Latest news with #ED
Business News Wales
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
SP Energy Networks Contract Extensions Deliver £220M Distribution Investment
Leading distribution network operator, SP Energy Networks, is set to invest more than £220 million to help deliver the electricity grid and support the workforce of the future after it extended its overhead line contracts with key service partners. Six companies will continue to work with the business over the next four years to maintain and upgrade more than 20,000km of overhead lines across the network, helping SP Energy Networks (SPEN) deliver on the commitments in its Electricity Distribution (ED) 2 business plan, which covers the years 2023-2028, while getting ready for ED3. Securing these contracts gives a welcome boost to the overhead line supply chain and its in-demand resources. This will support more than 500 jobs – including 50-plus new linesmen jobs – across the country, with the companies based in and around SPEN's Scotland and Manweb licence areas, ensuring ready access to the technical skills and resources needed. The partner companies are: Scottish-based Aureos, Gaeltec and PLPC, which will support the six licence districts in central and southern Scotland (Ayrshire & Clyde South, Central & Fife, Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh & Borders, Glasgow & Clyde North, Lanarkshire). Emerald Power, IES and Network Plus – all based in the north-west of England – which will support the licence districts in Mid-Cheshire, Merseyside, Dee Valley and Mid Wales, Wirral and North Wales. Nicola Connelly, SPEN CEO, said: 'Ensuring we have the partners, resources and technical skills in place to deliver on our bold and ambitious plans for our network is vital for the modern and resilient grid needed to support the doubling of demand. 'These contracts not only support significant investment in our overhead line network, they allow us to build on the solid foundations created with our supply chain partners and give certainty and confidence to further invest in their skills and people. It's a win-win on both sides and we look forward to working together to make a long and lasting difference for all our communities – from Anstruther to Anglesey.' Iain Thomson, Head of Distribution at Aureos, said: 'This contract reflects the mutual respect and trust we have with SPEN and will help bring new resources into the industry. We have invested heavily in recruiting local trainees and will continue to upskill our existing staff while increasing trainee intakes to deliver on SPEN's investment programme – continuing to grow our business in Scotland.' Adrian Rowley, Head of Contracts for Emerald Power, said: 'This is an extremely significant milestone for Emerald Power and provides the opportunity to further invest in our business –recruiting, training and upskilling the resources needed to deliver for SPEN's customers. Sharing the modern apprenticeship course at Bangor's Coleg Menai with other service partners and SP Energy Networks is a key element of this and enables a fantastic opportunity for anyone across the communities we serve to have a very fulfilling and rewarding career working on the network.' Daniel Rodrigues, Managing Director, Gaeltec Utilities UK Ltd, said: 'We are delighted to have successfully extended our contract with SPEN for overhead line works in its Ayrshire and Lanarkshire districts. This is great news for both Gaeltec and our employees, giving certainty looking ahead and creating confidence to grow our investment in our business and our people. 'On the back of this, we are pleased to confirm our continued local recruitment of trainee linesmen, with the latest intake underway.' Conor O'Neill, Executive Director, IES Utilities Group, said: 'Following SPEN's announcement of the overhead line contract extensions, IES Utilities Group is pleased to continue playing a key role in supporting the delivery of critical network infrastructure. We welcome the opportunity to build on the strong foundations we have now in place. This extension is a testament to the collaborative efforts and shared commitment between SPEN and IES Utilities Group. We're proud to continue delivering high-quality overhead line solutions that help strengthen the resilience and reliability of the electricity network for communities across the Manweb region.' Dale Harrison Managing Director at PLPC said: 'PLPC are proud to extend our partnership with SPEN for a further four years. This contract demonstrates a significant commitment from SPEN to our industry and enables a long-term and collaborative approach to meeting the current skills gaps within the market. PLPC has worked continually for SPEN for over 50 years and we're well placed to further develop our local workforce, which will continue to deliver the critical infrastructure upgrades to the network as we progress towards net zero.' Dave Prescott, Network Plus Managing Director, said: 'This four-year contract extension is a fantastic achievement for Network Plus and a testament to the hard work of everybody who has worked on the overhead line contract with SPEN. We are a proud and long-standing overhead line partner of SPEN, with our relationship going back to 2018. We now look forward to four more years delivering excellence to SPEN customers and investing in the recruitment of locally-sourced overhead line apprentices and trainees as we continue to meet SPEN's increased network investment.'
