Utility Week

U P F R O N T Water companies go into space to detect leaks What's the issue? For the water sector, leakage is a huge problem. Targets are getting tougher, and this means companies are having to come up with ever more innovative ways to tackle leaks on their network. Some have started to use space technology such as satellites, which have the potential to double the number of leaks detected on the network compared with traditional methods. Water regulator Ofwat has taken a tough line on leakage as part of the current price review PR19, challenging the sector to reduce it by 15 per cent by 2025, and says it will take tough action against companies that do not meet their leakage commitments. Water companies have to maintain thousands of kilometres of water mains every day. However, leaks are often hard to find, especially on trunk mains – the large pipes that run through rural areas where the terrain and geography are a challenge. And in city centres, tackling leakages is both expensive and disruptive for the public. Companies use a variety of different methods for detecting leaks, including sniffer dogs, divining rods, and leakage inspectors on foot. However, all these methods are time-consuming and can be inefficient. As leakage targets get increasingly tougher, water companies need processes that are as streamlined and cost-effective as possible. By Lois Vallely W elcome to the first issue of Flex, Utility Week's new technology quarterly. As the industry embraces the 3Ds of decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation, no corner of the water and energy marketplace remains untouched from the hurricane forces of technology-driven disruption. Each quarter we'll be charting this upheaval, with all the challenges, opportunities and successes it creates, from the perspective of those at the helm and those running to keep up. In this first issue, for example, we ask whether new technology is driving better customer engagement? Is auto-switching the next big thing? And can virtual and augmented reality technology really provide the answer to the skills crisis? We also 'download' the 16 apps that no utility firm should be without and reveal where one of the industry's potentially biggest disruptors, Electron's Jo-Jo Hubbard, finds her inspiration. But while technology may underpin this journey of productivity and service improvement, it will only ever be as effective as the leaders looking to harness it. Technology-driven transformation goes hand in hand with cultural transformation, one of the key themes of this first issue. Changing with the times is not the preserve of the digital and IT experts; it has to go to the very heart of the sector's structures and culture, driven from the boardroom and down through the company (see our reports on pages 7 and 12-15). As National Grid's new chief information and digital officer, Adriana Karaboutis, tells us (page 18-20) successful cultural transformation is always a partnership. It's also about moving at the right pace for the business and taking just the right amount of risk. And that's the rub for the legacy firms – move too fast and the risks increase; move too slow and get overtaken by the new kids on the block. One thing is for certain, though: standing still is not an option. Denise Chevin Editor, Flex denisechevin@fav-house.com 4 www.utilityweek.co.uk/fLeX

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