Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH FEBRUARY 2019 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Campaign What utilities must do to change their public image 10 Policy & Regulation 10 | News Holyrood unfazed by Our Power collapse 11 | Chief executive's view John Morea, SGN 12 | Analysis Few winners and many losers in Ofwat's initial PR19 fi ndings 17 Finance & Investment 17 | News Greencoat buys into two SSE windfarms 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz RAF Marham's AD plant 19 | Market view Distributed generation and the grid 20 | Analysis What will fi ll the gap left by unbuilt nuclear plants? 22 | Market view Equipping frontline workers with the right mobile tools 22 | Market view We should learn from France's smart meter rollout 23 Customers 23 | News Smart Energy clear of all but one complaint 26 | Analysis Everything you need to know about SIM scores 28 | Awards case study United Utilities and Apadmi's Customer Engagement Award 30 Community 31 | Disconnector GAS 11 | Chief executive's view John Morea, SGN 22 | Market view Equipping frontline workers WATER 12 | Analysis Few winners and many losers in Ofwat's initial PR19 fi ndings 26 | Analysis Everything you need to know about SIM scores 28 | Awards case study United Utilities and Apadmi's Customer Engagement Award ELECTRICITY 10 | News Holyrood unfazed by Our Power collapse 18 | High viz RAF Marham's AD plant 19 | Market view Distributed generation and the grid 20 | Analysis What will fi ll the gap left by unbuilt nuclear plants? 17 | News Greencoat buys into two SSE windfarms ENERGY 6 | Campaign What utilities must do to change their public image 22 | Market view Lessons from France's smart meter rollout 23 | News Smart Energy clear of all but one complaint DOWNLOAD: How to beat the digital disruptors at their own game https://bit.ly/2MfKXA8 See the Community section, page 30 Leader Lois Vallely High expectations Water companies have slaved away for months to deliver their PR19 business plans in a volatile political and regulatory climate. So it's no surprise that they've become attached to them. Thames Water boss Steve Robertson even admitted to Utility Week he felt like the "proud dad" of his "baby" – a plan which includes a new strategic reservoir and the exploration of water transfers. No parent likes their child to be criticised, so it is under- standable that he is unhappy with Ofwat's initial critique and call for the company to resubmit its plans (see analysis, p12). It's a disappointment that has reverberated around the indus- try since Ofwat gave its verdict on 31 January – that no company is exceptional. The regulator had signalled that it would push companies harder than ever before on behalf of customers and the environment. But until now, no-one knew how much. And just when they may have thought the environment secretary had gone away, Michael Gove waded in on the same day to reiterate how he fully expects the revised plans to deliver more. Yet the feeling in the industry is that this set of plans is decid- edly better than those put forward in previous price reviews, which makes the lack of an exceptional company even more striking. Congratulations must go to Severn Trent, United Utilities and South West, whose plans have "set a new standard". All three were fast-tracked, so they can take a short breath while the rest of the sec- tor works to get their proposals up to scratch. However, some industry players question how they are supposed to deliver more for less. In Thames' case, it is expected to cut costs from £11.7 million to £9.4 million – the biggest reduction in the sec- tor. Perhaps "exceptional" is an unreachable goal – a symbolic cat- egory placed there to prove how strong the regulator is. If that's the case, it's certainly worked. Maybe companies just didn't think it was worth going for excep- tional status. In its • nal methodology, Ofwat said exceptional • rms would get 20-35 basis points added to their return on regulated equity – only 10-15 basis points more than fast-track companies get. Plus, both categories get the same level of early certainty. Or is it really because no company demonstrated a high enough level of ambition? As one source told Utility Week, it would have taken something truly earth-shattering to turn Ofwat's head. Whatever the reason, the fact the top spot remains empty is evidence of just how tough PR19 is. Many "proud parents" have been told their babies are ugly. Now, it is up to them to respond. Lois Vallely, features editor, loisvallely@fav-house.com If you are responsible for your company's outsourced or internal customer service centre we can deliver compelling cost savings to your business, with a typical rate for an FTE of just £10 per hour. Synergy operates an established Contact Centre in a modern and thriving part of Durban, South Africa employing experienced and highly educated staff. We already successfully work with a number of UK utilities across a range of services: If you would like to see our operation for yourself we can fly you, at our cost, to South Africa. Here we will give you a full tour of our facilities, a presentation on how we work and access to our professional teams. For further information please contact steve.cripwell@synergyoutsourcingltd.co.uk / 020 7932 4171 or toby.selves@synergyoutsourcingltd.co.uk / 020 7932 4116 Double your successful meter installation rate and halve your costs with MATS - the new Universal SMETS2 Commissioning Mobile App from Cloud KB. It works with all DCC 53 Million Smart Meters by 2020? YOU MUST BE QUACKERS! AN APPSOLUTE MUST

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