Mint
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Karnataka: Lokayukta conducts raids on officials, engineers of various departments in Belagavi
Lokayukta on Saturday conducted raids on officials and engineers of various departments in Karnataka's Belagavi. This comes after an raid on January 31 that included Sub-Registrar of Anagol in the district Sachin Munded and veterinary doctor Sanjay Durgannanavar. Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Hanumantaraya-led team had raided in three locations, namely Anigol, Bellad Bagewadi and Harugeri. Raids were conducted at several properties from Raibag Taluk. Both officials were under investigation for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, reports said. Manded was under scrutiny over allegations of illegal wealth accumulation. Likewise, Sanjay Annappa Durgannavar, a Veterinary Inspector with the Veterinary Department, was subjected to a raid at his residence in Raibag Taluk. Lokayukta officials were examining documents at both residences in an effort to uncover evidence of corruption. Following the Enforcement Directorate's action in the MUDA scam involving Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, State BJP President BY Vijayendra had hailed it as a 'major victory', stating that the ED investigation revealed "significant corruption" linked to the Chief Minister. The ED attached 142 immovable properties worth ₹ 300 crore in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case involving Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others. The ED's Bangalore Zonal Office carried out the attachment under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to the ED, the properties are registered under the names of various individuals operating as real estate businessmen and agents. It had launched its investigation based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Lokayukta Police in Mysuru, invoking various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Siddaramaiah and others. Additionally, a Special Court in Bengaluru directed the Karnataka Lokayukta to investigate Siddaramaiah over allegations of irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites valued at ₹ 56 crore to his wife, Parvathi, by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority. According to reports, Siddaramaiah is accused of leveraging his political influence to secure compensation in the form of 14 sites in his wife BM Parvathi's name, in exchange for three acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA. The land was originally acquired by MUDA for ₹ 3,24,700, while the compensation, 14 sites located in a prime locality, is estimated to be worth approximately ₹ 56 crore.
Hans India
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Indiramma housing scheme delayed in Sircilla: Ponguleti
Hyderabad: State Housing and Information and Public Relations Minister P Srinivasa Reddy said that the implementation of the Indiramma housing scheme was delayed in Sircilla Assembly Constituency as the BRS leader and local MLA KT Rama Rao has not submitted a list of beneficiaries to the officials. The government has brought a new norm giving opposition MLAs to select 40 per cent of the beneficiaries of Indiramma houses and forward the list to the Housing department. The Minister said that KTR defied the orders and as a result, the official process in the selection of the beneficiaries did not take place. After coming to know, the local authorities have been asked to select the names and finalise them immediately. Stating that 2.10 lakh beneficiaries have been identified across the State till the date, Srinivasa Reddy also took strong exception to the KTR's repeated comments against him saying that ED raided his houses with currency counting machines. He said that no raid was conducted by the central agency in his house. Srinivasa Reddy said that all the beneficiaries list will be finalised by June 10. Under the pilot project, he said that 42,000 houses were sanctioned and the construction of 20,000 houses was already started. 100 houses are ready for house warming this month. In the ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Authority) limits, the government sanctioned 9,200 houses for Chenchu tribes. Four storey buildings will be constructed in Hyderabad, Warangal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda municipal corporations in view of lack of availability of government land to build independent houses for the beneficiaries.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
CBI arrests ED dy director in ‘bribery' case
