Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 11TH - 17TH OCTOBER 2019 | 23 Reversing the hike in VAT on solar panel installations could be a side benefit of Brexit, a Con- servative former MEP has said. On 1 October, VAT on solar panels increased from 5 to 20 per cent – in line with the standard rate – even though more heavily polluting heating coal and fuel continue to enjoy the lower rate. Responding to a question at a fringe meeting at the Conserva- ENERGY Brexit 'could prompt reversal of solar panel VAT hike' tive conference, Chelmsford MP Vicky Ford said the govern- ment had no choice but to raise the rate: "Within the customs union we have to have the same VAT level." But Ford, who normally adopts a soŽ Brexit position in the Conservative party debate on leaving the EU, said the govern- ment could change its stance on the issue if and when the UK leaves the EU, currently due to take place on 31 October. She said: "I'm sometimes sceptical about the comments about the benefits of leaving the EU but this is one." Colin Beaney, global industry director for energy, utilities and resources at IFS, criticised the rate hike. He said: "While, to some extent, this change is linked to This week Ofwat 'should listen to customers on PR19' Anglian CEO says final determination should reflect what customers are willing to pay for Customer opinions about how water companies should spend money to prepare for challenges must be a central consideration for Ofwat as it prepares final determinations in PR19. Peter Simpson, chief execu- tive of Anglian Water, told Utility Week it would be a failure of duty by his company and the regulator not to listen to customers. "We must make absolutely sure that what our customers said, and what they were willing to pay for, is reflected in the final determination. If it isn't then, quite apart from how I think Ofwat will have failed, I think we will have failed in our duty to them." Anglian was awarded a blue star by Ofwat for cus- tomer engagement with its business plans. "We took our draŽ determination back to customers and asked them 'would you prefer a bigger bill reduction, or do you want smaller bill reduction as per our original plan?' Two thirds of them said they wanted the original plan, not the bill reduction. The regulator's intervention reduced Anglian's totex spending by 20.5 per cent to save customers £1.3 billion. The expenditure, which the company has defended in its resubmission, was to boost resilience in the region. A further 200,000 new homes will be built in the coming five years, which, along with the implications of climate change, has added extra pressures on water supplies. The company's programmes include a 500km trunk line pipe from Humber to Suffolk to move water around the region. It is also rolling out smart meters to more than a million households. Furthermore, it plans to reduce leakage by 40 megalitres a day to boost resil- ience. RW ELECTRICITY Brixton residents to offer flexibility services to UKPN Residents of a block of flats in Brixton are to offer flexibility services to UK Power Networks (UKPN) as part of a ground- breaking trial. The scheme will build upon the existing CommUNITY project run by EDF Energy and Repow- ering London, which enabled the occupants of Elmore House to trade electricity generated on site through a peer-to-peer energy market. The Urban Energy Club will take this a step further by allowing them to offer flexibility services to UK Power Networks using the solar panels and bat- teries installed at the building. Agamemnon Otero, co-chief executive at Repowering Lon- don, said: "Urban Energy Club is the next step in developing a local energy model where renew- able energy can be stored and used on site by residents. Gen- erating, managing and sharing their own energy truly empowers people, and we can live up to the co-op's mission – 'Power to, for and by the people'." Maria Brucoli, smart energy systems manager at EDF Energy R&D, said: "Working with UK Power Networks on this new project is the first step to under- standing how domestic, local energy markets like this can interact with the grid and flex to match market demands. "Urban Energy Club… will hopefully inspire many more and support our journey to net zero by 2050." Last month, Centrica got approval from the electricity system operator to provide fre- quency response using a fleet of smart hot water tanks installed in homes. ENERGY Shell launches smart heating system Shell UK has launched a smart hybrid domestic heating system. The B-Snug is a system that manages a Samsung air source heat pump and the customer's existing boiler. Using PassivSystem's technology platform, B Snug continuously monitors the temperature in the home and analyses weather forecasts to automatically switch between the two heat sources. The system's controls use machine learning to choose the most appropriate heat source, favouring the heat pump when possible. It is currently aimed at homes that use oil or LPG for heating. The companies say that by giv- ing homeowners a way to use electricity to heat their homes, the system enables consumers to reduce their carbon emissions. Shell, which owns supplier Shell Energy Retail, said while the system is currently a PassivS- ystems-led offer for now, there may be opportunities to look at rolling out joint offers with other Shell companies in the future. Simpson: took draft determination to customers membership of the EU and may be altered following a with- drawal, it is an outrage that the government should reduce this small discount available to the environmentally conscious UK residents willing to invest per- sonally in sustainable solutions. "The government should urgently clarify its position on energy policy." See conference analysis, p10

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