Utility Week

10 | 22ND - 28TH NOVEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation This week Call for levy on smart meter rejections Energy UK says 2024 rollout deadline will not be met without change to the customer obligation Energy UK says it is time for gov- ernment to signal the need for a levy on consumers who refuse a smart meter. The industry trade body said consumer appetite to proactively seek the installation of a smart meter had "plateaued well below the levels previously hoped". It also said the revised 2024 rollout deadline would not be met without any signifi- cant change to the customer obligation. Furthermore, unless changes are made, the 85 per cent coverage target is unlikely to be achieved until a‚er 2030, Energy UK said. The proposals were made in its response to a govern- ment consultation on a smart meter policy framework post-2020. Its response included independent analysis from Frontier Economics. At best, the research said, only 68 per cent of premises are likely to have a smart meter installed by the 2024 deadline. Energy UK said both government and industry should open discussions with consumers about the implications of not accepting a smart meter. It stressed that its sug- gestion of a "non-smart consumer levy" would include appropriate protection for vulnerable customers. "Government should signal the need for the applica- tion of a pass-through consumer levy for consumers that are eligible for… but either fail to respond to the offer of, or refuse the installation of, a smart meter," it said. The response also proposed measures such as intro- ducing new building regulations for all new properties to have smart meters installed. AJ ELECTRICITY Tories pledge 40GW of offshore wind Boris Johnson has announced that the Conservatives will accelerate the rollout of offshore wind power and electric vehicle charging points if the party wins next month's general election. In a speech delivered at black cab manufacturer London Electric Vehicle Company in Cov- entry on 13 November, the prime minister outlined his vision of Britain "leading the world" in tackling climate change. Notes issued alongside the speech include a commitment by the Conservatives to increase the amount of electricity the UK gets from offshore wind by 2030 to 40GW. This is an increase on the target of 30GW set out in the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, which industry and government signed in May this year. It is also a near five-fold rise on the 8.5GW of capacity currently provided by offshore wind. In the same announcement, the Tories said they would invest an additional £500 mil- lion to complete a fast-charging network for electric vehicles to ensure that every household in England and Wales is within 30 miles of a chargepoint. This new sum is, they added, on top of the £400 million already pledged by the govern- ment for expanding the EV charging network. The new £500 million will also support the Plug-in Van Grant Scheme and research and development into low and zero emission technology. ENERGY Wholesale trading obligation ended Ofgem has confirmed that the market making obligation (MMO) compelling large incum- bent energy companies to offer wholesale trades to smaller com- petitors ended on 18 November. The decision came a‚er RWE became the fourth of the big six to be released from the obliga- tion following Eon, Scottish Power and Centrica – leaving only SSE and EDF. The MMO required obligated companies to regularly post bids and offers on trading platforms to buy or sell power over a variety of timescales, while also limiting spreads between the two. It was introduced in 2014 to improve the liquidity of the wholesale market and enhance access for other suppliers. Explaining its final decision, the regulator said the removal of the obligation from most of the big six had "materially increased the costs incurred by the remaining parties", which were now "disproportionate". It said the policy had also become "less effective in… enabling the development of robust reference prices". 'Plateaued': consumer appetite for smart meters Political Agenda David Blackman "Nobody wants to look like a Scrooge on climate change" The political parties have got into the festive spirit for this year's pre-Christmas poll. It seems nobody wants to look like a Scrooge on 12 December when it comes to tackling climate change. There was a time when a commitment to spend £20 bil- lion a year on fighting climate change would have sparked charges of profligacy from rivals. But in this year's contest, the commitment by Liberal Demo- crat shadow chancellor Sir Ed Davey to spend £100 billion over its surprise announcement to nationalise broadband would be funded by the National Infra- structure Fund, which it said earlier in the campaign would be kept for climate action. A case can be made that bet- ter broadband makes it easier to work from home and hence cuts commuting-related emissions. But many will be unable to take up this option, making it a stretch to badge this investment as green as opposed to a more old-fashioned socialist red. a five-year Parliament looks like relatively small beer. The Conservatives have yet to show their cards on climate spending beyond the announce- ment last week of an extra £1.3 billion for supporting extra electric vehicle charge points and CCS (carbon, capture and storage) plants. But there is as yet no explana- tion about how a future Conserv- ative government would fund its plan to expand offshore wind generation to 40GW by 2030. And Jeremy Corbyn's green spending credentials may not be as straightforward and honest as the Labour leader likes to paint himself. The party has said

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