Utility Week

14 | 18TH - 24TH OCTOBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Event Utility Week Congress, 8-9 October, Birmingham W ith big names and big issues on the agenda, Utility Week Congress 2019 was always set to throw out some critical insight and controversy – and it didn't disappoint. Across the two days, speaker keynotes and panel debates triggered a • urry of news stories and even more gossip in the con- ference networking breaks on issues from renewables payments to water e ciency, and from Dermot Nolan's regrets to the threat to Ireland's Single Electricity Market of a no deal Brexit. Unsurprisingly, though, it was climate change and the implications of the UK's net zero emissions commitment for utility strat- egies that dominated presentations and dis- cussion on and oŠ the stage. And within this it was the challenge of decarbonising heat that hopped into the hot seat. Heat is the hot topic We are all now well aware that, within the enormous headline challenge of tackling climate change, decarbonisation of heat is a pressing concern; what was notable at Util- ity Week Congress was that the electriŒ ca- tion lobby was out in force to advocate heat pumps over green gas as the primary route to slashing heat-related carbon emissions. On a big-hitting panel debate that saw representation from Œ ve utility chief execu- tives, support for electrifying heat was strong. And later the same day, Clare DuŠ y, head of network development at vertically integrated Irish utility ESB, added her back- ing to the electriŒ cation pathway. Most strident on the issue was Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson, who frankly admitted that he would rather stop selling gas altogether and "rampage towards greener electricity for heating". Jackson struck a lively, combative stance against advocates for green gas, calling for a competition to see whether electricity or gas could deliver emissions beneŒ ts quickest. He was backed by Eon chief executive Michael Lewis – well known as a believer in heat pumps. While he said he hoped hydrogen networks would play an important role in providing large-scale energy storage to opti- mise renewables, Lewis repeated his view The heat of the debate Jane Gray and Suzanne Heneghan report on the issues that animated utility leaders at Utility Week Congress 2019. that "full electriŒ cation" was the best solu- tion to driving carbon out of the equation for heating homes. Paul Stapleton, managing director of Northern Ireland Energy Networks, added a more cautious but nonetheless positive out- look for the role of heat pumps in decarbon- ising heat in NI. In an environment where only around 30 per cent of customers are currently connected to the gas grid, and oil- based heating is prevalent, he said there is a signiŒ cant opportunity to connect more cus- tomers in close proximity to the existing gas network. But he also indicated that he did not believe a bigger extension of the gas grid – even a signiŒ cantly greened one – would be the logical next step. Instead, heat pumps should play a major role in allowing the NI population to "leapfrog" gas technology and adopt low carbon heating options. A defence for green gas and hydrogen options for heat did not come until the sec- ond day of Congress when Cadent's direc- tor of West Midlands Network, Kate Jones, warned that electriŒ cation would place an impossible burden on the distribution grid. She added her view that "you'd have to do something like building a nuclear power sta- tion every 25 miles around the coast of Brit- ain in order to be able to supply the demand [through electriŒ cation] … I just can't see it." But even with her pro-green gas solutions stance, Jones was alert to the strength of sup- port for electriŒ cation and acknowledged that big questions lie over the future of major gas schemes such as the iron mains replace- ment programme. She urged the Treasury to decide what it wants from the gas network in the future and to make an informed decision one way or another about whether to commit further billions of public funds to complet- ing this programme, which still has ten years and thousands of miles le¢ to run. This gas versus electricity debate is not a new thing. But with an increased urgency behind the need to drive down heat-related carbon emissions, there is a new level of advocacy emerging in both camps. And from the electriŒ cation lobby at least, a new level of competitive energy. Jane Gray, content director "If you look at our determinations, there are very few resilience schemes where Ofwat has rejected the need for them." Rachel Fletcher, chief executive, Ofwat "My biggest regret might be, post the CMA proposals, not really acting quickly enough to deal with the sense from the public that diff erential pricing was a problem." Dermot Nolan, chief executive, Ofgem "We need to rampage towards greener electricity for heating and that has to compete against clean use of the gas network." Greg Jackson, chief executive, Octopus Energy

• Cover