Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 26TH APRIL - 2ND MAY 2019 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Interview Patrick Erwin, policy and markets director, Northern Powergrid 10 Policy & Regulation 10 | News Adonis: NPS 'ducks' answers on water 12 | Analysis An exclusive survey into public attitudes to the energy price cap 15 | Analysis Water-only companies fail to impress Ofwat 16 Finance & Investment 16 | News Funding delays Tonik Energy accounts 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz Hinkley Point C contract 19 | Market view Customer journey mapping 20 | Roundtable Enabling the Energy Transformation 22 | Awards case study Northumbrian Water's Transformation and Innovation Award 25 Customers 25 | News Complaints about switching on the rise 27 | Chief executive's view Lawrence Slade, Energy UK 29 | Market view Smart city opportunities 30 Community 31 | Disconnector GAS 19 | Market view Customer journey mapping WATER 10 | News Adonis: NPS 'ducks' answers on water 15 | Analysis Water-only companies fail to impress Ofwat 22 | Awards case study Northumbrian Water's Transformation and Innovation Award ELECTRICITY 6 | Interview Patrick Erwin, policy and markets director, Northern Powergrid 18 | High viz Hinkley Point C contract ENERGY 12 | Analysis An exclusive survey into public attitudes to the energy price cap 16 | News Funding delays Tonik Energy accounts 20 | Roundtable Enabling the Energy Transformation 25 | News Complaints about switching on the rise 27 | Chief executive's view Lawrence Slade, Energy UK 29 | Market view Smart city opportunities 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 Leader Suzanne Heneghan Earth calling utilities T he race to save the planet is on and utilities are at the heart of it. This may not be breaking news to energy and water company bosses, long committed to facilitating decarbonisation and environ- mental protection. Yet, as the groundswell of public concern builds over climate change – fuelled by protests from the headline-grabbing Extinc- tion Rebellion (XR) group – utilities have suddenly been thrust into an escalating global debate. Screens have been • lled with footage of eco-warriors staging various stunts to achieve "The Pause", their bid to bring London to a standstill and make authorities think and act on global warming. Agree or disagree with XR's tactics, they have done much to raise awareness of their three core demands, that government "tells the truth about climate change", reduces carbon emissions to zero by 2025, and creates a citizens' assembly to oversee progress. Grist to their mill has been Sir David Attenborough's • lm Climate Change – The Facts, which has added to the noise about what could happen if global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees and CO2 emissions fail to fall in the next decade. Warnings of animal extinction, extreme weather, rising sea levels, deforestation and warming straying beyond man-made control are chill- ing, and not just for the public. The Beast from the East's freak storms and " ooding have been di• cult shadows for the utilities industry to shake o– . When the most famous champion of the world steps up with a call to arms to protect the planet, you know it's serious – something energy giant Shell discovered when protesters paid its London HQ a visit as part of a "creative disruption" drive that led to several arrests. And protesters cranked up the pressure by staging a demonstration outside biomass plant operator Drax Group's AGM, about the company's receipt of green energy subsidies. Yet unwelcome demos aside, this could all surely be music to the ears of utility companies also working towards a zero-carbon future but calling for more government acknowledgement of the challenges they face (see Energy UK column, p27). Parts of the industry, such as solar and wind, are already emerging as key enablers of a cleaner future. But there is no sign of the • nishing line yet. The move to a smart, green energy future requires greater joined-up policy and regulatory support. Environment secretary Michael Gove reportedly told XR that we had "got the message". Utilities, increasingly in the media • ring line, will be hoping he and his colleagues act on it. Suzanne Heneghan, acting editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com

• Cover