. However, a hedge fund, Polygon Investment Partners LLP announced in July 2004 that it has an alternative plan, and it has since sought to block the government’s negotiations. It believes that the proposed restructuring violates the rights of shareholders under the law of the European Union and under the UK Human Rights Act 1998. The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998 and mostly came into force

On September 22, 2004 the UK government's investment of over £3 billion in the restructured firm was approved by the European Commission. Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. On September 24 the company was reclassified as a public body in what the Office for National Statistics described as a reflection of "the control that can be exercised by government over British Energy. Events 622 - Prophet Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. " This move was described by The Times as a de-facto nationalisation of the group. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government

Recent positive announcements from all quarters including many renowned environmentalists coupled with an increase in the wholesale energy prices of oil and natural gas have led to increased speculation on British Energy's relisted shares. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane,

Restructuring

Under the British Government's restructuring programme the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF) acts as a creditor and liability receiver for British Energy Group. The Nuclear Liabilities Fund Limited (the “Fund” was incorporated on 28 March 1996 with the principal object of providing arrangements for funding certain long-term costs of decommissioning In return, a mechanism was put in place whereby NLF can carry out a cash sweep of the organisation whereby it claims 65% of British Energy's available cash flow each year; on top of a fixed annual contribution. Cash flow (also called net cash flow) is the balance of the amounts of Cash being received and paid by a business during a defined period of time sometimes tied British Energy is allowed to borrow up to £700m under the arrangements, with the NLF providing £275m.

The British Government is also assuming liabilities worth between £150m and £200m p. a. over the next ten years, which will help reduce British Energy's nuclear fuel liabilities. The present fuel liabilities run until 2086.

Despite its financial problems and government help with its fuel liabilities, British Energy's Chief Executive claimed, on 20 June 2006, that nuclear power stations would be economically viable without government guarantee or subsidy if the operation of the energy market was changed. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[5]

The British Government's interest in British Energy is managed by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), falling under the remit of the Shareholder Executive, which is part of BERR. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform ( BERR) is a United Kingdom government department. The Shareholder Executive is the body within the British Government responsible for managing the government's financial interest in a range of public companies

The restructuring of British Energy has been subject to three National Audit Office reports; in May 1998, February 2004 and March 2006. The National Audit Office (NAO is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments

In 2007 the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee reported on the restructuring. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The Public Accounts Committee (PAC (strictly the Committee of Public Accounts) is a select committee of the British House of Commons. ^[6] They noted that the taxpayer has been left to underwrite large liabilities, revalued at £5. 3 billion, while creditors who would have received little on liquidation received bonds and shares worth £3. 9 billion in 2006. They also noted that British Energy may now lack an incentive to reduce the eventual liabilities falling to the Nuclear Liabilities Fund. The Nuclear Liabilities Fund Limited (the “Fund” was incorporated on 28 March 1996 with the principal object of providing arrangements for funding certain long-term costs of decommissioning

Disposal of government interest

In July 2006 the government announced that they were considering selling part of their interest in British Energy. ^[7] On 30 May 2007 it was announced that the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry would instruct the Nuclear Liabilities Fund to sell up to approximately 450 million shares, representing around 28% of the Fund's interest in British Energy. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 The Nuclear Liabilities Fund Limited (the “Fund” was incorporated on 28 March 1996 with the principal object of providing arrangements for funding certain long-term costs of decommissioning ^[7][8] The Fund's cash sweep percentage would be reduced from around 64% to approximately 36% following the sale. ^[8] Revenue from the sale will be used to diversify the Nuclear Liabilities Fund's assets. ^[7] It is expected that RWE, EDF, Centrica and Vattenfall will bid for British Energy shares. The company RWE is not related to Ralph Waldo Emerson. RWE AG (until 1990 Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk Électricité de France ( EDF) is the main Electricity generation and distribution company in France. Centrica plc ( is a large multinational utility company based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America and Europe. Vattenfall is a Swedish power company and one of the leading energy producers in Northern Europe. ^[9]

See also

• Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• British Energy Group Plc
• Estimated reactor closure dates, House of Lords Hansard column WA232, 24 February 2005
• Risk Management: The Nuclear Liabilities of British Energy plc, NAO report HC 264 2003-04
• The restructuring of British Energy, NAO report HC 943 2005-06

In the media

• October 23, 2006, Nuclear Engineering International, British Energy cracking up
• October 16, 2006, BBC: Cracks knock 24% off British Energy shares
• August 16, 2006, Bloomberg: British Energy Shares Sink as Output Goal Threatened

The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" Hansard is the traditional name for the printed transcripts of Parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of Government. Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The National Audit Office (NAO is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments The National Audit Office (NAO is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Bloomberg LP is a financial software services news and data company

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