Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH MARCH 2019 | 5 "Motoring tax needs a rethink. Failure to act now or even signal the direction of future taxation is already threatening to hold back the Road to Zero vision" Gerry Keaney, chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, says the current emissions-based tax regime is "not effective enough" and needs an overhaul. Eon has completed construction of its Future Energy Home system at Berkeley Homes' Kidbrooke Village development in London. Thought to be the first of its kind, a range of innovative energy devices are controlled via a single, tablet-based dashboard. Over time, the system can learn the habits of its owners and develop into a virtual assistant – predicting when residents are returning home and adjusting energy use accordingly. ELECTRICITY Shell snaps up Limejump Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has agreed to buy smart energy company Limejump for an undisclosed sum. Limejump is an electricity aggregation company and in August became the first player to be permitted to enter a "virtual power plant" into the UK's balancing mechanism. Limejump chief executive Erik Nygard said: "Shell will help us to drive our innovative technology platform to new heights and support the Limejump team to make a bigger impact on the industry than previously possible. This agreement supports our continued mission to revolutionise the energy industry." WATER Thames Water clamps down on water theft Thames Water has revealed details of four court cases in which companies and individuals were fined for illegally tapping into supplies across London and the Thames Valley. Kilgannon Street Care and Go Plant Fleet Services, both street cleaning companies, pleaded guilty to multiple offences of using unau- thorised and unlicensed stand- pipes to take water from street connections. They were ordered to pay £9,000 and £8,500, respectively, in fines and costs. Two individuals were also found guilty of water theft. Sebastian Thomas, of Spencers Croft, Har- low, was found guilty of illegally connecting four new-build houses in the Waltham Forest area. He was ordered to pay £1,000 in fines and costs. Mawahedul Mowla Khan, of Dames Road, Stratford, was found guilty in his absence of illegally connecting a water supply to four flats he was converting in Clinton Road, Stratford. On 20 Decem- ber, magistrates fined him the maximum of £1,000 each for two separate offences. ELECTRICITY EV charging grids 'must be interoperable' The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has urged electric vehicle (EV) charging companies to work together to develop or adopt com- mon communications standards to allow their networks to become interoperable. In a report, the trade body said enabling drivers to switch seam- lessly between networks would alleviate concerns over access to charging and accelerate the mass take-up of EVs. According to the paper, the past two years have seen a proliferation of charging companies, with the National Chargepoint Registry putting the latest tally at 36. "If we are to expect DNOs to become DSOs, it would seem illogical that they shouldn't be a part of the landscape of funding energy efficiency" Energy Saving Trust chief executive Philip Sellwood told a BEIS committee inquiry into energy efficiency that DNOs should help fund the installation of energy efficiency measures for low-income households. £10m GoCompare will invest around £10 million in marketing its auto- mated switching service Weflip in 2019 to "unlock the potential for exceptional growth". £54m Utilities and infrastructure spe- cialists Ipsum Group has acquired Euro Environmental Utilities Group in a deal that will double its annual revenues.

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