Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 3RD - 9TH MAY 2019 | 27 Speculation has been mounting about the future of SSE's retail arm since the proposed merger with Npower collapsed last year – and now the company is reported to have approached Talk Talk about a deal. According to Sky News, SSE has been trying to find a buyer or merger partner and has been in discussions with telecom- munications company Talk Talk ENERGY Talk Talk named in speculation on future of SSE Energy Services and other "utility providers" in recent weeks. "City insiders said this weekend it [SSE] had stepped up efforts to find a suitor for the division [SSE Energy Services], which supplies close to six mil- lion households across Britain," Sky reported. News outlets have acknowl- edged that a tie-up between SSE and Talk Talk is "highly unlikely" to proceed, while both companies have declined to comment on the speculation. SSE told Utility Week it would not be appropriate to comment on market speculation and its statement from the "notification of close period still stands". The company is expected to provide an update on 22 May when it publishes its full-year results. This week Green gas supplying one million homes Number of customers using green gas to heat their homes has risen by a factor of 13 since 2017 One million homes are now being supplied with biogas produced through the anaero- bic digestion of farm and food waste, new data from the Green Gas Certification Scheme (GGCS) has shown. The number of customers using green gas to heat their homes has risen by a factor of 13 since 2017. Annual pro- duction has hit 2.5TWh – a fourfold increase on 2015. "We're very pleased to see so many households are now supporting green gas production in the UK," said GGCS manager Jesse Scharf. "Together with the increas- ing number of businesses, small and large, that are also sourcing green gas, they are creating an important drive towards greening our gas system." Renewable Energy Association head of biogas Kiara Zennaro said: "The real strength of biogas is that it is an established and commercially ready technology and can therefore help the country deliver swi™ progress towards greening the grid. "More and more energy companies are offering green gas tariffs and the chancellor's supportive statements about green gas in the spring statement show that its ben- efits are even being recognised at the top of government." According to the GGCS website, green gas tariffs are currently offered by 11 energy suppliers, including Green Energy UK, whose chief executive Doug Stewart said: "Since launching green gas two years ago, we have seen a 209 per cent increase in customers wanting us to supply them with green gas. Green gas is not only better for the environment, but it means millions of tonnes of organic waste which would otherwise be sent to landfill, incinerated or simply le™ to rot gets put to good use heating our homes." TG WATER Trust in English retail market falls Research undertaken by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has detailed a drop in levels of satisfaction and trust by non-domestic customers in their water companies. According to the figures, 87 per cent were satisfied with their water services in 2018, com- pared with 93 per cent in 2016. Similarly, the water watch- dog revealed in its Testing the Waters report that 35 per cent of polled customers gave their service a trust score of nine or ten out of ten in 2016, whereas only 29 per cent did the same last year. Business customers' view as to whether their water company cares about the service it provides has also fallen from 62 per cent in 2016 to 52 per cent in 2018. From a retail perspective, 19 per cent of customers said they would switch company for savings of 1-5 per cent, com- pared with only 11 per cent in 2016. Over this two-year period, only 15 per cent said they would not switch at all, down from the 23 per cent who said the same previously. Nine out of ten of those who switched supplier were satisfied with the process; however, only two out of five small businesses were actually aware that they could switch. Lack of awareness continues to hamper the market. Mike Keil, head of policy and research at CCWater, said: "Satisfaction levels are a crucial test of how well a market is delivering for customers and our research doesn't paint a very positive picture. "For the market to be a long-term success, retailers and wholesalers need to work together to get to grips with the difficulties that have hampered the first two years of competition." ELECTRICITY Vattenfall signs Isle of Man trading deal Swedish energy group Vattenfall has announced a deal with Manx Utilities to provide flexible elec- tricity trading opportunities with the British wholesale market. Under the agreement, the Isle of Man's publicly owned energy supplier will buy and sell power through Vattenfall's Flex Expert electricity trading platform, with power imported and exported through the island's intercon- nector to the mainland. When generators on the island produce more than it needs, Manx Utilities can sell that power through Vattenfall's platform and when the Isle of Man is short, Manx Utilities can remotely order what it needs without having to make a phone call or send an email. Manx Utilities chair Dr Alex Allinson MHK said: "This new partnership… gives us access to expertise on a range of new tech- nologies which will be essential for us to meet our commitments to address climate change." Anaerobic digestion of waste produces biogas Options on the table previ- ously announced by SSE include a "sale", a "demerger" or an "alternative transaction". A spokesperson for SSE said: "All options are being assessed with the interests of customers, employees and shareholders being given full consideration. SSE intends to provide an assessment of the preferred option by the end of May 2019."

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