Utility Week

4 | 22ND - 28TH FEBRUARY 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... BP: renewables will boom as China slows Global demand for renewable power will soar at an unprecedented pace over the coming decades, BP said in a benchmark report this week, while China's energy growth will sharply decelerate as its eco- nomic expansion slows. Still, China is set to remain the largest energy consumer into 2040, although India should overtake it in terms of demand growth, beginning in the next decade, the British oil and gas giant said in its 2019 Energy Outlook report. Reuters, 14 February Australia's drought 'is hurting children' A prolonged drought in Australia is having a devastating impact on children and forcing them to "grow up" prematurely, a UN report warns. Large parts of eastern Australia have endured severe drought for months, crippling farming com- munities. Children in these areas are resilient but endure a growing psychological toll, said the UN's children's agency. Many children have "long and stressful" days that involve witnessing strain on their parents and animals, Unicef said. BBC News, 19 February Great Barrier Reef coral at risk of bleaching from Queensland floods Freshwater bleaching of corals could occur this year as a result of flood waters from Queensland's overflowing rivers pouring into the waters around the Great Barrier Reef, the marine park authority has warned. The authority told Senate estimates hearings in Canberra on Monday that there is a chance corals hit by mass bleaching in 2016 or 2017 could be damaged again in one of multiple impacts from the flooding disaster. The Guardian, 18 February National media Thames Water accuses Castle Water of 'scare tactics' F ollowing a decision in Thames Water's favour last month in a trading dispute with Castle Water, Castle has sent out letters to its customers saying that Thames is proposing to back-bill them on the basis of volume estimates unrelated to their usage. Thames has described the claims as "inaccurate and mis- leading". Last month the Trading Dis- putes Committee (TDC) backed Thames Water in a dispute over incorrect meter readings. Thames had argued that around 12,000 supply point identifica- tions (SPIDs), used in switching water retail services, had had their yearly volume estimate (YVE) data changed to a value of "1" in the central market operat- ing systems by Castle Water, impacting Thames's wholesale revenue and leakage reports. Following the TDC's ruling, Castle and Thames agreed to a rectification plan. However, in a letter to customers, Castle's chief executive John Reynolds has warned customers of a "major potential change" to their bills that "could multiply them by up to seven times". The letter stated that Thames has proposed to charge all customers based on "volume estimates unrelated to their own usage", a move which Castle describes as "unjustified". It is understood that the Olympic Park in east London (pictured) has been billed using estimates for leisure facili- ties based on original bills dur- ing the much greater footfall of the 2012 Olympics. It is thought that multiple NHS sites, University College London, the universities of Sur- rey, Kingston, the South Bank and St Mary's, and 50 schools will be among those affected. One school with an annual bill of £10,000 is believed to be fac- ing back-billing of £70,000. Thames responded by saying Castle was giving out "inaccurate and misleading" information, and accused Castle of "scare tactics". Thames said it up to Castle Water what it charged its customers and that the business retailer had "under- estimated" the volume of water usage of some customers. AJ "Ofgem opened the door to supplier price rises earlier this month, and now the big six are kicking it down" Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket, responding to the news about British Gas raising its standard variable tariff in line with Ofgem's revised price cap. STORY BY NUMBERS Switching rose in January Almost 400,000 electricity custom- ers switched sup- plier in January, an increase of 5 per cent on the same time last year. 382,665 customers switched in January. 107,409 was the net gain of customers by small and mid-tier suppliers – 28 per cent of all switches. 40% of switches were from larger to small and mid-tier suppliers. 12% were from small and mid-tier to larger suppliers 21% were between larger suppliers. 27% were between small and mid-tier suppliers.

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