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People & Opinion Utility Week community Conference report Water Scotland UtILItY WeeK | 24th - 30th OctOber 2014 | 7 EDF top job Jean-bernard Levy has been lined up as the next chief executive of eDF. his nomination will be formally approved next month. Levy replaces henri Proglio, who has been chief executive of eDF Energy's parent company for five years. Levy is currently chief execu- tive of defence electronics company thales. EI president the energy Institute has named professor Jim Skea as its president-elect. Skea is currently the research council's UK energy strategy fellow and professor of sustainable energy at the centre for environmental Policy at Imperial college, London. he will take on the role of president for a two-year term starting in June next year. ExEcutIvE appoIntmEnts skIlls & traInIng Excerpt from a presentation by Jan Reid, senior manager of low-carbon technologies, Scottish Enterprise, at Water Scotland. Her presentation detailed the economic benefits of Scotland's Hydro Nation policy drive. Size of the market Over 300 companies employ 6,600. £746 million sales in 2011/12 $8,606 billion needs to be spent worldwide by 2050 for adequate water and sewage treatment Low carbon growing faster than the rest of the economy Innovative firms twice as fast Low-carbon SMEs nearly twice as likely to export Scottish low carbon: 78,000 jobs, £10.1 billion market. Global market £3.4 trillion On 10 October, leaders from the Scottish water sector, its supply chain and academia gathered in Glasgow for Water Scotland, a one-day conference focused on identifying the risks and opportunities facing Scot- land's water system, as well as clarifying the industry's role in achieving the nation's wider economic goals. Highlights from the event, which attracted around 200 attendees, included insights into the increasing influence of ecosystem service concepts in defining the economic value of water, insight into new approaches to improving cus- tomer engagement with water use and increasing satisfac- tion, as well as information about Scottish Water's journey towards energy self-sufficiency – by 2018, the company aims to own renewable energy assets capable of generating twice the energy it uses. Two particularly popular sessions were delivered by representatives from Glasgow City Council and the City of Copenhagen. These presen- tations detailed measures taken by both cities to protect against flooding aer severe weather events in 2002 and 2011, respectively. Innovations in community engagement and surface water management were shared, including the use of computer modelling to create systems of "cloudburst boulevards" within the cities' road networks. The challenges of implementing upstream solution and cross-catchment solutions for water manage- ment were also touched upon. Johanna Dow made her first public appearance since assuming the role of interim chief executive of Business Stream – she was formerly finance director – and spoke confidently about her organi- sation's achievements in Scotland's competitive non- domestic market. Since the market opened to competition, Dow said Business Stream had saved customers £100 million – £52 million through discounts, £43 million through water efficiency and £5.8 mil- lion through energy efficiency. She said Business Stream was looking forward to capitalising on its experience in Scotland by making a significant mark on the £2 billion English non- domestic market when it opens for competition in 2017. "We have invested heavily in influencing the design of the market in England," she said. One of the most passion- ate debates at the event, both during Q&A sessions and in networking time, was the value of water in the eyes of consum- ers relative to electricity and the importance of communicat- ing more the close relationship between the two. It was felt that a wider understanding of the energy costs involved in delivering water could signifi- cantly increase engagement in water efficiency programmes. Delegate feedback on the event repeatedly described it as "interesting", "informa- tive" and "relevant", while one delegate was moved to submit a sustainable flood manage- ment solution concept on their assessment form. The delegate must be duly recognised for their enthusiastic engagement! Water Scotland is an annual event organised by Faversham House, the publisher of Utility Week. Service issues Could utility firms plug their skills gaps with retiring service personnel seeking new careers on Civvy Street? This is the proposition being put forward by Talent Retention Solution (TRS), which launched in 2011 specifically to transfer the talents of ex-servicemen and women to the burgeoning UK automotive manufacturing sector and which has since expanded its horizons. On Wednesday 22 October, TRS hosted a reception at the House of Commons supported by EDF and Siemens, among others, which emphasised the need for the programme and called for more involvement from all engineering-based industries struggling with skills shortfalls. See next week's issue for more insight.