Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 10TH - 16TH MAY 2019 | 9 Policy & Regulation This week Smart meter rollout 'should be opt-out' Eon director calls for opt-out approach as con- sumers fail to embrace smart meter technology Receiving a smart meter should be an "opt-out" as opposed to an opt-in process, the political and regulatory affairs director at Eon has suggested. Speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum keynote seminar on 30 April, Sara Vaughan said there is a "problem" with encouraging consumers to embrace the smart meter rollout. "We have got all the technicians we need, we have got all the installers, we can get out there and we can cover the country," she said. "The one thing we are having a problem with at the moment is getting through people's doors and encouraging them to embrace this. "One of the things that we are hoping is that electric vehicles (EVs) will be the key that unlocks this – as peo- ple begin to engage with EVs then they will engage more with their energy. "What I would really like to see is a change in the discussion that we are having around smart meters. I would also like to see it become an opt-out rather than an opt-in programme," she added. The smart meter rollout requires suppliers to offer a device to all households by the end of 2020. The scheme has been plagued with issues since its conception more than a decade ago, including some first-generation devices "going dumb" when customers switch supplier. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy says installation activity by large energy sup- pliers was down 16 per cent in the last quarter of 2018 compared with the same period a year earlier. AJ ENERGY Scotland revises net zero target to 2045 The Scottish government has unveiled legislation to turn the north of the border into a net zero greenhouse gas emission zone by 2045 – five years earlier than the rest of the UK. The Holyrood administra- tion has lodged amendments to the Climate Change Bill to set a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 "at the latest". The target means the only emissions are from indus- tries that are more difficult to de carbonise, such as aviation. Under the Scottish govern- ment's revised timetable, Scot- land will cut its emissions by 70 per cent of 1990 levels by 2030 and by 90 per cent by 2040. ELECTRICITY Call for national EV charging network Backing for a "truly national" charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) is one of the tests chancellor Philip Hammond will be set to demonstrate that the government's National Infra- structure Strategy is "credible". Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commis- sion, told an event on 1 May that the NIC will write to Hammond to set out the tests the upcom- ing blueprint must meet. These include supporting a "truly national, visible" charging network for EVs to achieve the target of all new car and van sales being electric by 2030. Speaking at an all-party parliamentary group on infra- structure panel discussion at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London, Sir John said: "The government's strategy must send a clear signal that it is serious about giving the UK the world- class infrastructure the economy will need up to 2050." PAN-UTILITY Watchdog will need sharper teeth The government's mooted post-Brexit environment watchdog should be equipped with "sharper teeth" to enforce breaches of environmental law, MPs have recommended. The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee's scrutiny report of the legisla- tion establishing the Office for Environmental Protection says it requires "significant revision" to meet the government's ambi- tious goals for the new body. The committee acknowledges the government has made a "real attempt" to establish a robust framework for safeguard- ing the environment, but it "still has some way to go to match its ambition" to ensure the environ- ment is better protected. EVs could help to drive take-up of smart meters Political Agenda David Blackman "Climate change is once again a hot topic for MPs" The Green success at last week's local elections, when the party scored a record number of coun- cil seats, was a powerful confir- mation that the politics of global warming are coming of age. The breakthrough was undoubtedly fuelled by its strong opposition to Brexit but also reflects how climate change has rocketed to the top of the political agenda. Another straw in the wind was MPs' unanimous backing for Labour's motion that the UK risks of the issue becoming a party political football. There's not much evidence of that at the moment. Nearly 100 MPs from across the political spectrum queued up to speak at last Wednesday's climate emer- gency debate. But there is the risk that this extraordinary consensus may begin to break down once the implications of the CCC's advice, which include far-reaching changes to the way we heat our homes, begin to sink in. parliament should become the first in the world to declare a climate emergency. Labour's decision to throw its weight so visibly behind climate change could be seen as an attempt to divert attention from its divisions on Brexit. But the party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has a long-standing history of commitment to environmental causes, including opposition to the expansion of Heathrow Airport and nuclear power. Lord Deben, chair of the Committee on Climate Change, raised concerns, though, at last week's launch of his organisa- tion's net zero report about the

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