Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD MAY 2019 | 5 Council-backed energy supplier Bristol Energy has launched a 100 per cent green electricity tariff in partnership with The Big Issue. The Big Issue green tariff costs £1,078.15 on average, below the current level of the £1,254 default price cap, and is a two-year fixed deal which will offer customers 100 per cent green electricity and 15 per cent green gas. ENERGY SSE job cuts down to price cap and smart meters Big six supplier SSE is planning to cut hundreds of jobs with "voluntary enhanced redundancy opportunities" for its customer service and metering teams. A total of 444 jobs will be affected. The energy giant said that like other suppliers it was "facing challenges" because of increased competition, the introduction of the default tariff cap and higher operating costs. In a statement, Tony Keeling, chief operating officer and co-head of retail at SSE Energy Services, said: "To run a sustainable busi- ness, we need to become more efficient and ensure we have the right number of employees in the right locations to best serve our customers." WATER Domestic water market 'by 2022' The opening of a competitive domestic water market will occur within the next three years, cus- tomer communication company Quadient has predicted. Mustafa Atik, energy and utili- ties expert at Quadient, said: "The big four energy suppliers have seen their business drop, partly because they weren't ready for the explosion of consumer power that opening the industry created." He said water companies should learn those lessons. Dr Mike Keil, head of policy and research at the Consumer Council for Water, was less certain of the inevitability of a domestic market. He said: "Our research shows that domestic water competition would fall well short of delivering the sav- ings that many households expect and that has dampened people's enthusiasm for choice." ELECTRICITY Britain runs for a week without coal The power grid operated for more than seven days without any domestic coal generation, National Grid has confirmed. The one-week mark was reached on 8 May, and is the long- est coal-free period in Great Britain since the first coal power station was opened in London in 1882. Fintan Slye, director, electricity system operator, National Grid, said such events would soon become the "new normal". "As more and more renewables come onto our energy system, coal-free runs like this are going to be a regular occurrence," he said. "We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate zero carbon…" He added: "Operating a zero- carbon electricity system in 2025, whenever there is sufficient renew- able generation, is a major step- ping stone to full decarbonisation of the entire electricity system. This will enable new technologies and removes barriers to ever increas- ing levels of renewables." "We are disappointed Ofgem has chosen to issue this provisional order when we are already complying with the requirements it sets out" Energy company Solarplicity responds after Ofgem issues it with a second provisional order to pay outstanding money to feed-in tariff generators. (p12) 61 metres The depth of the new borehole being drilled to supply residents in Bed- fordshire as part of a £1.2 million scheme by Anglian Water. "Anything prior to 2050 looks very costly" Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, defends the committee's decision to choose 2050 as the UK's target date for achieving its net zero goal.

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