Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 14TH - 20TH DECEMBER 2018 | 11 Policy & Regulation efficiency, increasing the amounts that pri- vate landlords will have to pay to bring their properties up to scratch. However, there are growing question marks about whether this government, although it has been keen to trumpet its commitment to an industrial strategy for the UK, actually has an over-arching idea about how to achieve its energy goals. Energy secretary Greg Clark attempted to bring a bit of coherence to the picture in mid-November with a speech setting out his response to the cost of energy review carried out by professor Dieter Helm a year ago. He listed four principles that he argued should underpin future energy policy. We'll have to wait for the detail. Of course, Whitehall has had other things on its mind. And whether the secretary of state gets the chance to even begin imple- menting his vision, given the ructions that Brexit is causing within the government, is a moot point. Clark has stuck his neck out in the Cabi- net with his advocacy of the soest of Brex- its, so he will be a marked man among those who would see such an outcome as a betrayal of the 2016 referendum. For the time being, energy looks set to remain a sideshow in the wider Whitehall farce. Generation and networks Decarbonisation is the stated goal, but how do we get there? Tom Grimwood In July, energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry announced an auction timetable for less established "pot 2" renewable tech- nologies under the maturing contracts for difference regime. Starting in spring 2019, they will be held once every two years for the next decade. In November, the Department for Busi- ness, Energy and Industrial Strategy also published the preliminary budget for the next auction, revealing that £60 million of annual subsidies will be on the table. Ini- tially it may not seem like much, but perhaps a little can go a long way. There is no word yet on how the govern- ment plans to split the £557 million of total subsidies it has committed to future pot 2 auctions. However, the way forward for off- shore wind is far clearer than for more estab- "We are just a part of the jigsaw, yes. But that still makes me determined to address the part that we are responsible for" Mark Bygraves, chief executive, Elexon "I hope the industry can assure the country that it's got resilience in hand and that the country shouldn't worry" Heidi Mottram, chief executive, Northumbrian Water "Our purpose is changing the way energy is generated, supplied and used for a better future" Will Gardiner, chief executive, Drax Group "You shouldn't make a private profit out of something that is essentially a public good" Alan Whitehead, Labour shadow energy minister "We feel really strongly about changing the model. The more you can get competition and markets into the sector, the less you need regulation" Colin Skellett, chief executive, Wessex Water "If we don't get RIIO2 right, we're going to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" Peter Emery, chief executive, Electricity North West "We need to be better – I absolutely buy that. I am not in any way, shape or form side-stepping our responsibility. There are things that need to change" Steve Robertson, chief executive, Thames Water "We are on the cusp of extraordinary transformations in electricity that will knock the socks off anything we have seen in the past ten years" Lord Hutton of Furness, chair, Energy UK continued overleaf Top interviews of 2018

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