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UTILITY WEEK | 9Th - 15Th JanUarY 2015 | 3 Leader Ellen Bennett This week 4 | Seven days 6 | People & Opinion 8 | Interview Jo Causon, chief executive, Institute of Customer Service 12 | Event Utility Week Live launches in april 15 Policy & Regulation 15 | News Offshore wind sector faces 2020 'cliff edge' 16 | Analysis The winners and losers in the PR14 final determinations 18 Finance & Investment 18 | News Falling oil prices to cut utilities' costs 19 | Market view acquisitive dispositions 20 | Analysis Was the price right in the capacity auction? 21 | Investor view Susie Young 22 Operations & Assets 22 | High viz Iberdrola's Wikinger windfarm 23 Customers 23 | News South West warns against water theft 24 | Event Wipro roundtable: Customer Centricity: from Planning to Delivery 26 | Research It's all about the customer 28 | Charity Appeal Wateraid's work in Mozambique 31 Community 31 | Disconnector Squeeze them till the pips squeak Did you have a wonderful, indulgent Christmas? Let's hope so, because that's the last occasion for quite some time that anyone in the business of utilities will be able to kick back and relax. As 2015 opens with cheery forecasts for the general economy, it's a different story for utilities. Belt-tightening is the order of the day. 2014 ended with Ofwat's final determinations on the price review for water companies, a pre- dictably tough set of settlements that will see a number of compa- nies struggling to slice millions off their business plans. Something will have to give – and in Ofwat's own territory of Birmingham, there's a good indication of what that might be. As we report this week, the trade unions fear that Severn Trent's swingeing job cuts could be the first of many in the sector, as water companies seek to meet their new efficiency targets. Expect similar pain in the network sector, where distribution network operators are still scratching their heads over where to find the savings of around £1.4 billion Ofgem demanded in its final set- tlements for RIIO-ED1. While the regulator has explicitly linked some of these savings to smart grids, the fact remains that companies fac- ing cuts of up to 9 per cent from their business plans are not going to be able to deliver the full programmes of work they outlined. For a sector facing crippling skills shortages, increasing incidents of extreme weather, not to mention exploding pavements, that's a bitter pill to swallow. Life is no easier in the non-regulated part of the market, where generators face a lower-than-expected payout in the first capacity auction, and suppliers await the outcome of the Competition and Markets Authority inquiry, and a general election that could usher in Ed Miliband's price freeze. When it comes to utilities, the public and political mood is "squeeze them till the pips squeak". There is still room for efficiency savings in some areas of the sector – and investor returns and com- pany profits in certain quarters can afford to take a hit. But when money's tight, it's all too easy to cut spending on frontline service, staff development and research and innovation. That would be dis- astrous for today's utilities, which face huge challenges in customer service and technology, not to mention the massive investment required in infrastructure. Let's hope that tomorrow's customers don't live to regret today's choices. Ellen Bennett, Editor ellen.bennett@fav-house.com GaS 18 | Stock watch Centrica 15 | News Miliband reaffirms pledges on energy WaTEr 16 | Analysis The winners and losers in the PR14 final determinations 23 | News South West warns against water theft 28 | Charity appeal Wateraid's work in Mozambique ELECTrICITY 15 | News Offshore wind sector faces 2020 'cliff edge' 18 | News Falling oil prices will cut utilities' costs 20 | Analysis Was the price right in the capacity auction? 22 | High viz Iberdrola's Wikinger windfarm 22 | News Southern Water assesses desalination EnErGY 8 | Interview Jo Causon, chief executive, Institute of Customer Service 12 | Event Utility Week Live 19 | Market view acquisitive dispositions 21 | Investor view Susie Young 24 | Event Wipro roundtable Knowledge worth keeping Visit the Downloads section of Utility Week's website http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/ downloads O Power: The tranformation from com- modity suppliers http://bit.ly/1FQobpA Rolta: White Paper: Pull yourself together http://bit.ly/1qPuBgR