Utility Week

40 | JANUARY 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Operational Excellence Analysis Reuniting the industry online Last month, Utility Week Live Online – supported by Capita – saw the UK's energy, gas and water industries brought together in a new and immersive, digital exhibition and conference. Here are some highlights from the three days. What's in the pipeline to tackle leakage? Should the water industry rethink its approach to pipe replacement? With many buried assets pushed to perform well beyond their life expec- tancy, a panel on tackling leakage at UWLO suggested a fresh approach to pipe replacement on was needed. The panel consisted of Jeremy Heath, innovation manager at SES Water and project lead for the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) leakage innovation work; professor Nicole Metje of the University of Bir- mingham, whose ongoing work on the Pipebot project is exploring how buried infrastructures can be bet- ter managed using microrobots; and Jamie Jones, leakage and smart net- works manager at Portsmouth Water. Heath noted that recent studies suggested the life of a plastic pipe in the ground is around 150 years but across the industry some replace- ment rates assume a 1,000-year life for mains pipes. "It is something we need to have an open discussion about. With my UKWIR hat on I have to ask if it's a realistic life expectancy we're putting on the assets." Metje argued that in terms of pipe maintenance and replacement, cost benefits were seen when looking beyond five-year AMP cycles. She cited Hong Kong as having a more proactive approach to upgrading pipes that were never designed to be in the ground so long but admitted the costs could be prohibitive to most companies. Jones said Portsmouth had a higher than average rate of replace- ment, but that had come at a cost. "We now have fixed noise loggers, but for a number of years we were trying to find and fix leaks with a hand tied behind our back," Jones said. "The five-year AMP cycle does encourage short-term thinking. It takes a very strong company to con- sider doing anything other than the norm." Eon: Fake news is hindering smart rollout Misinformation and myths surround- ing smart meters are hindering the rollout, Eon Energy's head of transfor- mation, Simon Duncan, told the Utility Week Live Online (UWLO) audience. Following the introduction of social distancing measures earlier in the year, the smart meter rollout suf- fered from decreased installations as engineers were banned from install- ing the devices in all but emergency situations. Yet, he said, in addition to physical constraints, Eon has spoken about the I n November 2020, thousands of pro- fessionals from across the UK's water, gas and electricity industries reunited for Utility Week Live Online (UWLO), with Capita as the headline sponsor, where more than a hundred exhibitors showcased their cutting-edge innovations alongside two action-packed conference programmes, on innovation and operational excellence. As well as industry-leading names such as Technolog, So›ware AG, Kaluza and FT Pipe- line Systems, UWLO was home to a number of SMEs bringing innovative solutions to util- ities, hosted in partnership with the Energy Innovation Centre and Isle Utilities. The virtual exhibition platform brought together more than 3,000 visitors with exhib- itors and other industry stakeholders, creat- ing new opportunities for networking and making connections. The content themes were carefully chosen to reflect the challenges utilities have faced this year – and to showcase the fantastic work done in spite of these challenges. Ellen Bennett, portfolio director for UWLO, said: "As the UK looks ahead to uncertain economic times, we know that utilities will be asked to do more for less and that operational efficiency across core areas such as asset management will be critical. Meanwhile, the challenges of transforming utilities to lead the drive to net zero are top of the political agenda. Achieving all this will depend on continuous innovation, right throughout utilities and the supply chain, and we were proud to bring the industry and supply chain together at this critical time. "We were overwhelmed with the industry response to UWLO. At a time when face-to- face contact is limited, it was incredible to see the event platform light up with thou- sands of messages, chats and new connec- tions being made. It's been a challenging year for everyone – and the circumstances have driven us all to find and innovative ways of doing business. We were delighted to be a part of that, and would like to thank all our sponsors, exhibitors and partners for their support."

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