Utility Week

Community "soaring bills" it they refused to have a smart meter installed. Disconnector thinks that suppliers must be ruing the day that they lobbied (successfully) for the privilege of installing the nation's smart meters. Chalices don't come any more poisoned. All I need is the air that I breathe The UK's adoption of a 2050 net zero emissions target has thrown the spotlight on the carbon footprints of all sorts of human activity, from transport to pouring concrete to the food that we eat. As far as the last is concerned the guilty party is, of course, meat – especially the methane produced by ƒ atulent cows. But even militant veganism is too so… for some folk. All forms of agricultural activity has some sort of carbon footprint, so why not go the whole hog (as it were) and eschew all forms of solid food. That's right: all you need is air. A woman who claims she mostly lives on pureed fruit and vegetables and tea says she gets much of her energy from breath- ing exercises and being around nature and doesn't need solid food. Audra Bear, from Minneapolis in the US, is a champion of the lifestyle called "breatharianism", whose Disconnector Publishing director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Content director: Jane Gray, janegray@fav-house.com, t: 01342 333004; Editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Digital editor: James Wallin, 01342 332015, jameswallin@fav-house.com; Intelligence editor: Denise Chevin, 01342 332087, denisechevin@fav-house.com Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@ fav-house.com; Reporter: Adam John, t: 01342 332069, e: adamjohn@fav-house.com; Editorial assistant: Greg Jones, t: 01342 332102, e: gregjones@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, e: sarahwood@ fav-house.com. t: 01342 332117 Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@ fav-house.com; General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2018 Membership subscriptions: UK £769+VAT per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the regulator of the UK's magazine and newspaper industry. We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact the Editor. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you want more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk. set on an irrevocable course for a no-deal Brexit on 31 October. Or maybe something will turn up to take our minds o' Brexit completely. A war with Iran, maybe. It's di" cult to imagine a time in the modern age when politics has been quite this interesting – while at the same time being quite less fun. No good deed unpunished The Daily Mail is a newspaper that simply can't get enough of Brexit, especially when there's a chance to name and shame enemies of the people, such as Conservative MPs, high court judges and Gina Miller. So it's good to know that the august organ still manages to ˜ nd some column inches to cover the bread and butter issues that a' ect the hard- working families of this country, such as energy bills. In these trying times, at least consumers can get a few quid o' their energy bills with the help of a smart meter, which has got to be a good thing, right? Well no, now you mention it. The corollary of being able to save money by getting a smart meter installed is that those who opt not to have a smart meter pay more, which is the line the Mail chose to take on the matter, with a headline screaming that customers were being hit with Business as usual Take a deep breath, people, it's all about to get even weirder. As Utility Week goes to press, Boris Johnson is threatening to ignite a civil war in the Conservative party by sacking any MP who votes against the government this week, thereby withdrawing the whip and e' ectively deselecting rebel MPs. Among those in the ˜ ring line are such militants as, er, Philip Hammond. Ah, dear reader, Disconnec- tor is old enough to remember when Philip Hammond used to hold one of the highest o" ces in the land. Chancellor of the Exchequer, no less. How his star has faded. Then again, that was nearly four weeks ago, which is an eternity by today's standards. By the time you get this issue of the magazine, it's quite possible that Johnson will have thrown all the cards in the air by calling a general election, possibly putting Jeremy Corbyn on a path to Downing Street and causing a lot of utility chief executives to brush up their CVs. At least that would leave Boris more time to make those cardboard models of buses he's so fond of – complete with happy passengers. Or he may have seen o' his opponents and the UK will be UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH SEPTEMBER 2019 | 31 followers follow a "pranic" life- style. The word "prana" means energy (apparently) and when breathing in, people inhale both air and prana. Breathar- ians claim to be nourished by air and don't need solid food. Bear conducts daily 40-minute breathing rituals, which give her all the energy she needs, supplemented by smoothies, tea and juices. She explains: "Prana is another word for energy, also known as Qi or Chi. It is a life-giving force that ƒ ows in, through and around all things, it's in the air we breathe, the sunshine, nature, connections with people and all living things. It is a powerful energy that actually has the ability to fuel and sustain us as humans." So there you have it. In our new age of Johnso- nian optimism, it seems the perfect message to the EU in the face of threatened food shortages. Stu' your brie, monsieur Frenchman, we'll just take a deep breath and we'll be ˜ ne. shortages. Stu' your brie, monsieur Frenchman, we'll just take a deep breath and we'll be ˜ ne.

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