Chinese interest for 'UK Power Reserve'

Two Chinese firms have expressed interest in a company that provides back-up power to the British National Grid.

A power plant. [File Photo: VCG]

UK Power Reserve, based in Solihull in the British Midlands, has put itself up for sale.

That's according to Reuters, who report that State Grid Corp of China and China Southern Power Grid have both expressed an interest in potentially buying the firm.

Apparently, UK Power Reserve could be valued at around £500 million.

Power companies are seen as being secure long-term investments, due to a constant demand for electricity and, in the UK in particular, growing concerns about a future shortage of supply.

The UK struggles to meet its own needs for power supply, with as much as sixty percent of its energy being imported. That means that prices of energy, produced locally, could be set to rise in line with increasing demand. 

In September, we reported that the same factors had helped to raise interest in a stake in the UK's offshore wind farms, with potential bidders Aviva and China Resources Power Holdings Co., said to be considering bidding for UK wind assets apparently worth as much as $1.5 billion.