In the latter part of the 20th century the UK saw the privatisation of the electricity and gas companies and has been overseen by the Government regulator Ofgem. British Gas was one of these companies to become privatised and ultimately become part of Centrica, whilst many smaller companies have collapsed owing to a background of increasing wholesale energy prices.
You are required to submit a report and make a presentation to the module co-coordinators covering the following points:
• A very brief overview of the circumstances and the reasons why the privatisation of the company was undertaken.
• A very brief overview of the history and how it affects the current business environment of Centrica and why there is an expectation of large energy price increases in the forthcoming years.
• Analysis of the performance and position of Centrica for the years ending 31 December 2021, 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2019. (You are welcome to analyse more recent information and previous years if it is relevant). This will include, but is not restricted to:
– Analysis of industry business environment and strategy
– Analysis of financial accounting information
• Analysis of stock market-based information. This will include, but is not restricted to:
– Share price level
– Forecast of future share performance
– An explicit and clearly explained recommendation as to whether you would suggest investors “buy”, “hold” or “sell” the shares.
• Analysis of impact of the privatisation of the electricity and gas companies upon its key stakeholder groups, both pre-existing and new. These will include, but are not restricted to:
– Customers
– Employees
– Taxpayers
– Shareholders
• Bearing in mind the underlying value of the businesses and the current environment, has the privatisation of the electricity and gas companies been a success?
• A discussion of what lessons can be learnt going forwards by the Government when planning for the future and looking at the past.
You are free to discuss other relevant issues subject to the overall word and time limits not being exceeded. However, remember that you are being assessed primarily on your ability to analyse and interpret information; in order to obtain a pass mark you need to do more than simply list “facts”.
Information sources:
The following web sites and related links provide useful information (the list is not exhaustive and it is definitely recommended that you supplement it with other information sources):
https://www.refinitiv.com/en
https://libguides.aber.ac.uk/c.php?g=660190&p=4662091
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/
https://uk.reuters.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://news.ft.com
https://www.centrica.com/sustainability/performance-reporting/all-reports-data/
Report (weighting: 60% of Assessed Case 1 = 30% of overall module marks)
The word limit is 3,000 words, plus appendices. Any material in the main body of your report (i.e., excluding appendices) beyond 3,000 words may be ignored. Material submitted in appendices which should be in the main body of your report, will be counted as being in the main body.
