Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH JUNE 2019 | 9 Special report This year's Utility Week Live featured the rst Gas Innovation Showcase. The showcase brought together the ve UK gas distribution and transmission networks – Cadent, National Grid Gas Transmission, Northern Gas Networks, SGN, and Wales & West Utilities – and the industry's trade asso- ciation, the Energy Networks Association. One of the key projects showcased over the two days was an initiative to explore Gas Decarbonisation Pathways. This involves all ve gas networks and aims to build a low-cost, low-carbon network and develop new technologies that make the most of biogas, bioSNG, hydrogen and smart hybrid heating systems. The Future of Gas session in the Network theatre also explored the role for gas in decarbonising heat, transport and other energy vectors. The general consensus seems to be that one size won't t all. The industry has already worked to reduce carbon emissions but there are challenges ahead as networks aim to achieve ambitious targets. All of this is being delivered against a backdrop of customers' shi‹ ing expectations and the role of emerging technologies. At Utility Week Live it was great to see collaboration in action and an acknowledgement that a multitude of tailored solutions is the way forward. In a Customer Solutions Threatre session exploring the future of reg- ulation, former MP Laura Sandys said consumers should be placed at the heart of regulation as the utilities market evolves. The now chief executive of policy think-tank Challenging Ideas suggested the industry is "looking at the future but still dealing with the regulation of the past". Sandys, who is also chair of the Energy Data Task Force – which was created to advise government, Ofgem and industry – said we are moving from a centralised system to a "massively dispersed one" that is much more complex, but in her view it is also "more exciting". Meanwhile, in a separate session on regulation, Ofgem revealed that it would be consulting on market tests for removing the price cap "in weeks". Mary Starks, Ofgem's executive director of consumers and mar- kets, said the conditions in which the regulator would want to li‹ the cap before 2023 is something it gave "a lot of thought to". Under legislation, the price cap, which came into e• ect on 1 January this year, is a temporary measure that will lapse in 2023 at the˜latest. Starks said: "One of the current things we are giving a lot of thought to is what are the conditions in which we would want to li‹ the cap before 2023, and what kind of regulatory settlement might we need a‹ er the cap to make sure that people still feel that prices are fair, that they are not open to exploitation and runaway energy prices again." The role of gas in decarbonisation The future of regulation and lifting the price cap Alec Peach, editor, Network Key water decisions ahead The water industry needs to make important decisions in a timely manner if it wants to be best placed to protect water supplies in the future, Utility week Live heard. At a session about managing water resources, Yvette de Garis, head of environmen- tal regulation for Thames Water, said the sector cannot a• ord delays to major infrastructure projects and there has to be a greater focus on implementing water resources plans to ensure supply meets future demand. De Garis said Thames' water resource man- agement plan addresses the scenario outlined by Sir James Bevan, chair of the Environment Agency in his "jaws of death" speech in March. She warned: "If the supply and demand deˆ cit increases any more we will end up in a critical situation." Thames Water has long been embroiled in a debate about the need for a new reservoir in its operating area. De Garis insisted the company's customers want a greater certainty of water sup- ply and has asked it to plan for a 1-in-200 event instead of a 1-in-100 event. The company, along with others in the South East, faces challenges such as climate change and population growth in an already water- stressed region. By 2045, Thames Water expects a further two million people will be living in its'area. continued overleaf ☛ More water words from the conference fl oor John Russell, Ofwat's senior director of strategy and planning, said it was essential the water sector doesn't kick the can down the road when it comes to ensuring resilient supply for future generations. Referencing last year's heatwave, Elizabeth Brook, scienti c consultant at the Met O• ce, said it was hard to predict anything beyond 2050. Calls for net-zero emissions by the mid- century could mitigate against hotter, drier summers. "Doing nothing is not an option to meet water demand in the future," warned Daniel Yarker, senior asset scientist at A• nity Water. Leakage will continue to be a major challenge in AMP7 (2020-25) and perhaps the industry is not yet aware of just how challenging that may be, according to Dene Marshallsay, director of Artesia Consulting. Drilling & Tapping @drillandtapping Congratulations to @AnglianWater on winning our 2019 Drilling and Tapping Championship – sponsored again by Talis – with a run of 2 minutes 13. Well done lads! #UWL19 #DrillingandTapping19 Elexon We've been expanding our industry insight at #UWL19 meeting various exhibitors and listening to panel dis- cussions. The energy codes landscape is highly fragmented and complex and can hamper innovation. We strongly support simpliˆ cation and consolidation of the energy codes. http://ow.ly/ Xe8s30oNItn Show posts

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