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UTILITY WEEK | 4Th - 10Th AprIL 2014 | 3 Leader Ellen Bennett This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Opinion Dorothy Thompson, Drax 8 | Interview robert Symons, chief executive, WpD 13 Policy & Regulation 13 | News Compensation for blackouts to double 14 | Analysis Energy referred to the CMA 19 | Analysis Water Bill amendments 20 | Market view Changes in pensions law 21 Finance & Investment 21 | News Bank backs offshore windfarms projects 22 Operations & Assets 22 | High viz Bluewater Bio's Gulf facility 23 | Pipe up Anne McIntosh 24 | Market view Identifying areas prone to groundwater flooding 25 Customers 25 | News SSE to freeze prices and split up business 26 | Analysis The Green Deal 27 | Market view Consumer Futures 28 Markets & Trading 28 | Market view Energy market coupling 30 Community 30 | Subscriber focus Elaine Warwicker, Ecotricity 31 | Disconnector Water exit U-turn is a landmark decision Two significant things happened in the world of utilities this week – one expected, one not. In the energy arena, Ofgem made the long- awaited referral of the retail market to the Competition and Markets Authority. The fact that this has been welcomed by many within the market as well as by its critics is symptomatic of just how bad things have got. It is hoped it will take some of the political heat out of the debate and serve to clear the air in time for sensible policy decisions to be taken aer the 2015 election. You can read our analysis of the announcement and sector reaction on p14. The inquiry will inevitably raise questions about the performance of Ofgem itself. Indeed, the regulator could find it is on trial as much as the companies are. Aer all, the very act of referring the market to the CMA is an admission of defeat when your job is to police the market. The likelihood of Ofgem surviving 2015 intact is looking ever slimmer: if and when recommending a replacement, the CMA should have an eye to the networks. It would be a shame if the com- petent management of the network sector were thrown out alongside the less adept handling of retail. The government's U-turn on letting incumbents exit the non- domestic water market once it opens up to competition in 2017 received virtually no attention compared with the blanket cover- age of the energy referral. Yet in its own way, letting companies decide whether they want to stay in the market or not is a landmark decision and a victory for common sense. It is rare that companies are united with politicians, the regulator and prospective market entrants in their support of a measure, but the retail exit was that rare moment. It was illogical of the government to refuse to amend the Water Bill in the face of such united opposition (some of which came from within its own party), and increasingly difficult for minis- ters to defend. Water minister Dan Rogerson should be commended for listening, and if this is the first result of his influence at Defra, it bodes well. Karma Ockenden's expert view is on p7 and our full analysis on p19. Ellen Bennett, Editor ellen.bennett@fav-house.com GAS 13 | Political Agenda Mathew Beech 21 | News Brussels 'could delay gas investment' WATEr 7 | Expert view Karma Ockenden 19 | Analysis Water Bill amendments 22 | High viz Bluewater Bio's Gulf facility 24 | Market view Identifying areas prone to groundwater flooding ELECTrICITY 6 | Chief executive view Dorothy Thompson, Drax 8 | Interview robert Symons, chief executive, WpD 13 | News Compensation rises for blackouts 21 | News Bank backs offshore windfarm projects 23 | Pipe up Anne McIntosh EnErGY 14 | Analysis Ofgem refers energy market to the CMA 25 | News SSE to freeze prices and split up business 26 | Analysis The Green Deal 27 | Market view Consumer Futures 28 | Market view European efforts to integrate energy markets Knowledge worth keeping Visit the Downloads section of Utility Week's website for special reports and exclusive research commissioned for the utilities industry. http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/downloads