Utility Week

UTILITY Week 5th September 2014

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UtILItY WeeK | 12th - 18th 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 Decision time Aer months of waiting for the big vote, judgement day is now just a few weeks away. The suspense is killing! Yup, Strictly Come Dancing starts at the end of the month, when one of the celebs will get kicked off the show. Let's hope the British pub- lic keeps Andy Murray's mum in the competition for a couple of weeks, or Alex Salmond will never let us hear the end of it. Judy Murray won't win, of course. That will be one of the youngsters, most of whom also have a few years at stage school under their belt. No, the odds-on favourite to win this year's show is "pop princess" Pixie Lott. That name means nothing to the great man, of course, although she's doubtless a lovely girl. No, as far as Disconnector is concerned, there will only ever be one pop princess: Kylie Minogue. Sadly the diminutive Aussie was passed over for this year's Strictly, although she does get out for the odd reality show or to front an advertising campaign, such as launching Coca-Cola's new bottled water, Glacéau Smartwater. She was going through the motions at the product's launch in London last week, although Disconnector's spies didn't report whether this involved pre- tending to drink the stuff while making yummy noises. It certainly doesn't sound appetising, welding together the idea of glaciers, Frenchness and "smart" (the latter because Disconnector it is "electrolyte-enhanced"). Coca-Cola claims it comes from "spring water" sourced in Northumberland, via an indus- trial estate in Morpeth that also supplies Schweppes' Abbey Well mineral water. Nothing says gla- ciers or abbeys like an industrial estate in Morpeth. If you want to save a few bob, stick a glass under a tap. Of course, you'll have to make do without the electrolytes. Everyone likes a challenge Even as the great man sits at his typewriter bashing out these words, the ice bucket challenge is flashing around the world like a nuclear chain reaction, causing freezing water to be dropped on the heads of the hapless, fuelled by nothing more than a desire to give to charity – and a bit of peer pressure. So ubiquitous is the craze that it's becoming embar- rassing to not be challenged. That cuts little ice in Belarus, however. According to US- funded Radio Liberty, the former Eastern Bloc country's presi- dent, Alexander Lukashenko, was challenged to take part by teenager Dmitry Daynenko in a video of him dumping a bucket of water over his head, uploaded to YouTube. Dmitry was hauled before the "local youth affairs office" and told he'd "done something against Lukashenko". The police said everyone in the video would be fined unless they took it down. This poses the question: did Lukashenko take offence and put his cronies on the case, or did they act unilaterally, assuming he wouldn't have a sense of humour on the mat- ter? Which is a shame – he might have been up for it. It's a hidden downside of being a tyrant: isolation. Mugabe, Putin et al get a lot of bad press but it must be lonely being a despot. Disconnector can't help but wonder if North Korea's Kim Jong-un is sitting at home wondering why none of his mates have nominated him. Hang on… What do energy companies need to do to get a favourable story in the press? Well, dan- gling from a rope and injecting cavity wall insulation into two 17-storey tower blocks doesn't cut the mustard, apparently. As part of its ongoing work to fulfil its energy company obligation, Eon paid for specialists Tempo Insulation Services to install cavity wall insulation in two tower blocks in Conway Street, Liverpool. Rather than using scaffolding – which would have made the work too expensive – Tempo sent in teams to abseil down the buildings. Now that's something you don't see every day. It made a great photo opportunity, but you'd be forgiven for missing the story in the national press – energy firms carrying out good work is just not newswor- thy, even when it's spectacular. 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2013 Subscriptions: UK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com 3WhitehallPlace @3WhitehallPlace FACT: Energy bills will rise in an independent Scotland because average daily temperatures are lower than the British average Yorkshire Water @YorkshireWater Waste water? No way hose (sorry). Using a garden hose wastes 1,000 litres an hour – choose a watering can instead. #SaveALittleSaveALot Greg Barker @GregBarkerMP Very impressive performance by new #DECC ministers at Questions & they have great figures on growth & investment in #CleanEnergy to trumpet! Jonathan Reynolds MP @jreynoldsMP Interesting DECC questions today. New Govt Ministers claiming GDHIF has been an 'astounding success'… jessica lennard @JessicaLennard Office chat today: We used to burn scientists, then we exiled them, now we just ignore them. Guess things are looking up? #climatescience Rich Hall @richonlyinname If current switching preferences persist, Big 6 will have less than 80% market share in 3 years. CMA isn't their only threat. Uncompetitive. Amy Smith @Amy_smith_89 Think I've probably drank Severn Trent dry today #water #healthyliving Natasha Hurley @TashHurley MEPs write to @JunckerEU to oppose "potential merging of #energy and #climate portfolios" Joss Garman @jossgarman Don't agree with those attacking plan to merge EU climate & energy briefs into 1 portfolio. Creation of UK DECC unquestionably was step fwd. Money Advice Trust @Money_Advice Water bills will go up by less than inflation for next 5 years and be 5% lower by 2019-20 @Ofwat #reversingatrend Top Tweets

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