Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 29TH MARCH - 4TH APRIL 2019 | 21 Customers The managing director of water efficiency campaign group Waterwise has challenged the sector to "throw everything" at per capita consumption (PCC) and reduce it by 50 per cent. Speaking at the not-for-prof- it's annual conference in Lon- don, Nicci Russell praised water companies for their "ambition" but said the organisation would "always like to see more". WATER Waterwise challenges sector to halve per capita consumption Reflecting on the dra… busi- ness plans for PR19 in England and Wales and water resource management plans, she said: "We're really keen to say that we're seeing more ambition than ever before right across the UK – not just in the areas that people would traditionally think of as water-stressed." She highlighted Yorkshire Water as "one of the most" ambi- tious companies on PCC as an example. And she said there has been "fantastic ambition from the government, not least its 25-year environment plan." Sir James Bevan, the chief executive of the Environment Agency warned that England could be just 25 years away from not having enough water to meet demand and is facing the "jaws of death" (see analysis, p10). This week Solarplicity denies SoLR rumours Supplier lets half its meter installers go but 'is not about to enter supplier of last resort process' Challenger supplier Solarplicity has denied rumours it is about to enter the supplier of last resort (SoLR) process but has con- firmed it has let 27 of its meter installers go. The energy retailer, which Ofgem banned from taking on new customers at the end of Feb- ruary, said the figure represents "around 50 per cent" of its installers and that the move was partly a result of the regulator's provisional order. Ofgem said it issued the provisional order (PO) because it was concerned about the energy supplier's "poor" switching process and customer service. Solarplicity's chief executive David Elbourne told Utility Week: "We have let a number of meter installers go (around 50 per cent) for two reasons: the end of the SMETS1 install date, 15 March 2019, means we cannot install SMETS1 going forward; the PO means we can't take on new customers and therefore have less custom- ers for whom we can install smart meters. We expect to re-employ as and when we take on new customers." Ofgem's provisional order means Solarplicity is banned from taking on new customers for up to three months until it resolves customer service issues. The reg- ulator has warned that if the company fails to improve, its supplier licence could be revoked. The order also prevents Solarplicity from increasing direct debits for "vulnerable customers". At the time Ofgem issued the provisional order, Solarplicity said the regulator's decision had been based on "old historical data" and disregarded "vast improve- ments" the supplier had made to its customer service. Solarplicity claimed it had made "substantial addi- tional investment" into its staff and IT systems. AJ ELECTRICITY Switching figures up on early 2018 More than 450,000 electricity customers switched supplier in February, according to the latest figures from Energy UK. In total 452,977 customers made the switch, down 0.1 per cent compared with the same period last year. Yet with 835,642 switches so far this year, the total figure is up 2 per cent compared with the first two months of 2018. In February, 39 per cent of switches were from larger to small and mid-tier suppliers, 13 per cent were from small and mid-tier to larger suppliers, 21 per cent were between larger suppliers and 27 per cent were between small and mid-tier suppliers. Furthermore, the net gain by small and mid-tier energy sup- pliers was 119,042, or 26 per cent of all switches. According to the figures, more than 5.8 million customers switched their supplier last year. Lawrence Slade, chief execu- tive of Energy UK, said: "While there has been a small decrease this month, switching remains up on last year and we hope that, over the coming months, we continue to see high levels of consumers engaging in the market to find the best deal. "I'd encourage energy cus- tomers to take advantage of the deals on offer by either contact- ing their existing supplier or shopping around – and consum- ers can make further savings by ensuring that their house is energy efficient." WATER Severn Trent fined £500k for park spill Severn Trent has been fined £500,000 for discharging thou- sands of gallons of raw sewage into a park in Birmingham. The company told a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court it was "truly sorry" for the incident in November 2013 at Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, a desig- nated site of special scientific interest (SSSI). It was described as among the worst incidents at a SSSI that Natural England has witnessed. A sewer blockage caused sewage to spill from a manhole cover. The source was not found until the next morning, by which time it had spread across 1.15 hectares, and travelled 700 metres along the Longmoor Brook into the Longmoor Pool. The remedy operation by Severn Trent, helped by several local and environmental groups, involved scraping up soil and plants from along the affected area to avoid contamination – 0.65 hectares of rare and sensi- tive wildlife was destroyed. Judge Drew QC shared Natural England's concern about the efficiency of the clear-up effort, but concluded that Severn Trent had taken the necessary action to fix the effects of the spillage and had displayed a long-term com- mitment to restoring the area. Solarplicity says it has invested in staff and IT Russell said: "As we are a campaigning organisation we would always like to see more. Because we are all committed in this room, what we need to do is get everybody else on board and it was great to have Sir James Bevan quoting and hanging lots of his speech on Waterwise wanting to see us getting to 100 litres per capita consumption or lower."

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