Restrictions in energy market worry U.K.

London might not be able to attract the investments needed for a low-carbon economy if a German company drops out of the energy sector, a lawmaker said. Investment company Goldman Sachs was hired by German energy company RWE to examine a possible sale of npower, one of the United Kingdom's top energy companies. RWE purchased the company in 2002 for nearly $5 billion and now aims to sell it for $8 billion, The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London reports. Rival interests in the British company mean the number of primary energy companies in the region could drop from six to five. Tim Yeo, chairman of the British Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, said the sale was troubling. "In the work my committee has done this year we have seen a problem in how we will attract the investment needed into this industry," he stated. Without diversified investments in the energy sector, it would be tough for London to usher in a low-carbon economy while providing enough electricity to meet domestic demand, he added. Phillip Lee, a member of Yeo's committee, said the potential decrease in the number of energy companies in the region "is not the right direction."