NG.L - National Grid plc
| Previous close | 899.00 |
| Open | 898.90 |
| Bid | 850.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 910.00 x 0 |
| Day's range | 895.80 - 904.20 |
| 52-week range | 744.50 - 907.40 |
| Volume | 4,393,241 |
| Avg. volume | 7,914,133 |
| Market cap | 31.489B |
| Beta (3Y monthly) | 0.82 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 20.22 |
| EPS (TTM) | 44.50 |
| Earnings date | 14 Nov 2019 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 0.47 (5.26%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 2019-05-30 |
| 1y target est | 912.93 |
- Bloomberg
A Battle Over the Future of Energy Plays Out in New York
(Bloomberg) -- A skinny Brooklyn brownstone was ready for occupants in mid-August. The beds in each unit had comforters, the drawers in the kitchens had utensils, and the living rooms had baskets of toys for the children who were about to move in. “It looks like someone just stepped out to the street to go to the bodega,” Scott Stepp, director of development at Providence House, a nonprofit that provides housing for homeless mothers.The homes had one problem: Providence House couldn’t get National Grid Plc, the local utility, to hook up the gas to the buildings. That’s because National Grid and New York state are fighting over an underground pipeline—and the future of energy.National Grid, which provides gas to more than 20 million people, has been at loggerheads with state regulators over a plan to build a new project under the mouth of the Hudson River. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is backing an ambitious push towards renewable energy sources and has opposed new pipelines for natural gas. Local environmental groups have also mounted an offensive against new fossil fuel infrastructure. National Grid, in response, has resisted turning on the gas for any new customers, including the homeless women and children, without pipeline approvals from the state.This problem has the potential to play out in cities across the U.S., where the need for new and upgraded gas pipelines meets growing environmental pushback that makes it hard, if not impossible, to expand and improve existing systems. Natural gas was once touted as the greener alternative to oil, and a boom in domestic supply that drove prices down has prompted thousands of households to convert from oil heat. But facing an ever-warming planet, environmental groups and policymakers are pushing harder to move people away from gas and into options like electricity-based heating and cooking, which can help lower greenhouse-gas emissions.“It really does illustrate the kind of inflection point that we’re at,” says Jackson Morris, eastern region director of the Climate and Clean Energy Program within the Natural Resources Defense Council.To reach the Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, many companies, states and countries plan to zero-out carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. With gas, Morris says, “you get some incremental reductions” in emissions when compared to oil heat, but not enough to make meaningful progress in slowing the pace of climate change. States like New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and California will need to transition to other energy sources, such as wind and solar, in order to meet aggressive emission goals. That’s why governments don’t want to support pipeline infrastructure for a fuel that they’re moving away from.Planning for a greener tomorrow comes with costs today. In New England, a lack of pipelines now leads to annual winter price spikes. In the last two years, a Boston import terminal has received tankers carrying super-chilled, liquefied natural gas from Russia—a particularly perverse solution since the U.S. is currently a leading global exporter of gas. A lack of infrastructure makes it all but impossible to get enough gas from Appalachia to Boston. In New York, there are plans to transport gas by truck.The situation in New York is underscored by the state’s new climate law, which set the nation’s most aggressive goal for getting nearly all electricity from emission-free sources by 2040. The plan also calls for an 85% reduction in economy-wide emissions from 1990 levels by 2050 and creates incentives to phase out oil and natural gas from home heating systems. Buildings account for 26% of New York’s greenhouse-gas emissions, the second-biggest source behind transportation. But at the moment, New Yorkers are still heavily reliant on gas for energy—40% of statewide electricity comes from gas and 60% of household heat. A lack of good infrastructure is pushing utility companies to import supplies from overseas in a way that makes no economic sense, given it adds transportation costs that consumers ultimately pay. “And it’s bad for the environment,” says National Grid Chief Executive Officer John Pettigrew. His utility would prefer to upgrade pipelines and build new ones. “Lots of people are trying to jump to 2050, but we’ve got 30 years to work these challenges out.”Environmentalists don’t want to wait. Groups like the Sierra Club and 350.org have been fighting new pipelines, and they’ve had a lot of legal success. Armed with experienced lawyers and record funding, the keep-it-in-the-ground movement has turned its attention to pipelines that require various federal and state permits that are easily litigated. But for this pipeline under the mouth of the Hudson, litigation hasn’t been necessary because state regulators are doing the delaying themselves.A spokesman for Williams Cos., the company trying to build the pipeline, said in an email that the project is critical for the New York region’s economic growth and blamed delays in gas hookups on the state’s decision to reject a permit.President Donald Trump has tried to prevent states from being able to block interstate gas lines. The White House announced an executive order in April aimed at