Utility Week

Community The best laid plans… At one time it was envisaged that we would all be travelling around our futuristic cities in flying cars, and between cities on super-fast electric monorails. This vision of the future has been reined back somewhat, but we still take for granted a smart grid, complete with wall-to-wall electric vehi- cles and a smart home full of electronic devices all chatter- ing with each other courtesy of the Internet of Things. Hmm. Maybe, thinks Dis- connector. And maybe not. The problem with plans is that life gets in the way, to mis- quote John Lennon. The great man ponders thus on reading that vandals knocked out an EV charging post in Aberlour in Scotland recently – by stuffing Cadbury Creme eggs into it. A spokeswoman for Moray Council confirmed that the fast-charging post would be out of action for several weeks as a result and that it would cost £800 to repair. It's difficult enough trying to work out how much EV fast-charging infrastructure is required to allay consumers' range anxiety, without having to factor in how much will be knocked out by kids for a laugh. Hey, they could even video the reaction of bewildered motor- ists rocking up to a sabotaged charge point and post it online! The possibilities for what are euphemistically termed "inter- net pranksters" are legion. And as for that super-fast electric intercity monorail? Well, not quite. Although the government does plan to phase out diesel locomotives by 2040. Unlikely brand ambassadors If you want to effect change, it's all very well being worthy and evidence-based, but you get a lot further a lot quicker if you can harness popular culture. Take the hit ITV2 show Love Island, which has just con- cluded (for readers unaware of the show, ask your kids). Each of the dolly birds and dolly blokes in the Majorcan villa was issued with a personalised reusable water bottle and the result has been to suddenly make reusable water bottles a must-have fashion accessory. Love Island has sold more than a quarter of a million of the £15 bottles over the past eight weeks, a figure hailed by Greenpeace as "astounding". "Around three million view- ers have been watching Dani, Jack and the other contestants sipping on their reusable bot- tles every episode, and sharing the message that it's time to ditch single-use plastic for the sake of our oceans, waterways and the wildlife they are home to," said Louise Edge, the char- ity's senior oceans campaigner. If the producers of the show could somehow manage to shoehorn smart meters into the next series, perhaps the rollout would have a better chance of engaging the masses. The biggest tragedy ever This week we are not going to mention the antics of US president Donald Trump, and instead hand over to his cur- rent lawyer (and ex-mayor of New York) Rudy Giuliani, who launched a blistering attack on Trump's former long-time law- yer Michael Cohen, currently being given the third degree by the Feds and likely to do the dirty on his former boss. Giuliani called Cohen a "scumbag" – among other things – and compared him to Iago and Brutus, who famously betrayed Othello and Julius Caesar, respectively. The inten- tion was doubtless to elevate Donald's current difficulties with the law into some sort of Shakespearean tragedy, but Disconnector feels obliged to point out to Rudi that Caesar was a despot who effectively brought an end to the Republic, while Othello was black. Heck, at least he wasn't Mexican. 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; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, e: sarahwood@ fav-house.com. t: 01342 332117 Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@ 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. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2017 Membership subscriptions: UK £769+VAT 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 | 3RD - 9TH AUGUST 2018 | 31 Luke Clark @luketdclark Coal's UK death-spiral continues apace - production down by over a quarter and demand down 20% in 2017 (28% fall in coal for power generation). Russia is the largest source of coal imports (3.9m tons) #DUKESday Duncan Carter @Duncan_E_Carter With all the recent hot weather - and predictions we'll see more of it in the future - what we need is a government scheme to make housing cooler and require energy suppliers to remove loft and cavity wall insulation. ECO4? Tom Steward @Steward_T Yet another classic example of smart meter scaremongering. I have yet to see any suppliers suggesting that Time Of Use tariffs will be compulsory. We absolutely need robust rules around selling these tariffs, but not sure smart meters are the problem here. Emily Beament @EmilyBeament Nine of the 10 hottest years in the UK have happened since 2002, the annual state of the UK climate report shows. CCC @theCCCuk Hot weather followed by heavy rain is prime time for surface water flooding, with 3.2 million homes at risk in the UK and damage > £3m per year. Better planning and more data is required to tackle a problem made worse by climate change. Ofwat @Ofwat Reforms confirmed today could see the most highly geared water companies forced to share up to £230 million with customers over the period 2020-2025. National Grid Control Room @NGControlRoom On Sunday #wind generated 30.6% of British electricity, more than nuclear 30.3%, gas 23.8%, imports 6.1%, biomass 4.0%, solar 2.7%, storage 1.2%, coal 0.6%, hydro 0.5%, other 0.1%, national demand 597GWh Top Tweets

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