Utility Week

14 | AUGUST 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Talking Points… Chance to overhaul utility regulation is seen as part of the Brexit dividend Comment David Blackman Policy correspondent T he government never wastes an oppor- tunity these days to show how the UK is bene ting from what it touts as its new freedoms following Brexit. The most recent example is the claim in the transport decarbonisation plan that the government's plan to end the sale of diesel and petrol cars would not have been pos- sible under European Union regulations This potshot failed to mention the EU's world-leading vehicles emissions targets, which have been bolstered this month. As part of its new Green Deal, the trading bloc has said all new vehicles should be zero emission by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) were one of the few topics not to be touched upon in a wide-ranging review of regulation post- Brexit when it was published last month. The report, which was pulled together by three prominent Conservative backbench MPs including former party leader Iain Dun- can Smith, ranged from farming to nancial services via health and space. Making up the rest of the heavyweight Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) were former transport minister George Freeman and ex- environment secre- tary of state Theresa Villiers. While ZEVs were not on the report's extensive menu, the broader regulation of energy was. The TIGRR study, which was commis- sioned by the prime minister, concluded that the energy supply licence regime is "no longer t for purpose". Regulation of energy retailers should be based on the activities their business is engaged in rather than whether they hold a licence, it says. For example, a retailer's sales and marketing would be subject to rules covering those activities. Taking this approach would create a reg- ulatory level playing eld without "unnec- essarily" bringing new types of company, like comparison websites, into the current energy supply licensing regime. The report also moots delegating more – exibility to regulators to set rules without requiring new legislation. Demo- cratic oversight would be provided via a "strengthened" system of scrutiny by select committees. At the same time, the taskforce recom- mends that plans to give Ofgem its long- promised Strategy and Policy Statement should be implemented with a priority on "aggressive" investment in future energy and grid infrastructure, which is designed to spur the UK's o™ shore wind farm boom. The taskforce's report isn't the rst on regulation submitted to the government this year from its own backbenches. Ex-minister and energy price cap campaigner John Penrose's set of recommendations on utility regulation landed on business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng's desk a few months ago. Suppliers will no doubt be uneasy about the taskforce's desire to put them on a level playing eld with comparison websites, especially at a time when the in– uence of tech giants is an increasingly hot potato. And while the report adopts a gener- ally de-regulatory stance, its proposals that utility watchdogs should be given more leeway is likely to prompt disquiet, given the unelected nature of these organisations. Many utility regulations are nodded through parliament with little if any debate. However, it is hard to see any British government wanting to surrender more in– uence to parliament's select committees, the one element of UK governance where opposition parties get a look in. And Boris Johnson's government has shown itself especially determined to not just take back control of the levers of power but keep hold of them. "The silence from the chancellor [on net zero] is deafening. I would love to see the chancellor make a big speech about this: it would be great for the UK fi nance minister to own this space." Chris Stark, chief executive, Climate Change Committee "In order to successfully deliver these outcomes [from the transport decarbonisation plan], it is essential that transport and energy networks work together to ensure the delivery of the most effi cient network solution and make the most effi cient use of the funding available." Graeme Cooper, head of future markets, National Grid "Over half the water sector is now achieving the highest industry rating, showing that clear targets and regulatory focus combined with investment in the environment delivers change in the water sector. But some companies are still failing in their duty to the environment and there remains a tendency to reach for excuses rather than grasp the nettle." Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the EA Quote, unquote

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