Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | OCTOBER 2022 | 17 Talking Points… "The sooner we get to a scenario where the marginal cost of energy is very low, the better. That can certainly be achieved with renewable energy. But we have to tackle, at the strategic level, the issue of intermittency… We need energy storage on a gargantuan scale." Derek Lickorish, chairman, Utilita "How the water sector maintains its legitimacy in the face of big returns and very material increase in capital values will be a big question coming at the industry over the next few years." Jonson Cox, former chairman, Ofwat "Water effi ciency is absolutely not hardwired into the main of the methodology (of the PR24 price control). It looks like something that could be knocked off when you look at the nuts and bolts." Nicci Russell, chief executive, Waterwise Quote, unquote prices could remain high, perhaps for the rest of this decade. So, despite the recent announce- ment, we must double our e orts to shape future policy and regulation to protect low income and vulnerable house- holds from the worst impacts of sustained in ated gas prices. This must come in two guises. First, through market reform, and second, through an accelerated move towards a fair and a ordable transition to net zero. National Energy Action (NEA) has led calls for a new social tari that is additional to current protections, mandatory, well targeted, provides a meaningful discount and auto-enrols eligible households. Countless other organisations have joined us in calling for a social tari including anti- poverty charities, green NGOs, energy suppliers, parliamentary committees and the Resolution Foundation. NEA will continue to push for a duty on the government to plan for a social tari through an amendment to the Energy Bill. We will also share our learning with the NI Energy Regulator and in time, a functioning Executive. Finally, the UK government's focus on lowering prices and enhancing supply overlooks the other key lever the government has still not deployed in the crisis. Greater investment in energy e‹ ciency not only saves consumers money and makes homes warm and safe places to live, it creates jobs, provides an economic return to the Treasury and reduces strain and costs for our stretched health services. We hope that this opportunity does not continue to be overlooked at a time when the case for action seems to grow daily. Peter Smith, National Energy Action Sector must double its eff orts to protect the vulnerable T he energy crisis has become the most prominent pub- lic policy issue facing the country. How we can help low- income and vulnerable house- holds who will struggle to a ord heating their homes this winter is central to this debate. Following the UK government's recent intervention, more than 24 mil- lion households across Great Britain are now set to avoid paying average bills of £3,500. This could save over two million households from being plunged into fuel poverty in October. This is to be warmly welcomed, as is the supplementary support that has been announced across the whole of the UK for those reliant on heating oil and other types of non-gas fuels. We estimate, however, that 6.7 million households in the UK will still be trapped in fuel poverty as the winter months approach. The "freeze" in bills means these households will still be leš to ration their energy use to a point it might be damaging their health. The intervention to freeze the GB-wide cap also does not automati- cally apply in Northern Ireland and it is still unclear how "equivalent support" for customers in Northern Ireland will operate. Without a resolution to the current political impasse, approximately £435 million of Barnett consequential funding that arose from the previous cost-of-living measures and an addi- tional £340 million allocated for NI is currently being held by HM Treasury, yet still isn't being released. Added to the money for the consequential, for NI to benež t from the price freeze, it's vital that these issues are overcome in the coming weeks before the heating season begins. Beyond this winter, analysts say Comment: Despite welcome government support, there is still more work to be done to ensure customers are protected. the industry over the next few years." Jonson Cox chairman, Ofwat We need energy storage on a gargantuan scale." Derek Lickorish Utilita looks like something that could be knocked off when you look at the nuts and bolts."

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