Utility Week

Utility Week 22nd March 2019

Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government

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UTILITY WEEK | 22ND - 28TH MARCH 2019 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Interview Liz Barber, director of fi nance, regulation and markets, Yorkshire Water 9 Policy & Regulation 9 | News Chancellor vows to make gas grid greener 10 | Voices The need for an Overall Customer Service score for suppliers 12 | Analysis The chancellor's spring statement 13 | Chief executive's view Michael Roberts, Water UK 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News Innogy considers its Npower options 16 Operations & Assets 16 | High viz Future Biogas's Grange Farm Energy plant 17 | Market view Resilience modelling 18 | Roundtable Keeping up with cyber security 20 | Analysis The NIS regulations 22 | Case study The Utility Week Diversity Award 24 Customers 24 | News SMETS1 rollout goes on past cut-off date 25 | View from the top Neil Pendle, managing director, Waterscan 27 | Opinion Roger Harris, Elexon 28 | Analysis DNO customer engagement 30 Community 31 | Disconnector GAS 9 | News Chancellor vows to make gas grid greener 12 | Analysis The chancellor's spring statement 16 | High viz Future Biogas's Grange Farm Energy plant WATER 6 | Interview Liz Barber, director of fi nance, regulation and markets, Yorkshire Water 13 | Chief executive's view Michael Roberts, Water UK 17 | Market view Resilience modelling 27 | View from the top Neil Pendle, managing director, Waterscan 28 | Analysis DNO customer engagement ELECTRICITY 22 | Case study The Utility Week Diversity Award ENERGY 10 | Voices The need for an Overall Customer Service score for suppliers 15 | News Innogy considers its Npower options 18 | Roundtable Keeping up with cyber security 20 | Analysis The NIS regulations 24 | News SMETS1 rollout goes on past cut-off date Leader Suzanne Heneghan A heated debate J ust when gas looked like casting o its Cinderella image thanks to growing support for biogas and hydrogen, along comes the chancellor. Philip Ham- mond's spring statement last week, which included a ban on gas heating in all new-build homes from 2025, was far from fairy godmother news for a sector long in the shadow of its noisier energy sister, electricity. Indeed it was dismissed by some industry observers as "window dressing" and "more unwelcome uncertainty" for a sector facing the historic challenge of decarbonisation. If companies could have been granted one wish, it would prob- ably be to see less political theatre around this vital energy question and more substance about actual alternatives. Not only did Hammond's line about "mandating the end of fossil fuel heat- ing systems in all new houses from 2025" leave his audience in the dark as to whether he would ultimately ban all new homes from being connected to the gas grid – the preferred approach of the government's advisory body, the Com- mittee on Climate Change – there was little clarity over what homeowners might use instead of gas boilers under his new Future Homes Standard. It all feels like a work in progress, with obvious parallels to electric vehicles policy. Industry contacts I spoke to this week were patently frustrated at what one described as "world-leading rhetoric" on decarbonisation "without any agreed pathway ahead for gas". Which is a shame, particularly with gas undergoing a renaissance of late. Many will recall how, at the time of the last price controls, all the talk was about preparing for the decommissioning of gas networks. Things changed thanks to the promise of hydrogen, which would use a repurposed gas grid. But progress on that could be a ected if the government opts against connecting future new homes to the grid. A question mark now sits over what the industry should be trying achieve over the next ‹ ve years, making it harder to set price controls and reassure investors. Work has been going on for years on a heat strategy, with gas networks lead- ing the way in developing the technology needed to make biogas and hydrogen a part of the equation. The chancellor's accompanying commitment in the spring statement to injecting historic levels of green gas into the grid is welcome. But with so much happening in the background, should government not steer clear of piecemeal pledges until it can o er a more comprehensive picture? The government has been quick to say it must have an evidence base to inform its ministers. But if it hasn't yet got all that evidence, should ministers be making sweeping announcements? If it has, then shouldn't it be sharing it with everybody? Suzanne Heneghan, acting editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com DOWNLOAD: How to beat the digital disruptors at their own game https://bit.ly/2MfKXA8 See the Community section, page 30 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 Adapters, supplier interfaces, workflow and job scheduling systems. MATS' purpose-built 53 Million Smart Meters by 2020? YOU MUST BE QUACKERS! AN APPSOLUTE MUST IFS: Sponsored report: Getting Ahead in the Diversifying Energy Market https://bit.ly/2MXkFkI

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