Utility Week

12 | 18TH - 24TH JANUARY 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation This week EV infrastructure strategy 'not needed' The government says a national strategy at this stage would risk distracting from existing efforts The government has rejected a call by MPs to draw up a national strategy for rolling out charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). In its report on EVs, pub- lished in October, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee warned the government that relying on councils and network operators to develop charge points could lead to gaps in charging infrastructure. But the government's response to the report, published on 11 January, says a national strategy is not required. It says: "Given the range of activity already under way and steps already taken, combined with the work being led by Ofgem to design a supportive regulatory regime for network investment, the government is not convinced that a further strategy is needed at this stage and risks distracting from existing efforts." It says there are "encouraging signs" that the market- led approach to the rollout of charging infrastructure is working, with more than 15,000 publicly accessible charge points installed by the end of November and "many more" in the pipeline. Of the charge points already installed, more than a tenth are fast chargers. These include applications from 26 local authorities to install more than 1,000 charge points, which it says have already been submitted to the Department for Transport's "Go Ultra Low Cities" scheme. A review of the on-street residential scheme, which is available to councils that want to install charge points for drivers of EVs, will be carried out this summer. DB ELECTRICITY 'Plan B' needed for capacity market The government should work on a back-up plan for the capacity market in the event the European Commission does not reapprove the scheme, Rachel Reeves, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee, has warned. Following the European Court of Justice ruling in November last year to suspend the capacity market, the BEIS committee wrote to energy minster Claire Perry outlining industry con- cerns. Reeves argued that the suspension risks further under- mining investor confidence in the power sector, which is already shaky as a result of Brexit. She welcomed the clarity of the government's next steps, which Perry highlighted in her response letter published on 10 January, but said the approach rests on European Commission reapproval. "The government needs a 'plan B', so that businesses and investors can ensure the UK's electricity system is prepared for next winter, whatever the com- mission's ruling," Reeves urged. WATER Anglian preparing for a 'no deal' Brexit Anglian Water is putting plans in place for if the UK exits the European Union without a deal. Writing for Utility Week, chief executive Peter Simpson said the company supports the govern- ment's proposed EU deal as being the "most pragmatic way forward". However, he added, Anglian will "continue to work closely with Defra and other companies through Water UK on contingency plans in the event of a no deal scenario". "We must continue to deliver for our customers despite chal- lenges such as extreme weather and Brexit," he wrote. ENERGY Defra to close gap in emissions limits The Department for Environ- ment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is considering introduc- ing new emissions limits for generators with a thermal input of 500kW to 1MW. The aim is to close a "regula- tory gap" between the rules emanating from the Ecodesign Directive and the Medium Com- bustion Plant Directive (MCPD). The former covers small appliances such as boilers and heaters, while the latter applies to generators with a thermal input of 1MW to 50MW. Defra is additionally examining the case for tightening emissions limits for generators covered by the MCPD. The plans form part of the department's Clean Air Strategy 2019, published on 14 January. Public access: more than 15,000 charge points Political Agenda David Blackman "The UK's nuclear options are rapidly dwindling" The House of Commons hadn't yet voted on the government's withdrawal deal when Utility Week went to press. Irrespective of this week's vote though, the government's in-tray is piling up with other pressing matters. The most urgent item on the energy to-do list is the future of the new-build nuclear pro- gramme. Reports from Japan indicate Hitachi is preparing to halt work on its project to build a new nuclear plant in north have struggled to find backers. The government is working up plans to extend the Regu- lated Asset Base model, under which investors would get paid even before the project is built and generating revenues, to the nuclear sector as a further carrot for potential investors. With the UK's nuclear options rapidly dwindling, the Depart- ment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy must ensure this is one area of policy that doesn't get sidetracked by Brexit. Wales. The Japanese multina- tional's announcement that it is assessing the "potential suspen- sion" of the Horizon project will not have calmed jitters. A Hitachi pullout from the Horizon project would be an even bigger blow for the UK's nuclear programme than Toshiba's exit from the Moorside scheme in November. The government has gone out of its way to accommodate Hitachi. The Treasury relaxed its long-standing embargo on underwriting energy projects by agreeing to take a stake in the Horizon scheme. But even with this offer on the table, Hitachi appears to

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