Tight market alters European utilities' spending

Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent

PARIS, Nov. 17 -- The economic crisis is forcing European utilities to defer or cancel investments in facilities, renewables, and energy efficiency and to divest assets, according to Cap Gemini SA, Paris, in its annual European Energy Markets Observatory (EEMO).

Lower prices and drops of 5% in electric power consumption and 8% in natural gas consumption in this year’s first half have depleted utilities’ ‘war chests,’ said Colette Lewiner, in charge of the EEMO report.

Germany's E.On AG reduced its 2009-11 investment to €30 billion from €36 billion. Italy's Enel SPA intends to reduce its 2009-13 investment to €32 billion from €44 billion. Investments by Spain's Iberdrola SA are down to €4.5 billion from an initial €13 billion, while the newly merged Gas Natural and Union Fenosa will cut investments to €11-13 billion from €31 billion.

This is a marked change from 2008 when aggregate utilities investments reached a record €120 billion. But debt also increased: the combined debt of the 10 largest European companies rose by 11.3% between 2006 and 2008 to €213 billion.