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UTILITY WEEK | OCTOBER 2020 | 7 The Month in Review Tideway has floated the largest ever structure to pass along the River Thames. The 100 metre-long , 3,700-tonne culvert - which will connect to a combined sewer overflow (CSO) from the River Fleet – was transported 100 metres across the river at Blackfriars at the beginning of the month. It was the culmination of a two-year project that saw the culvert created in a specially created cofferdam - a watertight enclosure that enables construction below the waterline. For a full report on this engineering feat, visit: https://utilityweek.co.uk/tideway- floats-largest-structure-ever-to-pass-along-the-thames/ Council-backed suppliers sell up The two highest profile exam- ples of council-backed energy suppliers were both sold within a week of each other. Nottingham City Council sold Robin Hood Energy to Centrica for an undisclosed amount, while Together Energy acquired Bristol Energy from the council for £14 mil- lion. Both projects had proved controversial in recent months aer their respective auditors revealed the extent to which their public sector backers had been forced to plough in further funds to keep them afloat. Nottingham came in for particular criticism for display- ing "institutional blindness" to the escalating risks involved in dabbling in the energy retail market. In taking on the 112,000 domestic customers and 2,600 businesses supplied by Robin Hood, Centrica promised to offer tariffs at the same level or cheaper. However, it will not be offering jobs to any of the brand's 230 staff. Meanwhile, the chief executive of Together Energy, which is backed by Warrington Borough Council, described the deal as an opportunity for his business to get the scale needed to weather a volatile marketplace. Paul Richards told Util- ity Week: "When you don't have the time because you're dealing with the challenges of Covid and austerity and all of the real issues that local councils have, such as big funding gaps, it must be heartbreaking to walk away. They were literally on the cusp of profitability." You can read the full inter- view here https://utilityweek. co.uk/why-scale-is-the-key-to- weathering-a-stormy-market/ Sewer flooding up 15% Water companies reported a 15 per cent year-on-year rise in exter- nal sewer flooding incidents in 2019/20, with the number of homes flooded by sewage up 14 per cent. The figures were included in the latest annual report from consumer watchdog CCW, which said they underlined the need for water com- panies to accelerate their response to climate change. The report also showed that consumption of water fell for the first time in five years – from 143 litres per person per day (lpd) to 142lpd. However, the figure remains 2 per cent higher than 2014/15. Anglian subsidiary Hartlepool Water was the top performer on water consumption, with a rate of 126lpd. Welsh Water had the worst figures at 160lpd. Leakage, another key target, fell by 7 per cent to its lowest level in a decade, while the average time that customers' water supply was cut off decreased from 13 minutes 14 seconds in 2018/19 to 11 minutes 45 seconds; a reduction of 11 per cent. Karen Gibbs, senior policy manager at CCW, said: "The water industry has generally coped well with the increased demand for water throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and through the recent extreme weather events, but this does highlight some of the poten- tial challenges ahead. That's why we at CCW have lent our support to government and regulators' calls for companies to act 'further and faster' to maintain positive progress as part of the nation's green economic recovery." Read CCW's views on the development of a metric to measure water poverty, on p30 £39m Amount of network charges that have been deferred as of the end of August. Energy networks have agreed to defer up to £350 million of charges as a last resort for struggling suppliers and shippers. Comment When will we see the white paper? As Utility Week went to press, an October publication date was being touted for the Energy White Paper. As to its contents, it has been speculated that the complete separation of the Electricity System Operator from National Grid will be suggested. There are also indications that the government is minded to give the smart meter rollout a fillip, perhaps by paving the way for mandatory installations in the non- domestic market. Speaking at the CBI's climate change conference on 13 Sep- tember, energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng said the government may introduce targets for hydro- gen, onshore wind and solar, similar to the 40GW by 2030 off- shore wind goal in the Conserva- tive manifesto last year. Further measures to acceler- ate the use of carbon capture and storage are also expected. Pushed on a likely publica- tion date, he said he was "very hopeful" about October.