short-circuiting state regulators who have held up gas lines by refusing permits. Policy analysts expressed doubt about how effective Trump’s measure would prove to be, and a month later New York rejected the water permit application from Williams.Some state and local governments are forcing the issue. Berkeley, California, became the first city to tackle it head-on with a ban on gas connections to new buildings, and a handful of other cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco are considering similar laws. In New York, chaos erupted as opposition to new gas pipelines confronted rising demand from consumers who still want to cook and heat with natural gas. National Grid projects a 10% increase in demand for natural gas from its customers in downstate New York over the next decade because of economic growth and homes that want to switch to gas from oil heat. Despite Cuomo’s environmental ambitions, the trend toward using electric-based heat and stovetops simply hasn’t taken off yet because it costs more. “We want to connect customers but the system hasn't got the capacity,” Pettigrew says. “Outside the pipeline, there are no long-term solutions.”As it frantically searched for solutions so the homeless women could move in, Providence House looked into electrifying its buildings. But the retrofit would have cost an additional $200,000 and taken at least nine months. The nonprofit took its case to the state’s Public Service Commission, which monitors utilities in New York, and appealed to National Grid in order to get their gas turned on. It looks like the move is paying off: In late September, the agency ordered National Grid to turn on the gas. In one of the two buildings, homeless mothers are now on track to move in six weeks later than expected; the move-in date for the second home remains subject to a final regulatory approval.Other New Yorkers are still waiting for gas, with winter looming. Politicians are pressing National Grid to connect more customers, pipeline or not. Last week, Cuomo demanded the utility start supplying gas to the 1,157 homes and small businesses left waiting, threatening the company with millions of dollars in penalties. National Grid said it planned to comply.That still leaves a backlog of around 20,000 new customers waiting for gas. At Cuomo’s direction, regulators are expanding an inquiry into the utility company, questioning National Grid’s claims that it couldn’t supply gas for customers without access to a pipeline wasn’t scheduled for completion this winter anyway. To contact the authors of this story: Cynthia Koons in New York at ckoons@bloomberg.netRachel Adams-Heard in New York at radamsheard@bloomberg.netChris Martin in New York at cmartin11@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Emily Biuso at ebiuso@bloomberg.net, Aaron RutkoffLynn DoanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance UK
Business group accused of 'telling lies' on Labour nationalisation plans cost
Shadow business secretary Andy McDonald accused the CBI of publishing "fabricated false information."
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 2-UK regulator looks to cut costs of new Hinkley Point grid link
British energy market regulator said it would grant National Grid 637 million pounds ($803.38 million) to build the transmission link for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, lower than the company's initial request for 717 million pounds. Ofgem said on Tuesday consumers will save money under its plans to reduce National Grid Electricity Transmission's (NGET) funding request to connect the new Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor to the grid. The regulator's move comes after EDF said last month that its Hinkley Point C nuclear plant could cost up to 2.9 billion pounds more than its last estimate, and face further delays.
- Simply Wall St.
Does National Grid plc's (LON:NG.) CEO Salary Reflect Performance?
John Pettigrew became the CEO of National Grid plc (LON:NG.) in 2016. This report will, first, examine the CEO...
- Stockopedia
What is the National Grid's (LON:NG.) Quality Rank?
Good quality companies can offer a lot of comfort to investors. They tend to be strong, stable, profitable firms that deliver predictable returns, have pricing8230;
- Fool.co.uk
Can the National Grid share price double your money?
National Grid is a good defensive play, that offers more than just capital appreciation.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 2-UK can meet winter energy demand if Brexit happens - National Grid
Britain will be able to meet energy demand this winter even if it leaves the European Union, but could need regular supplies of liquefied natural gas, National Grid said on Thursday. The United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31 but it is still unclear on what terms it will exit or indeed whether it will become the first sovereign state to depart the bloc. National Grid, which operates the UK power network, expects Britain's power links with Europe, called interconnectors, to continue to flow but in the unlikely event they fall to zero there is sufficient surplus power to meet demand.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Britain can meet power supply, demand this winter even with Brexit-National Grid
Britain will be able to meet power and gas demand this winter, even in the event of a departure from the European Union, National Grid said in its 2019/20 winter outlook report on Thursday. National Grid expects total winter gas demand to be 52.3 billion cubic metres, slightly higher than last year. The so-called de-rated margin, or surplus power margin, is forecast at 7.8 gigawatts (GW), 0.7 GW more than the forecasted margin of winter 2018/19.
- Fool.co.uk
Why the National Grid share price rose 3% in September
The National Grid (LSE: NG) share price has been picking up all year, but here's why I think the shares are still cheap.
