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UtilitY WEEK | 11th - 17th April 2014 | 31 Community Disconnector Editor: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen.bennett@fav-house.com; Energy editor: Megan Darby, t: 01342 332087, e: megan.darby@fav-house.com; Features editor: Karma Ockenden, t: 01342 332086, e: karma.ockenden@fav-house. com; Reporter: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@fav-house.com; Reporter: Conor McGlone, t: 01342 332083, e: conor.mcglone@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085; Business development manager: Ed Roberts, t: 01342 332067, e: ed.roberts@fav-house.com; Sales executive: Nicky Shaw, t: 01342 332070, e: nicky.shaw@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year, t: 01342 332011. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton press, palace road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Published by: Faversham house ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex rh19 1UZ Light, but no illumination It could serve as a metaphor for central government's erratic – some might say schizophrenic – attitude towards the energy sector. Disconnector speaks of Birmingham City Council's deci- sion to install a new streetlight in Eastern Road, Boldmere. It concurred with local residents that the lighting needed upgrad- ing, but perhaps mindful that there were almost certain to be complaints about light pollution from other residents, it placed the light behind thick conifers so that it didn't emit any actual light. Those who called for the new lamp are not amused, and neither are the local politicos who sanctioned the installation, at a cost to the public purse of £2,000. Rob Pocock, a Birming- ham councillor, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what the contractors had done. It must have taken a superhuman effort to get it so well hidden inside those trees. "Not one luminous ray can escape to light up the highway, it's so perfectly concealed. This sort of thing gets the contractors and the council a bad name." Apparently the root of the problem was that the fluorescent light being replaced employed an older design with a long "arm" that reached beyond the trees, whereas the new one has a cluster of LEDs close to the top of the pole. Contractor Amey said it Disconnector would contact the householder who owns the offending conifer and ask for permission to cut it back. Put that light out! Mind you, the residents of East- ern Road may be ruing the day they ever made a fuss, if their experience of new LED street- lighting turns out to be anything like that of the poor sods who live in Hall Green Close, a quiet Malvern cul de sac, who say their lives have been blighted by the installation of a new LED streetlight that lights up their homes "like a football stadium". Residents have complained to Worcestershire County Council about the street lamps, which they say are more suited to the motorway than their small road in its semi-rural location back- ing on to fields. Anthony Skelsey said: "It's a white, glaring light. They are high up in the air and unneces- sarily light up my back garden and it appears like we've le an outside light on. "I just think it's a waste of public money." It seems ironic that while so many of us are worrying about how to keep the lights on, the residents of Hall Green Close are trying to work out how to turn them off. Running dry Talking of the incompetence of officialdom, which we kind of were, Disconnector was bemused to read in the national press that the organis- ers of the Sheffield marathon had attempted to cancel the event with 10 minutes' notice because officials deemed there was not enough water on hand for the runners. Aer all, it's been raining for six months and there are plenty of taps around. More than 4,000 runners turned up at the starting line, only to be told that the race was being cancelled on 'elf and safety grounds. This being Yorkshire, where a certain bloody-mindedness runs in the DNA, most of them set off anyway. As if things weren't farcical enough, the police at first attempted to erect roadblocks to stop people taking part before belatedly realising that it was probably safer to just let them run. Peter Novodvorsky of Shef- field, who was there to watch the race, described a scene of chaos. He said: "The organisers announced the cancellation through a loudspeaker, which was not loud enough at all. When people started run- ning anyway, I suppose many people at the back thought the race had started." Toby Spencer, from Soli- hull, was the first person to cross the finish line at Don Val- ley Bowl. BBC Radio Sheffield reported him as saying it was his "first and last race here". 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2013 Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com Peter Bennett @Solar_Editor DECC's 'D3 Approach' to decentralised energy sounds like an X Factor boyband Caroline Flint @CarolineFlintMP Great #Labour Frontbench & Backbench Team effort at #DECC Q's. 6 Govt MPs withdrew Q's & 2 didn't turn up. Labour sets the agenda Greg Barker @GregBarkerMP Hugely proud to be launching our massively ambitious #solar strategy later this morning in Midlands. Big thanks to my #DECC team #Growth Richard Hall @richonlyinname Both sides keen to emphasise cross party consensus immediately before saying other lot are clueless b******s. Debate closes w/ motion vote Jonathan Ashworth MP @JonAshworth By way we're voting on a Labour opposition mo- tion even though we're over our allocation but this zombie Tory govt have so little business Tim Probert @TimProbert If hot air from the Commons could be run through a turbine, Britain would never need to build another power station 3WhitehallPlace @3WhitehallPlace Today we're publishing a leaflet, 'Why Outdoor Wind is Not to Blame for Your Weight Gain, Impotence or Baldness', with foreword by Ross Kemp Adam Scorer @adam_scorer Accurate account management/bills should be the central pillar of customer service in energy market, but remains its greatest weakness Robert Graham @RobertWHGraham 224% #energy complaints rise after @ofgem referral great as bought #consumer voices out, will definitely aid #energy transparency #campaign! Good Energy @Good_Energy Good news from Ofgem today about plans for cheaper off-peak electricity. Gets the thumbs up from us! Top Tweets