Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | APRIL 2023 | 27 Talking Points… "Energy prices are still double what they were in 2020 and remain unaff ordable for many. Our concern is that families will still need help next winter if wholesale prices stay the same and there is nothing in the Budget that signals a longer-term plan to reduce energy consumption and cut bills." Michael Lewis, chief executive, Eon "We know the will is there, technology is available, companies want to work together with retailers and customers to look at innovative solutions. But the money simply isn't there to work at scale." Sarah McMath, chief executive, MOSL, on the non-domestic sector's desire to tackle water e ciency "It would surely be a missed opportunity if we were to tackle discharges from storm overfl ows by just pouring more concrete underground and investing in end-of- pipe solutions rather than deciding to treat rainwater diff erently." James Heath, chief executive, National Infrastructure Commission Quote, unquote But the money simply isn't there to work at scale." Sarah McMath executive, MOSL, on the non-domestic sector's desire to tackle water e ciency investing in end-of- pipe solutions rather than deciding to treat rainwater diff erently." James Heath The news in numbers: £205m Budget for the • rst annual Contracts for Di erence auction. £325m Funding secured by Portsmouth Water to construct its Havant Thicket reſervoir. 2026 New date for the decommissioning of EDF's Heysham 1 and Hartlepool nuclear plants – an extension of two years. 1,300 Roles Eon has announced it is looking to create in its retail business to improve customer support. 14% Proportion of customers who would not be willing to contribute • nancially to improving the energy e ciency of their homes, according to a poll by the Social Market Foundation. Making connections T he issue of delays in connecting to the transmission system is far from a new debate but over recent months there seems to have been almost a competition to point to the longest time stuck in the queue. The winner so far just about slips into the current century, hav- ing been waiting since 2000. This may be an extreme example but there is a clear consensus that the logjam of projects in the Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) register is only getting worse and a solution is needed. So, it was good to see action on this front with National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) out- lining a ‚ ve-point plan to speed up the connections process. Work has been ongoing for a year now but at the start of March the ESO brought in a new two-step process in England and Wales while a wider review is undertaken by the ESO and the transmission operators. In Scotland connections will continue to be o† ered as usual while the review is carried out. Also encouraging is the work ESO has done to re‚ ne its methodologies to reˆ ect current connection rates and tackle the assumption that most projects in the queue will actually connect (given up to 70% of them don't). In addition, Utility Week revealed that 5.5GW of projects have responded to the ESO's TEC register amnesty to either terminate or reduce their contracted capacity. There has also been a positive reaction to the govern- ment's announcement of planning reforms that will accelerate the progress of nationally signi‚ cant projects. Still, there is more that needs to be done and involv- ing a wide range of players, not just the ESO, transmis- sion operators and the planning system but project developers themselves, distribution networks, Ofgem and numerous arms of government. This is where we are still hearing concern – with so many di† erent actors involved, where should leadership come from? The ESO has been proactive and as it evolves into the future system operator (FSO) it is likely to have greater clout. However, progress needs to happen rapidly and there is a risk that the transition to FSO does not move fast enough, or adds greater complexity to the process. It will be a di" cult balance to establish that guiding voice while maintaining that constant pressure on removing blockers to net zero and energy security. James Wallin, editor Comment: A workable regime for ensuring speedy grid connections is long overdue. longer-term plan to reduce energy consumption and cut bills." Michael Lewis

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