Utility Week

Community Bringing staff up to speed Talk about snowflake millen- nials, even those sons of the Samurai the Japanese are being taken to task by the 'elf and safety brigade. Disconnector was outraged to learn that the West Japan Railway company has suc- cumbed to pressure from cam- paigners and unions and will no longer make trainees squat in a trench between two sets of tracks while one of its bullet trains speeds past at 300km/h. The long-standing practice was designed to teach new employees that its shinkansen trains were not just fast but really, really fast. But union whingeing that the practice is "dangerous" and "unnecessary" seems to have won the day. It's a move that will probably please the staff. One was quoted by local media (anonymously) saying the experience was both frighten- ing and horrible. "The wind pressure was enormous. I felt as if I had been pressed down from above. It was scary, and I wondered what the point of it was," they said. What next, wonders the great man? Will power companies be forbidden from suspending apprentices from power lines to teach them about the dangers of being electrocuted? What's that you say, the practice is already forbidden? Ahhhhh. The sooner we're out of the EU the better. Elon gets his skates on Talking of fast trains, Discon- nector learns that the American Wild Man of Tech – yup, Elon Musk – has announced that the first tunnel of his high-speed underground transport link in Los Angeles will be open in a couple of months. The date pencilled in is 11 December. For those readers not up to speed (as it were) with Elon's Boring Company, the plan is to construct a network of under- ground tunnels to transport between eight and 16 passen- gers on a "skate" at speeds of up to 240km/h. The ultimate plan is to make it a "hyperloop" by sucking the air out of the tunnels, eradicating air resist- ance and enabling the skates to hurtle along at 600km/h. Whether Elon will be making employees cower in tunnels nearby to fully grasp the impressive speeds attained is unknown, though nothing about the brilliant but unpre- dictable entrepreneur would be beyond the pale. He recently surprised observ- ers – and investors – by label- ling a British cave diver who rescued 12 schoolboys trapped in a flooded cave a "pedo" for dissing his offer of a mini-sub. That episode hit the share price of Tesla. As did a subsequent video of him smoking weed on the radio show of a US shock jock. To cap off a bad few weeks he then claimed, erroneously, on Twitter to be on the verge of buying back the stock of Tesla with the help of Saudi back- ers. That little blunder saw the Securities and Exchange Com- mission fine him $20 million and demand he stand down as chairman of Tesla. Mystery meters Disconnector was struck by an alarming consumer survey by energy supplier Powershop that found that only 2 per cent of people could read an elec- tricity meter. The implication was not just that people didn't understand their bills, but that they couldn't even read the numbers, which would pretty much invalidate the smart meter rollout because in-home displays present user-friendly data of your energy usage – but still with numbers. But it turns out that the Powershop survey refers to the old dial meters, which were phased out many moons ago for being incomprehensible. And easy to sabotage with a pin. 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; 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; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@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 | 2ND - 8TH NOVEMBER 2018 | 31 Sam Richards @sjarichards A disappointing Budget for the environment. Uncertainty on carbon price will stall investment in new clean tech. No mention of econ opportunity from (or route to market for) cheap renewable power. No money to upgrade leaky housing stock or new standards to future-proof new homes. Nick Mabey @Mabeytweet More efficient lighting and equipment is the unsung workhorse of the clean energy revolution. By squeezing the space for fossil generation it wrecks their financials and makes alternative investments more attractive. Pavel Miller @PVMill Positive to see commitment to a strong carbon price for at least the next couple of years by @hmtreasury. The big but is that gov needs to work out ASAP what role carbon pricing plays in its energy policy longer term and set a trajectory/emissions cap accordingly. Kees Van Der Leun @Sustainable2050 On Saturday, wind produced 17% of Europe's electricity! Denmark 72%, Ireland 67%, Portugal 65%, Spain 35%, Germany 29%, Lithuania 29%, UK 25%, Sweden 22%. Maf Smith @SmithMaf As @PaulWheelhouse said earlier: "Five 8.4MW turbines will show what floating offshore wind can really do." Fantastic the UK already home to two commercial-scale floating sites using best-in-class turbines. #innovationeveryday #OffshoreWind Laura Sandys @Laura_Sandys Smart time-of-use tariff has 'significant impact' on habits – showing that well- designed propositions empower consumers to make good choices – very interesting results @octopus_energy. Luke Clark @luketdclark Government proposes a £16/tonne UK carbon emissions tax to replace current EU ETS element of UK carbon pricing. Would mean total carbon price (made up of CPS and ETS/ CET) at similar level as now in event of no deal #Brexit. Would also beg question of why not simplify carbon pricing? Top Tweets

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