Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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4 | 18th - 24th April 2014 | UtilitY WEEK National media IPCC mitigation report tackling climate change is affordable if all countries act fast, according to the last in a three- part series of landmark reports from the inter- governmental panel on Climate Change. the weighty assess- ment of scientific evidence was published on Sunday. 0.06% annual cost to GDp of "ambi- tious action" to cut emissions 40-70% emissions cut needed from 2010 levels by 2050 3x associated growth in low- carbon sources as share of energy supply Japan ready to restart nuclear power plants The Japanese government has promised to restart the nation's ageing fleet of nuclear power plants. Defying public opinion, the ruling Liberal Democratic party of prime minister Shinzo Abe put through parliament an energy plan describing the country's nuclear plants as "an important baseload power source". The decision reverses the stance of the previous administration, now in opposition, which promised to phase out nuclear power within 25 years. The Times Centrica starts search for new chief exec Centrica has set the wheels in motion to find a candidate to fill one of the most politically contro- versial posts in UK business. On Friday the parent company of British Gas, the largest of the UK's big six energy suppliers, said it had started looking for a replacement for Sam Laidlaw, chief executive, as part of a wider shake-up of its sen- ior management team and board. Financial Times Australian pro-coal campaign backfires The mining industry in Australia launched a big PR offensive last week, complete with adverts, a new website, and a social media blitz. Claiming to represent the "silent majority of Australians", it found them silent indeed. Its Twitter campaign (#australiansforcoal) was immediately hijacked by environ- mental supporters who ridiculed the campaign's message – and it was this that got the press coverage. The Guardian story by NUMbErs The big six energy suppli- ers are set to get a windfall of £245 million because of the government's proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation (Eco), according to the Association for the Conser- vation of Energy (Ace). In Ace's consultation response to proposed changes to Eco, seen by Utility Week, the organisation claimed the savings per customer from the proposed changes to the carbon emissions reduction obligation element of Eco would amount to £44.90 for the 12 months to March 2015. That is considerably more than the average reduction to energy bills of £32.25 the major suppliers have passed on to their customers for the same period. In its response, Ace said the change being consulted on by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) was "bad for consumers, further undermines the government's credibility, and is even more damaging to the supply chain than anticipated". Ace director Andrew Warren told Utility Week: "This is a windfall. It is money that goes to the shareholders or anybody else they choose, but it is not going to be spent on customers. It's not going to be reducing cus- tomers' bills. This is just money in the pocket." He added: "We would rather this was restored to actually helping people save energy. That was what this was supposed to be about." A Decc spokesperson declined to comment because the consultation was ongoing but said the department would respond to the consultation as a whole "in due course". MB Seven days... "An inept attempt to stifle legitimate views from the Scottish Government" Alex Salmond on the government's bid to stop the SNP making independent representations to Brussels over Hinkley Point C Big six will net £245m from changes to Eco £334 million the value of AMp6 contracts Northumbrian Water has put out to tender