Bhubaneswar: The CBI on Friday arrested Chintan Raghuvanshi, deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Bhubaneswar, and another middleman Bhakti Binod Behera for allegedly demanding bribe from a miner for sparing him in a money laundering case. Even though CBI FIR stated Raghuvanshi's 'direct role' is being investigated, agency sources said they have found prima facie evidence against him. According to a complaint by businessman Rohit Kumar Rout with the CBI on May 28, the ED had initiated a money laundering case against him in 2020 concerning alleged financial discrepancies in his stone crusher operations in Dhenkanal district. On Jan 8 this year, the ED conducted searches at his residence and office in Bhubaneswar. Subsequently, he received a summons in March and was questioned at the ED office. Rout alleged that Raghuvanshi, a 2013 batch IRS officer, through his intermediary Behera, demanded Rs 5 crore to give him a clean chit in the case. The alleged deal also included assurances against his arrest and attachment of properties, including his hospital. The amount was subsequently brought down to Rs 2 crore, Rout stated in his complaint. Behera told Rout to deliver the initial payment of Rs 50 lakh at 11am on Thursday. "CBI sub-inspector Ayan Mishra verified the complaint. The verification confirmed Bhakti's (Behera) instructions to Rout regarding the Rs 50 lakh initial payment towards the total Rs 2 crore bribe demand," CBI's FIR stated. According to sources, while the deal was being finalised inside a building in Saheed Nagar area on Thursday evening, CBI personnel intervened. CBI sources said Rout had taken Rs 20 lakh as part payment. Raghuvanshi and Behera were taken to the CBI office where they were detained and faced questioning. "Both of them were arrested on Friday. They were remanded in judicial custody following rejection of their bail pleas," a CBI source said. "As direct role of Chintan Raghuvanshi could not be verified at this stage, it was decided to proceed the case only against Behera, and to look into Raghuvanshi's role during investigation. Hence, a regular case is registered against Bhakti," the FIR added.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Seniors duped of 2.2cr, Pune accountant, 2 others arrested
Mumbai: An accountant from Pune is among three people arrested by cyber police in two separate cases of digital arrest scams where two elderly women were cheated of Rs 1.7 crore and Rs 49 lakh, respectively. Police made the arrests after following the money trail from the victims' bank accounts. In the first case, a 61-year-old retired teacher from Mahim was accused of carrying drugs by fake crime branch officers and would have continued to pay them had she not chanced upon a cybercrime awareness video on YouTube. The woman received a call from a "courier service" on Jan 22 about her parcel containing drugs and passports. When she denied having anything to do with it, the caller asked her to contact an investigation officer from the "crime branch". She did so and the fake officer asked her to send an application demanding a priority investigation. Multiple "officers" got in touch with her thereafter and said her case was a "national secret" in a purported covert operation. She was required to stay off social media and send an hourly WhatsApp report about her location. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Soluções de energia de confiança para Data Centers de IA Siemens Energy Read More Undo The next day, a fake ED officer called her up and gathered details on all her bank accounts and properties. She was asked to transfer money for verification. Over the next month, she paid Rs 1.7 crore and was assured that her money would be refunded eventually. When her money dried up, the fraudsters asked her to mortgage her ancestral property. She then chanced upon a YouTube video and realised she had been conned. After a complaint was lodged with central region cyber police, a team under the supervision of senior inspector Irfan Shaikh found that around Rs 30 lakh had been transferred from the victim's bank account to that of a Pune-based accountant, Ajay Divekar. Police arrested Divekar (40) and an aide, Nitin More, from Pune on May 27. More had worked for a commission of Rs 15,000, police said. In the second case, a 72-year-old retired company executive from Borivli paid Rs 49 lakh to fraudsters despite sensing that something was amiss. The woman received a call on March 9 by a man claiming to be an Andheri police inspector. She asked him why he was speaking in Hindi and not Marathi; the fraudster said he hailed from Delhi. A few days later, she received a call from a fake CBI officer, who told her not to contact the inspector anymore. He claimed that a copy of her Aadhaar card had been found at the home of an airline's chairman who was being probed for money laundering. The elderly woman was terrified. The fraudsters asked her to liquidate all her fixed deposits and submit the money for a tally, assuring her that it would be refunded. She paid Rs 49 lakh in instalments. When she approached a neighbour for a loan, the latter alerted her that she was being conned. After a complaint was lodged with north region cyber police, a team under the supervision of acting senior inspector Sudhakar Humbe found that Rs 14 lakh was transferred from the victim's bank account into that of an Ahmedabad resident, Ram Balwani. Police questioned Balwani, who said that his bank account was being operated by one Gopal Ram (30). Police arrested Ram from Ahmedabad on May 28.
