UTILITY WEEK | DECEMBER 2022 |
5
KNOWLEDGE WORTH KEEPING
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We must always be
mindful of the bill
November saw the launch of a new agship event in Utility Week
Forum – themed around the challenges of tackling the trilemma: the
pursuit of sustainability, a• ordability, and security of supply.
The conference (see p12), featuring speakers from across the sec-
tor as well as expert commentators, discussed the potential friction
points and trade-o• s in balancing these three aims.
While clearly all three are essential for a just transition, there was
much debate about where the focus should be for utilities in 2022.
We even held an Oxford Debate, with three speakers taking out their
soap box to argue for prominence of a particular pillar. The results
of this surprised me, as I had assumed a• ordability would trump
all other areas, given the painful reality facing many households.
However, the audience at the Forum showed a clear preference for
sustainability as the number one priority for the sector.
I stress again, there is clearly no choice to be made here – all ele-
ments of the trilemma are non-negotiable – but what do the results
of this debate tell us about the priorities of the utilities sector? One
comment from the oor was that sustainability must be the ultimate
goal, but security of supply and a• ordability have to be guard rails
along the way. Several other commentators pointed out that long-
term a• ordability is entirely dependent on adopting more sustain-
able approaches to the consumption of energy and water.
All of this is perfectly valid and a great debate to have within the
sector. My fear, however, is that this discussion is happening in a
fevered and volatile environment where it would be all too easy for
utilities to be painted as tin-eared. One of the other key takeaways
from the event was the trust de‰ cit facing utilities – an issue that
has only been exacerbated during the cost of living crisis.
Sustainability and decarbonisation are quite rightly top priorities
for utilities, but companies must also strive to ‰ nd a way to explic-
itly link that goal to the impacts on customers' pockets if they are to
have any chance of bringing them along on the journey.
James Wallin, editor, jameswallin@fav-house.com
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Policy correspondent
David Blackman,
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Cisco
A threat without borders:
understanding the cyber risk
facing utilities
https://bit.ly/3TVSyVL
Radius
Building the skills pipeline – how
the water network can get it right
fi rst time
https://bit.ly/3U2xtsJ
Letter from the Editor
James Wallin
Itineris
Customer service is all the more
important as the cost of living
crisis bites
https://bit.ly/3BAp3Sc
