Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH JULY 2018 | 27 Customers Views from the table 1. Customers are mistrustful of energy suppliers and have yet to be convinced of the benefits of smart meters. 2. Networks as well as suppliers have come under fire in recent years, but a focus on network returns should not be allowed to monopolise the regulatory agenda. 3. It is essential that smart charging standards for electric vehicles are established as soon as possible to avoid massive investment in upgraded networks and generation. 4. Energy policy uncertainty – driven by differences among Conservative MPs – continues to dissuade potential investors. 5. Energy efficiency is a cheap, no-regrets option and should be a priority for government. Key takeaways Lawrence Slade, chief executive, Energy UK "Our energy bill at the moment is one of the most regressive forms of taxation in the world, not just in the country. How can it be right that some of the worst off in society are paying for some the better off in society?" Stephen Fitzpatrick, chief executive, Ovo Energy "We're arriving at technologies that are inherently cellular. They tend not to have very large economies of scale… We start to see this reduction in size of systems from gigawatt to kilowatt scale." Laura Sandys, former MP and chief executive of Challenging Ideas "The industry needs to stop constantly looking to the government and the regulator for permission to change. It can change on its own." Sahar Shamsi, principal, Oxera Consulting "The notion of excessive returns is polarising, and it is emotive. We shouldn't let a preoccupation with returns hijack what RIIO2 fundamentally needs to deliver – a flexible and co-ordinated whole-energy system." Basil Scarsella, chief executive, UK Power Networks "I'm not a subscriber to the idea that innovation should be funded by Ofgem. If you look at the competitive market, innovation is a market advantage that you benefit from but no regulator funds it." Sponsored by Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat MP and former energy secretary "The NHS could save a huge amount of money if they just ponied up and gave us a bit of their money to help us with insulat- ing homes… There is evidence out there that for every pound that the NHS could pay towards energy insulation they'd save ten quid."