Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 12TH - 18TH APRIL 2019 | 5 "This sends a clear message that EVs are here to stay and need to be built in volume" Daniel Brown, the Renewable Energy Association's policy manager, celebrates the launch of the world's first 24-hour ultra-low emission zone in London. Students from Bradford Forster Academy were given the task of designing a community event as part of Northern Powergrid's "Watt a Community" project to promote its priority service register and to encourage local communities to support vulnerable people during power cuts. Pictured is the winning group. ELECTRICITY Campaigners try to block new gas turbines at Drax Campaigners have handed a peti- tion signed by more than 96,000 people to energy secretary Greg Clark, urging him to block plans by Drax to replace the last two coal units at its power station in Yorkshire with combined-cycle gas turbines. The petition was accompanied by a letter signed by 92 organisa- tions including Biofuelwatch and multiple local branches of Frack Free and Friends of the Earth. The letter also calls for Drax to be pre- vented from bidding for capacity market contracts for the turbines. "Drax is already the UK's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide," the letter states. "Its power sta- tion causes serious harm to the climate and the environment by burning more coal than any other UK plant and more wood than any other plant in the world." Drax said high-efficiency gas power stations would enable age- ing, less efficient plant to close, thus reducing emissions. ELECTRICITY New nuclear minister named Andrew Stephenson has been appointed parliamentary under secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), replacing Richard Harrington, who tendered his resignation to prime minister Theresa May so that he could back plans for the House of Commons to hold indicative votes on the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Stephenson, who supported leaving the EU in the 2016 referen- dum, has taken over the portfolio that includes the nuclear industry. The MP represents the Lanca- shire constituency of Pendle and has not previously held a depart- mental portfolio. WATER Water2business appoints chief operating officer Water2business has appointed Wessex Water's former head of internal audit, Barry Hayward, as its chief operating officer. Hayward, who has 17 years' experience in the industry, takes over from Lynne Stephens, who is retiring after a 38-year career in the sector. The new chief operating officer has worked in various roles in commercial finance, developer services, engineering, operational customer contact and auditing. Speaking of his appointment, Hayward said: "I'm delighted to be joining the motivated, hard- working and customer-focused team that is Water2business and look forward to being a part of the evolving retail market." "For years the energy system has been undergoing rapid changes, and we expect the scale and pace of these changes to continue" Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan, writing in the regulator's forward work programme document for 2019-21. £2.4 million The value of the contract secured by software company Passiv Systems to help deliver a wider connection of green gas into the networks. 30,000 Every year, Yorkshire Water spends £2.4 million clearing 30,000 sewer blockages – 40 per cent of them caused by wet wipes.

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