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UtILIty WEEK | 23rd - 29th May 2014 | 23 Operations & Assets Sutton and East Surrey and con- tractor Clancy Docwra used trenchless auger and micro-tunnelling tech- niques to excavate 140,000 tonnes of soil. The £14m project was completed within budget and with no accidents. The winner of the Thames Valley regional Engineering Excellence award will be announced on 27 June. If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, email: paul.newton@fav-house.com Pipe up Alex Tsimboykas T he future of the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) has been hanging in the balance since the chancel- lor announced proposed changes last December. As part of its Eco consultation response, the EUM Group held a supply chain roundtable for businesses delivering the scheme. The unanimous verdict? The drawn-out way in which Decc is handling the changes has caused a multitude of problems. It is now imperative that Decc works alongside Ofgem to make Eco a work- able and cost-efficient scheme. Immediately aer December's announcement, the carbon price plummeted. Smaller, oen terraced, houses were suddenly rendered "loss-making" under the scheme's flawed carbon-scoring system. Installers and assessors cited thousands of properties deemed eligible for Eco measures that were suddenly turned down, leav- ing what had been a relatively stable industry in disarray. Energy suppliers are being forced to postpone work or suspend it indefinitely, unsure as to whether meas- ures installed today will count towards future targets or whether the rules of the game will change, leaving early adop- ters at a competitive disadvan- tage as others wait for cheaper measures and reduced targets to potentially be introduced into the scheme. The delivery of Eco in the future could be severely affected as businesses go under or choose to move away from the peaks and troughs of recent years. Businesses are desperate for long-term clarity, and are concerned that the proposed cuts to 2015 targets go too far and that proposed incentives for overdelivery will weaken the 2017 target – and that is within Decc's gi to provide as quickly as possible. However, if we are to maintain momentum in Eco and avoid damage to the supply chain, action is needed before then. A clear message from EUM's roundtable was that Ofgem must step in to offer industry the clarity it desperately needs to prevent this investment hiatus by offering confidence that work carried out now will count towards targets, regardless of changes to the scheme. If Ofgem could provide this certainty, the indus- try wouldn't be faced with prolonged delays, peaks and troughs in workload, and cancellation of jobs for households that desperately need the help that Eco can deliver. The message from the supply chain couldn't be clearer: the status quo is unsustainable and while we wait for long-term clarity about the future of the scheme, the ball is now firmly in Ofgem's court. Alex Tsimboykas, director, EUM Group "Ofgem must step in to offer industry the clarity it desperately needs to prevent this investment hiatus." The delivery of Eco in the future could be severely affected as businesses go under