Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | SEPTEMBER 2021 | 9 Interview I t's roughly five years since Steve Holliday stepped down from as chief executive of National Grid. But he's been clocking up a few column inches of late as the non-executive chairman of CityFibre, a post he took up in 2019. And while he's very much flag waving for the digital infrastructure challenger today – including pointing out that the poor quality of picture over Zoom at my end would be vastly improved by fibre optic connections – Holliday is happy to return to his old stomping ground of networks and net zero. He says the two sectors have a lot in common, in addition to which he is still president of the Energy Institute and non-executive chairman of battery storage specialist Zenobe, so energy is still very much a current concern for him. Our conversation ranges to his concerns that splitting the Energy System Operator (ESO) from National Grid might lead to higher costs for customers, and why it's getting more important policy-wise to think holistically about all types of infrastructure – especially digital infrastructure. "You can't think about these things in silos any- more," he says. "Previously disconnected industries, energy and transport and house construction, all completely intermesh now. And cutting across all of that is fibre. So, from a strategic perspective, I hope to bring some of that thinking." Holliday draws attention to a point highlighted in a recent report What Does Tomorrow Look Like from the Infrastructure Forum, which CityFibre sponsored along- side UK Power Networks, that the zero-carbon transition won't be delivered at the speed we need without full fibre. "Full fibre," he stresses, "not the copper-based hybrids that exist in the UK at the moment." He explains: "So much of the smart homes and energy systems technology of the future is going to be completely reliant on high-speed communications. And the report makes that point in flashing lights, that all the other conversations are totally predicated on us getting this full fibre in place nationwide over the next four to five years. "CityFibre is playing a huge part in that. It's great to be working in a 'challenger' firm. We're already number three in the market, alongside BT Openreach and Virgin." The challenger brand has a £4 billion investment programme to bring fibre to about a third of the country and is currently targeting 8 million homes and 800,000 businesses in 285 cities and towns and villages. It is also hoping to be involved in the government's plans to roll out broadband to other rural areas, which could bring continued overleaf

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