Utility Week

4 | 12TH - 18TH JULY 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Israel's energy dilemma For decades, Israel was an energy- starved country but now it has a different problem. Thanks to major offshore discoveries over the last decade, it has more natural gas than it can use or readily export. Having plenty of gas offers a cleaner-burning alternative to Isra- el's longtime power sources. But it presents challenges for a country that wants to extract geopolitical and economic benefits from a rare energy windfall. The New York Times, 5 July Shell balances shareholder demands Royal Dutch Shell has been walking a fine line between investing in its traditional oil and gas businesses while pledging to develop new ones for a low-carbon future. The energy major, like its European peers in particular, has to placate its traditional investor base as well as a growing number of shareholders concerned about climate change. Financial Times, 8 July Gas and oil firms reclassified on LSE Oil and gas companies listed on the London Stock Exchange have been reclassified under a non-renewable energy category in a move designed to distinguish between heavily polluting companies and greener producers. The change has been made by the index provider FTSE Russell, which now groups companies such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell in the non-renewable energy sector. Coal companies, previously classified under basic materials/mining, also now come under non-renewable energy. Green energy produc- ers, most of which were grouped under alternative energy, have been reclassified under renewable energy. The Guardian, 3 July Around the world Ofwat to probe if Thames abused dominant position O fwat is investigating allegations that Thames Water has been abusing its dominant position in the market. The probe, which launched last month, relates to concerns about smart meter installations, the accuracy of data shared with retailers when the non- domestic market opened up and the fairness of certain terms that Thames applies to retailers. Ofwat confirmed today that it is looking at whether Thames has contravened the prohibition in Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998. A spokesman for Thames said: "We will co-operate fully with the investigation, and pro- vide all the necessary informa- tion to address any concerns." Allegations are: • the approach that Thames Water has taken when install- ing digital smart meters and the impact that this has had on pro- viders of data logging services and their customers; • the accuracy of the data about customers that Thames Water made available to retailers at the time of the opening of the busi- ness retail market; • the fairness of certain contrac- tual credit terms that Thames Water applies to retailers. This development comes aƒer the company has experienced a series of setbacks, not least the abrupt departure of its chief executive, Steve Robertson, aƒer the company received a stinging appraisal from Ofwat for its poor performance on leakage. In July its proposed business plan was knocked back by Ofwat and it, and three other water companies, were told to rework the figures and come back with revised plans by the end of August. JW See news story, facing page; See analysis on Thames' search for a new leader, p22 "The UK should become the Saudi Arabia of wind power" Lobby group the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) called for offshore wind capacity to rise to 75GW by 2050 as part of a wide-ranging manifesto launched last week to reduce emissions and combat the effects of climate change. STORY BY NUMBERS UK 'lags Europe' on EV charging The UK "lags behind" other European countries on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, according to consultancy firm Delta-EE. 20% Proportion of UK EV drivers who have access to the fastest rate of home charging of 22kW or higher. 75% Proportion of German EV users with access to fast home charging. 22% Proportion of UK drivers who use regular plug sockets to charge their cars, the lowest proportion Europe-wide. 73% Proportion of UK EV users using a dedicated charge point at home, the highest Europe-wide.

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