Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH AUGUST 2019 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Inside story Does a new cabinet mean the government will end the policy logjam? 10 | Utility of the Future Addressing effi ciency to mitigate climate change 14 Policy & Regulation 14 | News White paper to target home decarbonisation 16 | Analysis Ofwat ramps up the pressure on water companies 17 Finance & Investment 17 | News GoCompare acquires Look After My Bills 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz Scottish Water delivers a new water treatment works 20 | Expert view PwC: human-centric transformation of your front offi ce 22 | Roundtable Bringing management of capital projects in-house 24 | Opinion Randolph Brazier, head of innovation and development, ENA 25 Customers 25 | News Scottish Power loses 120,000 customers 26 | Roundtable A more strategic and structured approach to digital transformation 30 Community 31 | Disconnector DOWNLOAD: How to beat the digital disruptors at their own game https://bit.ly/2MfKXA8 See the Community section, page 30 If you are responsible for your company's outsourced or internal customer service centre we can deliver compelling cost savings to your business, with a typical rate for an FTE of just £10 per hour. 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AN APPSOLUTE MUST IFS: Sponsored report: Getting Ahead in the Diversifying Energy Market https://bit.ly/2MXkFkI Leader Suzanne Heneghan Are BEIS and Boris good for business? Among the many entertaining stories to emerge during Boris John- son's colourful leadership campaign was how our new PM once played God in his school play. Listening to his victorious speech on the steps of Downing Street, it was pretty easy to see why. But despite the political carnival and bluster already synonymous with his reign, Johnson will be acutely aware of the Herculean tasks ahead, including – ironically for the man who also once aspired to be "king of the world" – how the UK will now treat the planet. Business is praying – to paraphrase Johnson's political idol Winston Churchill's champagne toast to himself on entering No‡10 – that Boris doesn't "bugger it up". With just 90 days to go until Brexit and time already ticking on a spectacularly ambitious national net zero programme, the stakes are too high – not least for utilities. Delegation, a trademark feature of Johnson's London mayor-ship, will therefore be key. Enter stage right Andrea Leadsom, the woman who has been given the almighty job of leading the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). And she needs to get on with it fast. Energy companies are putting their faith in her to deliver swi• ly on some long overdue critical leadership and direction (see analysis, starting p6). Meanwhile, her in-tray is bulging. BEIS committee chair Rachel Reeves has already dra• ed her a to-do list and stamped it "urgent". Calls to plug the policy gaps across a litany of low-carbon areas, including electric vehicles, carbon capture, usage and storage and onshore wind – both its exclusion from contracts for di— erence auc- tions and planning restrictions on new onshore wind farms – will be competing for the new secretary of state's attention. She will also need to ˜ ght BEIS's corner as her new colleague at No 11 considers former chancellor Philip Hammond's estimate that meeting net zero carbon emissions by 2050 would cost £1 trillion – a claim disputed by the Committee on Climate Change. While a cautious welcome to the appointment of the former energy minister has come from some industry quarters, the jury remains out in others. Memories are long in utilities. Not all recollections of Leadsom's time at the now defunct Department of Energy and Climate Change are positive – particularly on the cutting of renewables subsidies. Her more recent comments around the climate emergency and the rise of the clean growth sector suggest a new mindset. But does she mean business? Suzanne Heneghan, editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com ANALYSIS 16 | Ofwat draft determinations ROUNDTABLE 22 | Slashing capital project management costs COVER STORY 6 | Does a new cabinet mean the government is at last open for business? STRATEGY A single strategy 46% 34% 20% Q: What is the key priority in terms of DX investments for your organisation in the next 12 months? Creating new revenue streams Digital business models Improving customer interactions Digital experiences Optimising operations Digital processes and automation 21% only of utilities already have a single strategy ROUNDTABLE 26 | How utilities can dodge digital distress UTILITY OF THE FUTURE 10 | It's time to get real about energy effi ciency

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