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14 | 26th september - 2nd october 2014 | UtILItY WeeK Party conference preview Policy & Regulation B righton: 25 September 2013. This date and location looms large in the world of utilities, because it is when Ed Mili- band single-handedly moved the goalposts for the energy sector. It was on that day last year that the Labour leader unveiled his grand plan for a 20-month price freeze for all domestic and business customers should his party win the 2015 general election. It has since formed a central pillar of the "cost of living crisis" nar- rative that Labour has been promoting ever since, and will continue to do at least until May next year when, the party hopes, it will help propel Miliband and his team into Downing Street. Miliband had cast the dice and hit the poll ratings jackpot. He had also sparked the energy debate into life. We saw more of the same this year as Labour pushed its afford- ability agenda. Energy forms a central part of the attack. Miliband, decried as "Red Ed" by some commentators in the tabloid press, hopes to be embraced by the electorate as the people's champion – and rewarded with a rebound in the polls. The Conservatives had a shaky 2013 con- ference, largely because of the exploits of the leader of the opposition the week before. Energy chat was light on the ground as the Tories scrambled for a response behind the scenes, while trying to appear calm on the surface. In the end they sidestepped the issue and settled for denouncing Miliband as a 1970s-style socialist. Prime minister David Cameron needs a strong party conference, with a clear, attrac- tive message for voters. Utility Week polled readers, and according to that admittedly unrepresentative sample, the Tories have much better approval ratings than Labour in the utilities sector. All Cameron has to do now is to convince the "hard-working peo- ple" of Britain. How they are going to get around the promise of frozen energy bills remains to be seen, and there will be many out there keen to remind Cameron of last year's husky- hugging antics and his election pledge to be "the greenest government ever". The allure of shale gas, coupled with a general detestation of onshore windfarms among his back bench (and even some of his It's party time Last year, utilities were made political whipping boys, so will the next few weeks be any kinder as the final party conference season before next year's general election kicks off? By Mathew Beech. Question and answer: who would you trust? Would you be concerned about investment and stability in utilities if any of the following parties were elected? You may select more than one What question would you put to the politicians at the forthcoming party conferences? "When will vote-grabbing big six bashing be replaced by an informed debate on future energy?" "Why is a 2-3 per cent margin in a capital- intensive industry 'ripping off' the consumer?" "There's no point asking politicians anything. They have no credibility and don't give a straight answer." "Who funds you?" "Why can't there be a cross-party agreement on energy policy to save us all from the endless tinkering and posturing, which is killing investment?" "When are you going to take climate change seriously and legislate to mitigate instead of pandering to big business sponsors? "Who do you think you are fooling? " Which party do you think has the clearest and most coherent policies on utilities (whether or not you agree with them) Which party do you think would best serve the interests of the utilities sector and its customers? How big a role do you think utilities policy will play in the 2015 election? Please answer on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the highest. Utility Week surveyed a select but entirely non-representative group of readers about the upcoming party conferences via email and social media. This is what you thought Conservatives Labour Liberal Democrats Other 40% 42% 49% 70% 30% 21% 39% 11% 14% 26% 23% 6% 2% 10% 5% 15% 12% 24% 19% 2% 5% 21 % 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1