Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 9TH - 15TH NOVEMBER 2018 | 9 Policy & Regulation This week Scotland aspires to net zero emissions Scottish government is ready to beef up emis- sions targets if a 'credible pathway' can be set The Scottish government has pledged to strengthen its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions if the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) can show how it can be achieved. In its dra climate change bill published in May it vowed to cut emissions by two-thirds on 1990 levels by 2032 but last week said it would like to cut emission to "net zero", as called for by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Holyrood appealed to the CCC and the UK and Welsh governments to help set out a pathway for how this could be achieved. In a debate in the Scottish parliament, climate change secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: "If [the CCC] advises that even more ambitious Scottish targets are now credible, we will adopt them. "What has held us back until now is that the UK CCC has been unable to outline that credible pathway. In the absence of that, we felt that it would be unwise to dra the bill in any other way than we have at the moment, but we want to get there. "The Scottish government wants to achieve net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases as soon as possible. It is our intention to get there, and we will set a target date for that as soon as that can be done credibly and responsibly." However, Green party MSP Mark Ruskell said the Scottish government's 2030 emission reduction target "set the bar too low" and he called for "much more ambitious" targets. DB GAS 'Incentives needed for new gas storage' Current market conditions do not provide sufficient commer- cial incentive to build large-scale gas storage and the situation will not improve without govern- ment action, MPs have been told. Roddy Monroe, chair of Gas Storage Operators Group, told a select committee last week: "The direction of travel is that capac- ity is leaving the market and not being added." He said returns from running such facilities would have to double to make it worthwhile to invest in new capacity. To secure a minimum level of gas storage would require statutory or regu- latory action. The select committee was looking at the UK's ability to cope with severe cold weather such as the recent "Beast from the East". A government spokesman told the MPs that prices across the whole western European gas market had soared during early March's cold snap, irrespective of the levels of storage in indi- vidual countries. ENERGY Ofgem: 'learn from AMR mistakes' Ofgem has written an open letter to the industry saying all suppli- ers should "learn lessons" from mistakes made by some big six suppliers on the advanced meter rollout (AMR). Ofgem's investigations into the failure of some big suppliers to live up to their AMR obliga- tions led to British Gas being fined £4.5 million, Eon £7 mil- lion and Npower £2.4 million. Ofgem head of metering and market operations, consumers and markets Jacqui Russell said the chief problems that had emerged were around pro- gramme governance, customer engagement and interoperabil- ity. She called on the industry to improve as the smart meter rollout enters its final two years. ELECTRICITY Brexit 'not likely' to hit supply security Brexit should not undermine the security of the UK's energy supply, a new government report has claimed. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on 5 November published its latest annual report on the security of the UK's energy sup- plies. Referring to Brexit, it said: "GB has a resilient electricity and gas system with sufficient capacity to meet demand in all but the most unlikely circum- stances. As a result EU exit is not likely to have an impact on security of supply in GB." Scottish parliament debated carbon cut plans Political Agenda David Blackman "The £1,137 cap is unlikely to end the energy price debate" So aer five years of debate, we finally know the magic number. £1,137 will be the ceiling on standard variable tariffs when the energy bill price cap comes into force at the end of this year. It is unlikely to end the energy price debate, though. Consultancy Cornwall has forecast, based on Ofgem's own methodology, that recent rises in wholesale price will inevitably push up the level before long. When their bills go up, customers are bound to feel Performance Certificate (EPC) band E level. Given the fat profits many have made in recent years, such a low cap looked like a sop to a vested interest. However, this week the cap was raised to £3,500, affecting nearly half of the 290,000 or so properties currently in the F and G bands – up from a third under the previous proposals. It's a small signal that the government is ready to take tough decisions to promote long-lasting reductions in energy bills. short-changed about prime minister Theresa May's election pledge to cut £100 off the average SVT bill. However, setting a cap gives ministers a short breathing space to start moving the energy bill debate onto a more sustainable footing than what many insiders see as a sticking plaster solution. There has been little follow- through on May's pledge of a 50 per cent improvement in the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings. That commitment sat oddly with the proposed £2,500 cap on the amount private landlords would have to pay to bring properties up to Energy

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