ABSTRACT
When Robin Jeffrey took over as chairman and acting chief executive the fate of BE was probably sealed. From July 2001 until the crisis of September 2002 the board was in a race to keep the UK generation business afloat long enough to allow the profits from North America to come through. The price of electricity was outside Jeffrey’s control but he and his team chased every other possible source of profit. Right up until early September 2002, Jeffrey and his team thought they had a chance, mainly because of the prospect of BNFL altering the fuel reprocessing contracts. But their hopes were frustrated and the government was forced to step in.
