Year 2017 news
We had a slow start to our 28th year but had a very busy second half of the year.
By the year’s end, we had completed commissioning on 7 new generators and attended to many others for maintenance, refurbishment and to deal with such things as protection, excitation and synchronising issues. Most were Gas Turbine Generator sets and some included commissioning of switchgear and integration of generators into existing systems. Our work was in 9 countries – Belgium, Egypt, Italy, Kuwait, Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand and UK.
We continued to provide power system study work for numerous clients and consultancy on larger projects. Our work in Merseyside and North Wales, the former Manweb part of the UK, increased, with us commissioning several 33 kV switchboards and 132kV mesh-corners. We started down the route to obtain suitable levels of authorisation for three of our staff, which pleased our clients and is a reason for us to be optimistic about being offered similar work in years to come. We continued to extend our customer base and increase the scope of work taken on. We are appointed lead commissioning engineers for a large UK substation extension comprising 4 transformers at 132 kV/11 kV, a mesh corner and several 132 kV feeders and several 11 kV switchboards.
Our Thoughts about Energy
We are seriously in the energy business and so we ought to have a view about energy policy. We have an Energy Act of Parliament, which sets out in law an obligation for the UK to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% compared with early industrial levels. We disagree with this because it is unnecessary and it is so expensive that it is crippling our economy.
The key body in this matter is the European Union and Germany is the political centre of Europe. Germany has a first rate education system, a hard working population and an economy the envy of everyone. What Germany decides, the EU agrees.
The Chancellor of Germany is Mrs Angela Merkel and her past energy policy was strongly influenced by the Green party because of the voter support they enjoy. She won the recent election by securing more seats than any other party, but not enough to give an overall majority. She must therefore form a coalition with at least two other parties. This is not unusual.
Mrs Merkel’s preferred Christian Democrat led coalition is with the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party, but insistence by the Greens that she should agree to the closure of a number of coal burning power stations resulted in the talks failing. This is the first defeat for the Greens and so it is a big step in the right direction. Coincidentally, in the last two weeks, Germany’s acting government made a momentous decision to continue the use of Glyphosate - an important herbicide in agriculture and used by farmers for 40 years. The EU then renewed its authorisation of Glyphosate. This is the second bitter defeat for the Green Party, which is fiercely against using chemicals of any sort. It no longer has a seat at the top table and its agenda may now be dashed for good.
The German Energiewende, which means energy turn, pushed forward by the Greens is an ill-advised and expensive policy. It forced Germany, at certain times in 2017, to pay neighbouring countries to take their surplus energy by means of negative tariffs. With the Greens now relegated to the back row, we might all enjoy a more sensible energy policy in Germany, in the EU and in the UK.
The directors of the company thank all our staff and our clients and consultants and friends for their loyalty and trust during 2017.
We wish them all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
John Sanderson, Director, 13 December 2017