Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD JANUARY 2020 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Utility of the Future Water companies' decarbonisation efforts 12 Policy & Regulation 12 | News ESC: mutualisation 'no longer required' 13 | View from the top Sharon Darcy, director, Sustainability First 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News Decade begins with triple boost for wind 16 Operations & Assets 16 | High viz Australia burns as the world gets hotter 17 | Market view Advice on operating via omni-channel platforms 18 | Event Considering employees' mental health at the Utility Week Health & Safety and Wellbeing Conference 22 | Analysis Drawing wider lessons from last summer's blackout 26 | Market view Unlocking the value of DSOs 27 Customers 27 | News Ofgem: use DCC or face customer ban 28 | Opinion Iain Walker, Eon UK 29 | Market view Why compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is crucial 30 Community 31 | Disconnector Utility Webinar on vulnerable customers – now available Advice to help utilities improve the digital experience for vulnerable customers is available in a webinar by digital customer experience agency Mando. Mark Simpson, director of sales and marketing, and Andy Pimlett, head of frontend, share learnings from their report Making Digital Simple For Everyone: Improving experiences for vulnerable customers. These include the importance of accurate data. In part two, Jo Crinson, head of customer contact at Electricity North West, presents the network operator's experience of a pilot with United Utilities to share their priority services register data. https://bit.ly/36T56FD Leader Suzanne Heneghan Climate power to the people It will be a fascinating study in environmental politics, but what could Climate Assembly UK mean for utilities? (see news, p5). In November, while most attention was focused on the looming general election, 30,000 invitation letters were starting to drop on to random doormats throughout Britain. They invited people to apply to come together in a citizens' assembly on climate change, to help shape how the country can best meet its net zero target and what role the public could play. Since then, we may have had clarity on the election but concerns about addressing the climate emergency continue to rise. It means the assembly, commissioned by six cross-party House of Commons Select Committees, has a big remit – although it will have a ra† of stakeholder expertise to call on, including academics, environ- mentalists and selected business figures. An advisory panel, featuring representatives from the utilities sector, will also offer feedback. Yet despite this impressive arsenal, the jury is out on how successful a climate assembly will be. The naysayers have already dismissed the scheme as window dress- ing, pointing to how its advisory status could see its findings effectively ignored. Others say that by asking the public to sketch a roadmap for net zero, politicians have, shamelessly, dodged the job. And there is the wider argument that this is the wrong vehicle altogether. In many ways, climate change is nothing like as divisive as other issues that have gone down a citizens' assembly route in other countries, such as abortion law or marriage equality. But politicians know it would be reckless to ignore the popular view, as also do utilities. Industry is acutely aware that legitimacy and public trust have become the new watchwords for the sector. And it goes deeper than regulation and customer service. A com- pany's environmental, social and governance credentials can now be the difference between attracting millions in investment, or not. The assembly timescale certainly suggests it means business, with all four gatherings planned before the end of March. There is no doubt that achieving a national, representative consen- sus on the principles that should underpin climate change policy could prove critical for ensuring the scale of public buy-in required. Government – and utilities – would also welcome a clear indication of the types of action people would support. Time will tell if this has been a glorified public consultation, although harnessing such vital engagement and insight should not be undervalued. Suzanne Heneghan, editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com COVER STORY 6 | Utility of the Future Water companies aim high on emissions targets CONFERENCE REPORT 18 | Mental health needs more than a first aid initiative HIGH VIZ 16 | Australia is on fire ANALYSIS 22 | Don't let lightning strike twice

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