Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 12TH - 18TH OCTOBER 2018 | 5 "Our objective is to remain as closely aligned as possible and there is every reason to think we can" Junior Treasury minister Robert Jenrick backs the UK remaining closely linked into the EU ETS after Brexit. Utility Week Awards shortlist revealed The full shortlist for the 14 awards up for grabs in this year's Utility Week Awards has been published. For full details see the Awards Preview, distributed with this week's issue, or visit: www.utilityweekawards.co.uk UK Power Networks is trialling eight electric vans as part of its operational fleet. The Renault Kangoo vans will be based at depots across London. Engineers made their first journey in the new EVs to Archbishop Sumner School in Kennington, central London, an area that will be covered by the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) when it is introduced in 2019. WATER MPs propose compulsory metering powers for water firms Water companies should be given powers to introduce compulsory metering, but should also be sub- ject to tougher targets to cut leaks, MPs have recommended. A report on water regulation, published on 9 October by the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee, backs the National Infrastructure Commis- sion's recent recommendation that water companies should be allowed to implement compulsory metering using smart devices. It said that allowing compulsory metering only in water-stressed areas was "inappropriate" given the nationwide need to conserve water. But the report, which follows an inquiry by the committee, recommends support should be strengthened for economically vulnerable customers should they face significant bill increases once a meter is installed. ELECTRICITY Fraudsters jailed for £17m solar panel scam Six men have been sentenced to more than 30 years imprisonment for a £17 million solar panel scam. The men defrauded 1,500 victims, many of them elderly or vulnerable, by promising extra payments from the solar panels they supplied and installed on top of those from the government's feed- in tariff scheme. The Serious Fraud Office said the men used "deceitful sales techniques, outright lies, and false guarantees of reimbursement to misrepresent the offer and max- imise their sales". As a result, the victims each lost between £10,000 and £20,000. The verdicts follow a nearly four- year investigation into the company, Solar Energy Savings, which began in December 2014. The trial started in April this year. £2.5m Total available in the next round of the energy industry voluntary redress scheme, administered by the Energy Saving Trust. 3.4GW The Crown Estate has accepted lease applications for extensions to eight offshore windfarms that could create up to 3.4GW of new capacity. 17,000 Annual CO 2 savings from Britvic's renewable electricity deal with Eon UK.

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