Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | APRIL 2022 | 25 Talking Points… "We can't afford to miss another opportunity to implement a regulatory regime that provides meaningful protection for energy customers. Consumer trust in energy companies has been damaged by the recent crisis and reform is urgently needed to rebuild confidence in the sector." Chris O'Shea, chief executive, Centrica "Ofgem is completely under resourced to deal with the problems going on in the market- place at the moment." Martin Lewis, founder, MoneySavingExpert speaking to the BEIS committee about energy prices "Leakage rates may be as low as they've ever been, but we are still losing the equivalent of 1,245 Olympic swimming pools per day. Maintaining recent progress will be possible only with determination, collaboration and support from the supply chain, government and regulators. That is how we build a water network fit for the next century and beyond." Christine McGourty, chief executive, Water UK Quote, unquote Our industry, along with some others, already delivers oppor- tunities to some of the poorest and most deprived parts of the United Kingdom. Cadent employs about 6,000 staff, the vast majority of whom are highly skilled engineers. I, and many colleagues, have benefited from the opportunities for growth and success that we all already enjoy. I think levelling up will be a success if, as Gove suggests, it becomes about creating more of these opportu- nities across more parts of our country. That is where private enterprises like Cadent can lead. We are working, as part of our ambition to support the move towards net zero, to bring new skills, and with them, new opportuni- ties, to every corner of our networks. Our ten-point plan to support the hydrogen transition very deliberately focuses on skills. As part of that plan, we will by 2024 open a hydrogen skills academy, pre- paring the engineers of the future. And we have committed to, by the same year, developing a hydrogen education programme. We will be getting out there and creating opportunities for many thou- sands of young people and those who want to retrain, opportunities in every part of the UK in which Cadent oper- ates to become an engineer in a new and exciting field. Ultimately then, my message is a simple one. The gas industry is already playing a significant role in bringing opportunities to every corner of the United Kingdom – yet if the industry was supported to facilitate a whole- sale conversion of the gas networks to hydrogen, we could do so much more. Howard Forster, chief operations officer, Cadent The gas industry's role in levelling up T he government's Levelling Up White Paper has, rightly, generated significant interest across the political spectrum and in the media. Ever since the last general election, where the Conservative Party was elected on what seemed like a dual pledge to "get Brexit done" and then "level up" the United Kingdom, I have increasingly wondered what level- ling up will really mean. It is certainly an issue close to my heart – having grown up in a relatively deprived part of the North, I have seen first-hand the impacts of regional inequality on every part of people's lives. From reduced life expectancy to poorer educational outcomes and diminished earning potential, statisti- cally where you are born does play a significant role in determining what sort of life you will live. The white paper's recognition of the role of place, and focus on practical solutions like improved digital connectivity, better transport links and eliminating the social evils of illiteracy and innu- meracy is something I wholeheartedly welcome, and what I hope will come to represent the starting gun being fired on finally addressing the structural challenges many of our villages, towns and cities face. In late 2021, when asked to define levelling up, the cabinet minister responsible – Michael Gove – sug- gested the following: "Making opportu- nity more equal across the country." I think this is a very important defi- nition because it touches on something especially close to my heart – that levelling up must ultimately be about enhancing opportunity. And I believe this is something Cadent, and the wider gas industry, is perfectly placed to play a major role in. Comment: Levelling up will require making education and training available to all, and the gas industry can play an important part.

• Cover