FTSE 100 news / Companies and sectors / Utilities / 15 October 2026
Utilities: sector news on Thursday 15 October 2026
Average tone +0.3 (neutral) across 6 companies with relevant coverage, from 54 stories.
Company by company
| Company | Tone | Stories | What the coverage was about |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Grid | +1.2 | 25 | Coverage was dominated by National Grid's winter bill forecasts for US customers, with higher electricity bills offset by slightly lower gas costs. |
| United Utilities | −5.7 | 13 | Coverage was mainly about Ofwat's proposed £240m return to customers over poor sector performance, alongside local reports of discoloured water, school closures and burst mains. |
| Centrica | −2.0 | 11 | Coverage was dominated by the minister rejecting support for Rough gas storage, which weighed on the outlook. |
| SSE | +1.5 | 2 | The only relevant coverage was two Kalkine Media pieces on SSE's latest trading update. |
| Severn Trent | +0.3 | 2 | Coverage naming Severn Trent was limited to a £25m road project in Stoke-on-Trent and a bills update for customers. |
| Metlen Energy & Metals | +6.7 | 1 | The only relevant coverage was a report of Greece launching Eastern Europe's largest energy storage facility, which reads as positive for Metlen's energy business. |
Strongest stories in the sector
- −8.3 Market Watch: Minister rejects £2bn investment plan for North Sea gas storage
Minister rejects £2bn North Sea gas storage investment plan. - −8.3 Luke Pollard rules out investing in Rough gas storage as Centrica seeks cap and floor support
Minister rules out Rough investment as Centrica seeks support. - −7.5 Funding Refusal Might Change The Case For Investing In Centrica Shares
Funding refusal questions investment case for shares. - +7.5 Greece Launches Eastern Europe’s Largest Energy Storage Facility
Large Greek storage facility likely Metlen project; positive for its energy business. - +7.5 Should Raised Earnings Guidance Require Action From National Grid (LSE:NG.) Investors?
Raised earnings guidance is positive for the company - +7.5 National Grid (NGG) Makes $1.75 Billion Bet on US Data Center Power Demand
$1.75 billion investment tied to data centre power demand - −7.5 Why 3 primary schools were forced to close today as 'brown water' reported
Brown water forced three schools to close, reputational hit - +6.7 National Grid Secures More Than £5 Million for Innovative Energy Network Projects
Secured over £5 million funding for innovation projects - −6.7 Lancashire Primary School shut and United Utilities called out to tackle issue
School shut and UU called out to fix issue - −6.7 English and Welsh water firms could be forced to return £107m via lower bills
Water firms may have to return £107m through lower bills - −6.7 Ofwat proposes £240m cut to water bills over performance failures
Ofwat proposes bill cuts over sector performance failures - −5.8 Gov. Healey presses utilities to send $1.5B transmission refunds now
Governor pressing utilities including it to pay refunds now