- Reuters - UK Focus
National Grid offloads $3.4 bln of UK pension risk to Rothesay Life
Britain's largest specialist annuity insurer Rothesay Life said on Tuesday the National Grid UK Pension Scheme had transferred 2.8 billion pounds ($3.43 billion) worth of pension risks to the insurer. British companies are increasingly offloading risks linked to their pension schemes to specialist insurance companies, partly because of increased life expectancy. The deal comes weeks after Rothesay Life chalked up a 3.8 billion pounds insurance deal with Allied Domeq, which protects the retirement savings of the largest-ever number of yet-to-retire members.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 1-More work needed to understand Britain's August power failure
Britain's energy emergencies executive committee said on Friday more work was needed to understand why certain power assets failed during a blackout caused by a lightning strike in August. National Grid said last month that the lightning strike resulted in Orsted's Hornsea offshore wind farm and RWE Generation's Little Barford gas-fired power station going offline. As Britain's generation mix now includes a lot more renewable energy generation and interconnection with Europe, the grid system needs to be more flexible.
- Fool.co.uk
National Grid shares: are they worth buying for the dividend?
National Grid shares sport a dividend yield of 5.6%. But does that make the stock a good income play?
- Fool.co.uk
2 FTSE 100 dividend shares I’d buy and hold for 20 years
These two FTSE 100 dividend shares make perfect sense for long-term buy and hold strategies, says Tom Rodgers.
- Fool.co.uk
Worried about Brexit? 2 dividend shares I’d buy for my ISA before a possible no-deal exit next month
You need to protect yourself in tough economic and political times like these. Royston Wild explains how share pickers can make money in the current climate.
- Stockopedia
Relative Strength Alert: Will the National Grid (LON:NG.) share price keep rising?
Shares in National Grid (LON:NG.) have been in an uptrend in recent months, and the question now for investors is whether that price strength will continue. Fi8230;
- Simply Wall St.
Does National Grid (LON:NG.) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?
Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously...
- Fool.co.uk
2 FTSE 100 dividend shares I’d buy before Brexit
This is why I’d pile into these FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) stocks paying big dividends right now.
- Reuters - UK Focus
U.S. utilities file legal challenge to Trump power plant rule
Con Edison and eight other U.S. utilities mostly from Democratic-led states have filed a legal challenge to the Trump administration's plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants, which replaces a much tougher Obama-era rule. The New York-based power company said in a statement on Monday that the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule undermines efforts already under way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in renewable energy, electric vehicle infrastructure and energy efficiency and other clean technologies.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 1-UK power grid, train systems need review after August blackout - grid operator
Systems that secure Britain's power supplies and keep trains running should be reviewed after a blackout caused by a lightning strike and unexpected power outages last month created travel chaos, the grid operator said on Tuesday.
- Reuters
Investors ignore 'Corbyn risk' to grab UK power grid debt
Britain's National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) drew heavy demand with its 700 million pounds ($864 million) bond issue on Monday, as investors rushed to grab the low yield despite nationalisation worries. National Grid, parent company for the main national power distributor, is earmarked for nationalisation by the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn if it wins an election expected later this year. Lawmakers are for now blocking Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request for an early election, but only until they are satisfied they have stopped a no-deal divorce with the European Union, after which a vote looks inevitable.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Investors ignore "Corbyn risk" to grab UK power grid debt
Britain's National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) drew heavy demand with its 700 million pounds ($864 million) bond issue on Monday, as investors rushed to grab the low yield despite nationalisation worries. National Grid, parent company for the main national power distributor, is earmarked for nationalisation by the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn if it wins an election expected later this year.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Lightning strike, power plant trips led to Aug. 9 outage - Britain's National Grid
A lightning strike on a transmission circuit and power plant trips on Aug. 9 led to 1.1 million homes in Britain sufferinga power outage, National Grid informed Britain's energy regulator in its final report on Tuesday. National Grid had said in a preliminary report on Aug. 20 that a lightning strike caused the blackout and also led to the almost simultaneous loss of output from two generators.
- Motley Fool
Is National Grid a Buy?
The utility's stock yields a tempting 5.9% and its U.S. and U.K. operations give it geographic diversity that would usually be desirable. Just maybe not right now.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Final report on UK power cuts to be published Sept. 10-Ofgem
Britain's energy regulator said it expects to publish on Tuesday the final report by grid operator National Grid on the cause of disruptive power cuts last month. In its preliminary report into the power cuts last month, National Grid said the blackout was the result of a lightning strike in a rare and unusual occurrence that led to the almost simultaneous loss of output from two generators. National Grid has to deliver its final report to Ofgem by Sept. 6, in which it will examine the exact failure mechanisms at the two generators, as well as demand side impacts and communication processes.
- Simply Wall St.
Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of National Grid plc (LON:NG.)
Does the September share price for National Grid plc (LON:NG.) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate...
