Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 22ND - 28TH NOVEMBER 2019 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Election 2019 We launch our manifesto for utilities 9 | Election 2019 Fintan Slye, director, National Grid System Operator 10 Policy & Regulation 10 | News Call for levy on smart meter rejections 11 | Analysis Regulation needs to align with encouraging innovation 13 | View from the top Ben Earl, Southern Water 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News SSE writes down £500m on retail sale 16 | Analysis Wins of water's privatisation 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz National Grid limits transmission charges 19 | Market view Cut the cost to communicate 20 | Event Who's afraid of the AI revolution? 22 | Market view Smart meters the Italian way 25 Customers 25 | News Community energy joint venture set up 26 | Case study Make every contact count 29 | Interview Adrian Letts, Retail chief executive, Ovo Energy 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 A manifesto for progress Time, and net zero, waits for no man, and while debate continues about the colour of the country's future government, utilities hanker to see vital progress. The outcome of the general election may be one of the hardest to call in decades, but come 13 December, industry will be banging on the door of Number 10 for some long-awaited answers to a ra• of increasingly urgent questions. There is no more time to lose on how the shape of the future energy mix will look, or in identifying the best joined-up national roadmap for achieving decarbonisation – regardless of who comes to power. We need to know the plan now. And although utilities are not the only businesses to suƒ er months of delay and deliberation, they are allowed to feel frustrated. That frustration, born out of months of limbo, is coming through loud and clear at private industry events. Back in the summer when it became obvious that the promised energy white paper would be sidelined by Brexit, the sector was far from happy. Now some indus- try leaders are loudly demanding an end to the procrastination. They feel the time has come for some big ticket decisions and, as one chief executive put it, to ensure the current opportunity for attracting major investment no longer goes begging. Since the announcement of the election we have seen a † urry of strong messages for government coming from voices right across the sector. As a seasoned observer and supporter of the whole industry, Utility Week today launches its own pan-utility manifesto urging government action on four key fronts (see p6-9). We call on policymakers to: empower utilities to deliver net zero by 2050; help them forge a new social contract with the public; protect investment in the delivery of lifeline services; and foster innovation to stimulate a green economy across the whole country – including recognition that the diƒ ering needs of our regions are not always best-served by a one-size-‹ ts-all centralised approach. Over the coming three weeks we will be using this critical national moment to highlight some of the most pressing issues for utilities, and we will be sharing the thoughts of industry, such as National Grid System Operator director Fintan Slye (p9), writing exclusively for Utility Week. Come December, the new government needs to hit the ground running and join our industry in supporting a manifesto for progress. Suzanne Heneghan, editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com COVER STORY 6 | Election 2019 The key issues a new government should be addressing COMMENT 9 | National Grid System Operator's election wishlist ANALYSIS 16 | Water privatisation should be celebrated CASE STUDY 26 | Effective customer contact is key

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