Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 25TH - 31ST JANUARY 2019 | 11 Policy & Regulation This week Economy Energy must not sell customers to E Regulator blocks transfer of 30,000 customers from failed supplier under deal struck in December Regulator Ofgem has blocked the transfer of thousands of former customers of failed supplier Economy Energy to E (Gas and Electricity) Limited. Ofgem has discovered that Economy Energy "agreed the sale" of about 30,000 custom- ers to E in December 2018. The move may have been a last-ditch attempt by Economy Energy – which ceased trading on 8 January – to prevent its demise. Ofgem has issued a provisional order to stop E completing the switch. It said Economy Energy failed to notify Ofgem of the sale when it stopped trading. The regulator believes that the contract between E and Economy Energy may no longer be effective as a result of Economy Energy ceasing to trade and the appointment of Ovo Energy to take on its customers. The provisional order, which will remain in place for up to three months unless it is confirmed, is designed to "prevent further harm and uncertainty" being experi- enced by former customers of the failed supplier while Ofgem investigates the transaction. During the period of the order, E must stop the trans- fer of all former customers of Economy Energy to E and write to Ofgem to state what steps it has taken to satisfy the requirements of the provisional order. Matthew Vickers, chief executive and chief ombuds- man at the Energy Ombudsman, said: "The supplier of last resort (SoLR) process is there to protect people when a supplier fails. It needs to be straightforward and low stress." AJ WATER Sector must not be an 'invisible service' Customer satisfaction in the water industry will not be achieved by "providing a largely invisible public service," Ofwat's senior director of corporate com- munications has warned. Speaking at Utility Week's Water Customer Conference in Birmingham last week, Claire Forbes said customers want to feel they know their water company. She suggested that in the future the visibility of compa- nies, relationship building and perceived relevance will be a "driver of customer satisfaction". In a "new endeavour" for the regulator, she outlined how Ofwat has been talking to customers to ensure it does not become "disconnected". ENERGY May's defeat stokes 'no-deal' Brexit fears The House of Commons' rejec- tion of Theresa May's Brexit agreement means uncertainty for utilities and the risk of a "damaging" withdrawal from the EU without a deal, Energy UK has warned. Lawrence Slade, chief execu- tive of Energy UK, said: "As the parliamentary discussions con- tinue, we reiterate our serious concerns over a possible no-deal Brexit which would be so dam- aging for the energy sector and its customers. "It is critical we ensure the smooth functioning of markets, and the efficient flow of gas and electricity and co-operation on tacking climate change, in order to keep bills down for UK cus- tomers and businesses without compromising on protecting our environment." Emma Pinchbeck, deputy chief executive of Renewable UK, said quitting the EU without a deal threatened to "jeopardise" investment and jobs in the UK's renewable energy sector. ENERGY REA starts its own bioenergy review The Renewable Energy Associa- tion (REA) has launched a "far reaching" exercise examining the future of bioenergy, ahead of the government's own delayed review of the sector. The REA said it would pro- vide a "comprehensive, up-to- date" assessment of the current role of bioenergy and how it can help the UK meet carbon targets by the year 2032 – when the UK's final carbon budget will end – as well as the 2050 goals. According to the association, the publication of its bioenergy strategy will come two years aer the expected first review of the government's 2012 bioenergy strategy. Vickers: SoLR is there to protect people Political Agenda David Blackman "Energy secretary Greg Clark faces awkward questions" Hitachi's suspension of its UK nuclear new build programme is a major blow to the UK's energy strategy. Business and energy secre- tary Greg Clark revealed that, as well as taking a one-third equity stake in Wylfa and agreeing to shoulder all of the project's debt financing, a strike price of £75/ MW hour was on offer to Hitachi. It is hard to see how the govern- ment could have been much more accommodating. Clark's admission that new ity has planning consent but is not being built out because of the government's bar on allow- ing it into the CfD process. Energy minister Claire Perry has argued that the government cannot renege on its manifesto commitment on the issue. However the energy white paper, to be published this sum- mer, provides an opportunity to explore fresh thinking for the next parliament. Hitachi's decision makes this kind of fresh thinking all the more pressing. build nuclear has been "outcom- peted" points to a shi in the UK's long-standing reliance on nuclear as its last resort source of generation capacity. Renewable generation hit a new record high in the second quarter of 2018, which included the first month of last summer's heatwave. And solar generation helped pick up the slack created by the "wind drought" that stopped the turbines spinning across much of the UK during June, illustrating the renewable system's growing resilience. Meanwhile, Clark faces awkward questions. Recent fig- ures show that about 12TWh of onshore wind generation capac-

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