Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 15TH - 21ST NOVEMBER 2019 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Election 2019 Exclusive survey by Harris Interactive on how voters view the big utility issues 9 | Election 2019 The main parties skirmish 10 Policy & Regulation 10 | News RO payment shortfall will be mutualised 13 | View from the top Alex Brierley, Octopus Renewables 14 | Utility of the future Regulation needed to facilitate heat expansion 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News Roadmap details zero carbon industrial hub 16 Operations & Assets 16 | High viz Anglian Water's Wymondham Water Recycling Centre 17 | Expert view Louise Robertson, Localz 18 | Analysis Time to harness domestic fl exibility 20 | Analysis Strategies for tackling leakage 21 | Expert view Bill Menzies, Sarco Stopper 23 | Event Measuring H&S initiatives 25 Customers 25 | News Citizens Advice urges 'robust' protections 26 | Comment Reset the water market 27 | Voices Maxine Frerk, Grid Edge Policy 29 | Market view Place your bets on blockchain 30 Community 31 | Disconnector Mando: Improving experiences for vulnerable customers https://bit.ly/361toNK 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. Synergy operates an established Contact Centre in a modern and thriving part of Durban, South Africa employing experienced and highly educated staff. We already successfully work with a number of UK utilities across a range of services: If you would like to see our operation for yourself we can fly you, at our cost, to South Africa. Here we will give you a full tour of our facilities, a presentation on how we work and access to our professional teams. For further information please contact steve.cripwell@synergyoutsourcingltd.co.uk / 020 7932 4171 or toby.selves@synergyoutsourcingltd.co.uk / 020 7932 4116 BASEC: DNOs need tried and tested cabling systems they can rely on https://bit.ly/33WYzYv https://bit.ly/33WYzYv Leader Suzanne Heneghan Election mood swings Never has the public mood held such sway – both for the government, and ultimately utilities. More than ever before, what the people think and want will be game-changers over the next three weeks, with an electorate ripping up traditional party loyalties in favour of the big issues – such as climate change (see analysis, p9). It's familiar territory for utilities, who are already well and truly on the "public sentiment journey" – and are no doubt happy to give the Westminster elite a few tips if required. The sector has become well-versed in acknowledging emerging customer demand trends; evaluating their environmental, social and corporate credentials in the eyes of consumers; and wholly re-thinking future business models and strategies. Which is why our exclusive Utility Week survey (see p6-8) makes fascinating reading for a sector watching events unfold from the brink of even more change – regardless of which party lands the keys to Number 10 next month. Our poll by Harris Interactive, carried out in autumn ahead of the election announcement, o… ers a timely snapshot of public thinking – notably that four in ten voters would back tougher net zero policies, although most (at 48 per cent) would see the costs of decarbonising heat and electricity met by direct taxation rather than via energy bills. Politicians of all stripes have been quick to pick up on the groundswell of calls for greener agendas, something echoed in our survey, which saw 47 per cent of people support bringing forward a ban on the sale of new petrol cars to 2032. Yet, just as for the utility industry, gaining the public's trust on all this will be vital for those parties battling to take over the parliamentary reins come 13 December. For instance, our September poll revealed how voters needed to be convinced that Boris Johnson would be a champion for the environment, with half believing it would slip down his leadership priorities. And on Labour's looming threat of renationalisation, half of those we polled thought the Conservatives should adopt the same policy of bringing water and networks into public ownership. So, just as with the election and Brexit, our survey reveals a public split on some of the biggest questions facing the industry. It seems all we can currently be certain of, is more uncertainty. Suzanne Heneghan, editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com COVER STORY 6 | Election 2019 Utility Week catches the public mood on the big utility issues ANALYSIS 18 | Making virtual power plants out of domestic appliances ANALYSIS 20 | Getting to grips with leakage EVENT 23 | Dame Carol Black talks health, safety and wellbeing

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