Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 1ST - 7TH AUGUST 2014 | 31 Community Disconnector Editor: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen.bennett@fav-house.com; News editor: Jillian Ambrose, t: 01342 332061, e: jillian.ambrose@fav-house.com; Associate news editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@fav-house. com; Insight editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paul.newton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ed Roberts, t: 01342 332067, e: ed.roberts@fav-house. com; Sales executive: Hayley Cronin, t: 01342 332077, e: hayley.cronin@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 Offi ce. 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 A safe bet Utility Week reported in these pages a couple of weeks ago, on the e orts of local people in Oxfordshire to get the spoilsports at RWE Npower to change their minds about the timing of the demolition of three huge cooling towers at Didcot A. The iconic structures have been a towering presence (literally) in the vicinity for years, so the locals wanted them knocked down during the day so they could watch. But RWE was unmoved and the towers were blown up just a€ er 5am on Sunday 27 July. In a statement, it said: "We are acutely aware that this Š rst part of this demolition is an issue which local people feel strongly about, however safety has to come Š rst." The company did provide a live feed of the blast on its website. Not quite the same. Seems like a classic case of 'elf and safety run amok in nanny Britain. Well, maybe yes, maybe no. By serendipity, a video went viral last week of a group of Czechs gathered to watch the demolition of a textile factory in Prostejov (http://bit.ly/1lmscFA). They all seem to be standing a reasonable distance away from the build- ings as they fall, but that doesn't stop a Š st-sized piece of rock appearing from nowhere, bounc- ing o the ground nearby and Š zzing past the man recording the video. If its course had been mere inches to the le€ or right, it would have been curtains for one or more bystanders. Disconnector It occurs to the great man that health and safety considera- tions o€ en seem over the top until something goes wrong, at which point they're belatedly found to have been inadequate. Fair dinkum There's something admirably straightforward about our Australian cousins, thinks Disconnector. While we Brits are forever worried about how things will look and whether a certain course of action will harm our international standing, the Australians… well, let's say they're a little more laid back. Thus, when our politicos real- ise they've made a mistake with something – say, a carbon tax in the form of emissions trad- ing permits – we won't put our hands up and say, sorry about this but we simply can't a ord to do it. We'd rather fudge it, bodge it and let it wither on the vine so we can shrug our shoulders and declare that we did our best. Not the Aussies. The country may be the developed world's worst polluter per head of population, but that didn't stop Australia's new prime minister from scrapping the carbon tax introduced by the previous Labour government because he said the tax cost jobs and forced up energy prices. Tony Abbott leads a Liberal- National coalition that won power last year and although loathed by the Greens and the le€ , his plain speaking has gone down ace with the voters. One of the architects of Abbott's electoral success was a certain Lynton Crosby, spin doctor extraordinaire and now the Tories' election strategist. Crosby was reportedly the force behind David Cameron's deci- sion to make environment sec- retary Owen Paterson walk the plank so the fragrant Liz Truss could take his place in the TV studios come election time. Nothing breeds conŠ dence like success and it makes you wonder how far Cameron will bend to Crosby's inž uence. Will we see the PM taking to the despatch box in a cork- bedecked hat declaring that he is scrapping windfarms, Eco and all the rest because "it's all a load of cobblers, mate"? No, we won't. But we all know there's a sizeable number of Tory backbenchers who'd love to hear him say that. Who's watching? Here in the UK we like to be seen to be green, even if the truth is that we aren't really. Eon has revealed the Š nd- ings of a new survey into the nation's home viewing habits, which found that the average Brit now has three devices on which to watch home enter- tainment, with more than half (55 per cent) admitting to leaving these on for an hour- and-a-half a day while they're doing something else. Like moaning about the size of their electricity bills. 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2013 Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com Dr David Williams @davideco2 A glimmer of hope for common sense in UK biomass strategy. Some wood might be low carbon!! Please Decc most other UK biomass is low carbon Rob Raine @RobRaine Decc study shows how sometimes biomass isn't low carbon. Transporting it from N America doesn't help John Sinfi eld @MD_KINE With all these announcements from @DECCgovuk today, it's good we have time before recess to discuss & respond. Oh, wait… 3WhitehallPlace @3WhitehallPlace Hinkley Point C update. Under terms of the con- tract, the strike price will rise by £10/MWh each time England beats France in the Six Nations Jennifer Webber @jennifercwebber Everyone who cares about the future of the planet should be thanking Edward Davey today for his work to secure the 4th Carbon Budget Emma Lucy Pinchbeck @ELPinchbeck My boyfriend just phoned up especially to call me a "big green blob". I'd like to thank #OwenPaterson for that moment of romance Jenny Banks @BanksJenny Sad to hear @danielbyles stepping down at next election. Constructive & willing to listen to all points of view. Big loss to the energy world Manik Kohli @manik_psk How can the SNP promise progress & fairness with a single energy market? We'd still be tied to Westminster policies #indyref #bettertogether YesWestLothian @YesWestLothian Keep it Simple Scotland: We've got 25% of Europe's offshore wind and tidal energy potential #indyref Better Together @UK_Together Fact #30 – As part of the UK, households pay up to £189 less on their energy bills Labour Energy @labourenergy UK shares the "risks and rewards" of the energy market – no sense in changing that @CarolineFlintMP tells #CBIenergy #indyref Top Tweets

• Cover