Utility Week

Community Damnable lies and statistics It is a little-known fact that Disconnector was once in the same room as the current US president. Admittedly the room was the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, where Donald Trump was appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2009 to promote the fact he was going to make the Miss Universe con- test the biggest show on TV. "Trump a l'orange" was spouting a load of old nonsense then and it was reassuring to see nothing had changed when he visited Europe last week. Firstly, there was Trump's claim that Germany relies on Russia for between 60 and 70 per cent of its energy. But according to commodi- ties brokerage Marex Spectron, 60 per cent of Germany's gas is imported from Russia and the country's energy mix for power production is about 40 per cent coal, 30 per cent renewables, 20 per cent gas and 10 per cent nuclear. But numbers were never the Trumpster's strong point. Just ask the 6,000 people who were hoping to get jobs at his golf club in Aberdeenshire. To paraphrase the late, great Ken Dodd, it's enough to make you want to blow up a giant inflatable, hoist it over Westminster and shout "what ho missus, the aliens have landed". Something in the water? The current hot spell has been playing havoc with Disconnec- tor's mind. Only last week, he dreamt the England football team made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. But now it appears he is not alone in suffering the occa- sional heat-induced wobble on these long summer days. There have been reports on social media that drinking water in some parts of the country has developed an unusual taste. According to local news- paper reports, some North Devon households are complaining that their tap water has an "earthy" taste to it, while Nottinghamshire resi- dents say theirs has a "really strong and nasty" taste. In both cases, South West Water and Severn Trent are said to be investigating the issue, but if anyone out there is worried about the effects of drinking "earthy" tap water, the great man has one simple suggestion. You should stick to Old Peculier – provided, of course, it is served at the correct temperature. You know it makes sense. Jacket required Brexit is never far from the headlines and last week it was revealed that a flotilla of barges with energy generators could be sent to the coast of Northern Ireland, as part of emergency plans being drawn up by UK civil servants. As regular readers will no doubt be aware, the Province and the Republic of Ireland have enjoyed the benefits of a single energy market ever since the Good Friday Agreement. But with the ever-increasing pros- pect of the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal, the lights could go out on that deal, too. Whitehall's finest are busy drawing up contingency plans and one of them could include bringing back army generators from the four corners of the globe to keep the lights on. Disconnector has never pretended to be technically minded, as anyone who has tried to log on to the wifi in his house will attest, but he still has his Junior Science Ladybird book, which clearly states pota- toes can be used as batteries. Perhaps the Department for Exiting the European Union might like to look at whether it can power the Province through good, old-fashioned spuds. It's a terrible idea, but perhaps not as bad as a fleet of barges carrying diesel generators. Disconnector Publishing director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Acting editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Acting content director: Denise Chevin, 01342 332087, denisechevin@fav-house.com; Deputy editor: Jane Gray (maternity leave); Features editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; News editor: Katey Pigden, t: 01342 332082, e: kateypigden@ fav-house.com; Content editor: Alice Cooke, t: 01342 332102, e: alicecooke@fav-house.com; Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@fav-house.com; Reporter: Adam John, t: 01342 332069, e: adamjohn@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2017 Membership subscriptions: UK £669 per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK's magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact the publishing director, Ellen Bennett, at ellenbennett@fav-house.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk UTILITY WEEK | 20TH - 26TH JULY 2018 | 31 William Marchant @richonlyinname Centrica is emailing me, asking if I would like to have a power station in my car park. Now I just need a car park. David Watson @davidwatson__ You should definitely buy a power station from us. Can probably get you a deal on a 20% stake in some nuclear power plants too. DM me. Jessica Lennard @JessicaLennard Are you doing two for one, or mix and match? I'd like to get in on this if poss. Ripple @RippleEnergy National Grid set out new future energy scenarios today. We LOVE the community energy scenario. It limits climate change to 2 degrees and it puts PEOPLE in control of their power! How? Lots of cheap onshore wind + solar, battery storage, electric vehicles and heat pumps. Phil MacDonald @PhilMacD1 Crucial point in National Grid Future Energy Scenarios: From 2030 onwards, there's going to be increasing periods of excess electricity in the UK - finding new ways to store it for long periods is vital. #FES2018 William Aitchison @wfmaitchison Massive statement of intent from @nationalgriduk in its Future Energy Scenarios report. "There could be as many as 11 million electric vehicles (#EVs) by 2030 and 36 million by 2040." That's basically all the cars on the road... #FES2018 Jon Ferris @fractalgrid The EMR review could be the last battle of the old war, or the first battle of a new war, as the energy system heads off in a different direction, @alanwhiteheadmp tells the @energynetworks #towards2030 event Jan Rosenow @janrosenow #Brexit white paper says UK will maintain EU standards for goods including 'those which set environmental requirements for products, such as their energy consumption'. We @RegAssistProj predicted this would happen last year. 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