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utILItY WeeK | 29th August - 4th september 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; Insights 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 Office. 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 Bucket list Unless you've been living on Mars for the past fortnight, you will be aware of the internet craze called the Ice Bucket Chal- lenge, whereby someone films themselves having a bucket of iced water dumped over their heads and challenges one or more individuals to do the same within 24 hours, or pay a financial forfeit in the form of a donation to the ALS Foundation (which helps those with amyo- trophic lateral sclerosis). Many famous folk have been pulled in, from Bill Gates and Victoria Beckham all the way up to Justin Bieber. Many in the media have sniffily accused the celebs involved of simply promoting them- selves. It occurs to Discon- nector that it hasn't been thought through, because you're only required to make a donation if you decline to dump the water over your head. In this country Macmil- lan Cancer Trust has co-opted the ice bucket challenge, but shrewdly is asking those chal- lenged to donate £3 if they accept or £10 if they refuse. Npower chief Paul Massara can be seen on YouTube gamely pouring a bucket of icy water over his head. Disconnector The next day on Twitter, Massara cheekily challenged the bosses of the other big six energy suppliers to do the same. At time of going to press there was no word on whether any of them had accepted. Lotta bottle It's been a good couple of weeks for charities. Some readers may be aware of the hoo-ha that erupted when a publicity shot for smash hit TV series Downton Abbey was released showing the Earl and Lady Edith posing in all their period finery in front of a mantelpiece upon which was nestled a very modern looking bottle of water. Some continu- ity numpty doubtless lost their job but the rest of the cast decided to put the publicity to good effect by posing with bottles of water to raise awareness of WaterAid. With so many charities com- peting for the endorsement of celebrities, Barbara Frost and her team at WaterAid are obviously doing something right. Get back on task! The next time you hear someone in the street refer to someone else as "a lazy bugger", the chances are they are referring to you. Let the great man explain. The iOpener Institute for People and Performance has just released research into the productivity of workers worldwide, and it doesn't make comfortable reading for the UK utility sector. Productivity was measured according to "time on task" – the time that workers are actively producing outputs that make a tangible contribu- tion to their organisation. The international average for time on task across all countries and across all sectors is 58.8 per cent. The most productive sectors were food service and retail, 66.2 per cent and 64.3 per cent, respectively. In the bottom three of the 30 sectors classified was, you've guessed it, utilities, with 55.3 per cent. Only estate agents and, oddly, biochemists were lazier. Out of the 37 countries sur- veyed, the UK came 14th with a time on task of 57.6 per cent. That's not great, of course, but at least we beat the Germans (46.8 per cent) and the French (50.8 per cent). Outrageously, we were soundly thrashed by Columbia (66.2 per cent) and first-placed Mexico (73.2 per cent). Disconnector was sur- prised to see Columbia feature so highly because the county has been riven by battles between le-wing insurgents, drugs cartels and paramilitary forces for the best part of 40 years. How you'd measure the time on task of a Farc guerrilla is anybody's guess. 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2013 Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com TWC Consulting @TWCConsulting Green Deal & ECO retrofit schemes hits low- est levels in over a year. A lot more effort & commitment needed to get this off the ground Consumer Partnership @OxfordConsumer #Energy giant to pay £3m fine and @citizen- sadvice and debt charity to benefit. Keep up the pressure, #consumers! IET Consulting @InterEnerTrans Onshore wind in UK much more popular among public than nuclear or shale gas says DECC survey AMPPlus @AMPplus Changes to the water industry: "A more efficient, dynamic and customer focused sector," says Regina Finn, CEO, @Ofwat http://ow.ly/Ajw28 David Lloyd Owen @Daviddwr 50% of households will have #water meters in 2015, against 0% in 1989. A long haul and a once sceptical @Ofwat. Mat Hope @matjhope The Gremlins invaded Carbon Brief over the weekend in a big way. Today i am not a journalist, I am a de-gremifier. National Grid UK @nationalgriduk The National Grid bees have produced 60 jars of honey; all proceeds will go towards new equipment and Macmillan Tom Greatrex MP @tomgreatrexmp I've done it (Ice Buckect Challenge) @Gedk @ RuglenReformer - nominate @David_Ross86 & Felix #Magath - who will have plenty offers to help Rich Hall @richonlyinname Honestly. npower challenges the rest of the Big 6 to the ice bucket challenge but not the small suppliers. Yet more barriers to liquidity. Jessica lennard @JessicaLennard Last wk everyone supported the ice bucket challenge, this wk apparently it shd be opposed for water wastage. #sillyseason #getbacktowork Top Tweets