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utIlIty WEEK | 4th - 10th July 2014 | 5 Plugged in #UWatOne Utility Week is trailing the #UWatOne news updates on Twitter, where the top stories of the day get retweeted for everyone to catch up with over their lunch. It will be good to hear your thoughts, and what you think can be improved. Mathew Beech, associate news editor, Utility Week Website comments Home energy efficiency a 'national infrastructure priority' Domestic energy efficiency must be treated as a "national infrastructure priority", according to a coali- tion of 20 organisations in the construction, housing, and environmental sectors. Ray Del Colle: "America has the natural resources to meet its energy demand with clean, renewable energy. It's time to harness that full potential." Join the discussion with Utility Week's LinkedIn group, Utility Week networking and news £10,000 Fine imposed on Severn Trent Water for a pollution offence in Nottinghamshire Electricity capacity margins are set to tighten over the next couple of years, but the risk of disconnections has fallen, Ofgem said in its annual capacity assessment. The energy regulator's assessment said margins are set to be at their lowest level for the winter of 2015/16, due to the closure of old power stations. The latest report said the capacity margin could drop to about 2 per cent during 2015/16, before picking back up to between 4 per cent and 12 per cent in 2017/18. But because of the new balanc- ing systems introduced by the Depart- ment of Energy and Climate Change, National Grid, and Ofgem, "the probability of disconnections has reduced". National Grid's "demand-side balanc- ing reserve" will comprise large energy users with the flexibility to reduce their electricity use by 330MW during winter 2014/15 and by up to 1,800MW for winter 2015/16, if required to. ElECtrICIty A school in northeast England has cut lighting energy consumption by 38 per cent with a low-energy lighting upgrade. Rye Hills School in Redcar is saving more than £500 a year on energy bills after implementing energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, using government-backed, interest-free funding. As well as driving down the school's carbon footprint "substantially", the lighting is on track to achieve payback within five years. Risk of disconnections has fallen "There are some difficult decisions ahead regarding just how resilient the UK should be, and what networks can and should operate 24/7 in what conditions" Institution of Civil Engineers vice president Keith Clarke on the publication of its annual State of the Nation report 1,000,000 The number of residential smart meters British Gas has now installed in the UK £5.7 million Amount the Crown Estate has invested in Scotland in 2013/14