London, 28 July (Argus) — UK utility Centrica has called for a “stable investment climate” to boost UK low-carbon generation in its latest interim management statement. The firm suggests that power market reforms are needed to speed up investments in wind, nuclear and other low-carbon technologies and to successfully manage an increase in intermittent and low-marginal cost generation.

The UK utility welcomed plans announced by the government yesterday to introduce a minimum carbon floor price next spring. Centrica favours a carbon floor price, although it has not proposed a level, but said it hopes for more clarity from the government in the autumn. The utility will participate in the government's power market reform consultation.

Centrica confirmed that the 270MW Lincs offshore wind farm — in which it holds a 50pc stake, the rest divided equally between Denmark's Dong and Germany's Siemens Project Ventures — remains on course for completion in 2012. Centrica is still waiting for government approval for two larger offshore wind farms, the 620MW Race Bank and 540MW Docking Shoal projects, around 18 months after it submitted its plans.

The first half of this year saw Centrica commission the 885MW Langage combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and receive its first contributions from its stake in nuclear generator British Energy. But an unplanned outage at the 1,188MW Sizewell B plant since March has dented overall nuclear generation. Sizewell B is still due back on line this quarter.

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