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UTILITY WEEK | 11Th - 17Th AprIL 2014 | 3 Leader Ellen Bennett This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Opinion Mike Foster, chief executive, Energy and Utilities Alliance 8 | Special report Customer centricity and utilities, sponsored by Wipro 13 Policy & Regulation 13 | News Closure risk for 7GW of gas power capacity 14 | Market view Water competition must have good governance 15 | Market view Is CMA inquiry worth it? 18 | Special report Is the capacity crunch going to leave us all in darkness? 23 Finance & Investment 23 | News renewables gains a 'national champion' 24 Operations & Assets 24 | High viz pD&MS Energy and harlen 25 | Pipe up peter Boreham 26 | Market view responding to blackouts 27 Customers 27 | News Davey: DNOs must set up blackout hotline 27 | I am the customer Lewis Shand Smith 28 | Market view Energy firms must persuade on the value proposition 30 Community 30 | Subscriber focus Stuart White, Thames Water 31 | Disconnector Water gets ready for the next 25 years At last week's Sustainability Live exhibition, Utility Week hosted a panel discussion reflecting on this year's 25 th anniversary of the privatisation of the water sector. The original water regulator, Sir Ian Byatt, was joined by today's regulator, Ofwat chairman Jonson Cox; Lord Moynihan, the minister responsible for seeing the privatisation through Parliament, now returning to the sector on the Lords committee for the Water Bill; and Wessex Water's executive chairman Colin Skellett, who has been running the company since privatisation. It made for a fascinating exploration of the motivations of the privatisation, and the febrile atmosphere of the time. It was the most unpopular privatisation by far, and raised huge technical and economic questions about how to privatise and then run (for which read regulate) the sector. The consequences of the chosen answers to those questions reverberate today. For example, there was consider- able criticism of how many companies had diversified wildly and unwisely: the reason for companies being allowed the freedom to do this, Lord Moynihan reminded us, was that in 1989, there was no guarantee that private capital would flock to water companies that stuck to pipes and taps. Privatisation of the water sector was a bold and unique experi- ment that is still playing out. There are no models to work from, and as the unforeseen consequences of past decisions become clear, the market structure is altered accordingly. Take this week's sledgeham- mer hint that Ofwat would be keen to see some of the water-only companies swallowed by their neighbours. It's a big departure for the regulator, which has previously insisted that the number of companies in the market, currently 18, should remain broadly static to enable comparative regulation. As regulation becomes more sophisticated, it has decided this is no longer the case (although refuses to name a minimum number of companies it would allow in the sector). Driving efficiencies, bringing down the Wacc for both types of water companies to 3.85 per cent, and ultimately bringing down bills for customers are today's priorities, as the sector shapes up for the next 25 years. To see the debate, visit: www.sustainabilitylive.tv Utility Week has produced a special report marking the anniversary of the privatisation of the water sector. For more information and to order a copy, please email HannahWitherden@fav-house.com. Ellen Bennett, Editor ellen.bennett@fav-house.com GAS 6 | Chief executive view Mike Foster, Energy and Utilities Alliance 13 | News Closure risk for 7GW of gas power capacity WATEr 13 | News Ofwat confirms two companies as 'enhanced' 14 | Market view Water competition and governance 27 | News Wales could be set consumption targets ELECTrICITY 7 | Expert view Karma Ockenden 18 | Special report the capacity crunch 23 | News renewables gains a 'national champion' 24 | High viz pD&MS Energy and harlen 25 | Pipe up peter Boreham 26 | Market view responding to blackouts 27 | News Davey reveals delays to blackout helpline ENErGY 15 | Market view Is CMA inquiry worth it? 27 | I am the customer Lewis Shand Smith 28 | Market view Energy companies must persuade on the value proposition 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