Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | AUGUST 2022 | 21 Talking Points… "We've uncovered a key gap in the country's national adaptation planning: to varying degrees the organisations we have assessed are not prepared for cascading infrastructure failures … These dependencies, if disrupted, have potentially devastating consequences." Baroness Brown, chair of the adaptation com- mittee, Committee on Climate Change "What [the price cap] has been protecting people from the last six months is the reality of how much this stuff costs because that's all it's doing: it's delaying the inevitable." Keith Anderson, chief executive, Scottish Power "At a time when customers need all the support they can get, it's worrying to see service performance is the worst on record. This leaves people frustrated and in the dark at the end of the phone." Clare Moriarty, chief executive, Citizens Advice, responding to plum- meting average call time for energy retailers Quote, unquote frustrated and in the dark at the end of the phone." Clare Moriarty chief executive, Citizens Advice, responding to plum- meting average call time for energy retailers … These dependencies, if disrupted, have potentially devastating consequences." Baroness Brown of the adaptation com- mittee, Committee on Climate Change costs because that's all it's doing: it's delaying the inevitable." Keith Anderson executive, Scottish Power Johnson's departure marks crossroads for net zero Comment David Blackman Policy correspondent S ympathy is currently in extremely short supply for Boris Johnson. The grudging tone of the prime minister's resignation speech le few in much doubt that he was dragged kicking and screaming to quit the top job in British politics. However, those concerned about climate may be justi• ed in feeling nervous. While Johnson has justi• - ably attracted criticism over the way he has run his administra- tion, he has thrown his weight behind the government's e- orts to cut emissions. It was his predecessor, Theresa May, who introduced the 2050 net-zero emissions tar- get during the dying days of her premiership nearly three years ago. However, Johnson's admin- istration has put a lot more ‡ esh on the bones of addressing this headline target. The PM made his "10-point plan for a green industrial revolution" a centrepiece of his government's e- orts to help the UK economy recover from the pandemic. Then the Net Zero Strategy, published in the run-up to the UK-hosted COP 26 climate summit, was the • rst pan-government e- ort to tackle rising emissions. And this year, as worries about soaring bills intensi• ed in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has seen the publica- tion of the • rst piece of bespoke energy legislation in nearly a decade. The Conservative leadership election, therefore, raises the possibility that this momentum on climate change policy could be derailed. The past year has seen the government's drive to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 become a ‡ ashpoint among Conservative backbench MPs, who will have a powerful role in determining the identity of the new prime minister. While both of the contend- ers to replace Johnson say they are committed to the 2050 goal, their appetite for action in the short term is less clear. As chan- cellor, Rishi Sunak was o en accused of frustrating attempts to inject more ambition into net-zero policy. Liz Truss, mean- while, cut farming subsidies for solar installations in 2014 when she was environment secretary, saying they were "blighting" the countryside. Equally, though, Johnson's record on climate change issues has been patchy. The ‡ agship Green Homes Grant energy eœ ciency scheme, for instance, proved an embarrassing ‡ op. And concern has been growing about a gap between the govern- ment's climate-friendly rhetoric and the nitty gritty of policy. The Conservatives' next choice as leader is likely to cut a more sober • gure than Johnson, and a less slapdash approach to governing could bring bene• ts in terms of delivering net zero, but only if the steer from the top remains strong. The news in numbers: 15GW Milestone passed in the UK's solar generation capacity this year, according to Solar Energy UK 1.9GW Flexibility contracted by DNOs in the year to March, according to the Energy Networks Association £100m Price United Utilities agreed with SDCL Energy Eƒ ciency Income Trust to sell its renewable energy business 27,000 Extra heat pump engineers that will need to be trained over the next six years, according to Nesta 250MW Government's target for the amount of low- carbon hydrogen production to be supported by a ‡ rst round of state funding in 2022

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