Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/449717
utILIty WEEK | 23rd - 29th January 2015 | 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; Research analyst: Vidhu dutt, t: 01342 332026, e: vidhu.dutt@fav-house.com; Reporter: Lucinda dann, t: 01342 332083; e: lucinda.dann@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ed roberts, t: 01342 332067, e: ed.roberts@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarah.wood@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: 020 8955 7045. 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 This mortal coil For those of you who weren't aware of it, last Monday was Blue Monday. That's right, the third Monday of January is officially the most miserable day of the year – so if it passed you by without note, count yourself lucky. Alas, Disconnector was not so fortunate. It was on Monday that a pal of the great man's confirmed the sad demise of Dumbledore (not its real name), the seal stranded 27km from the coast when it swam up the Mersey and ended up in the middle of a field. This was on Christmas Eve, and as reported in these pages, it took a squadron of RSPCA workers and policemen to corral the creature and prod and prompt it with brooms into a cage, so that it could be transported to a rescue centre. Unfortunately, their efforts came to naught. It was found to be suffering from severe pneu- monia, and despite receiving round-the-clock care and daily injections of antibiotics, it never recovered. Aer 26 days, it died. Dumbledore became some- thing of a local celebrity (for a short while, anyway) and high- lighted the efforts of the local RSPCA rescue centre that cared for him. Apparently they have 40 sick seals on site. Who knew? With the NHS lurching from one crisis to another, it occurs to Disconnector that you can find a bed quicker if you're a seal than if you're a person. Disconnector Furry, fuzzy friends At least poor Dumbledore had his 26 days in the sun (meta- phorically, of course – seals don't like the sun). Pity the poor squirrel in Ohio last week who wandered into a substation in Cincinnati. We'll call him Nutkin here, but the truth is he got vaporised before anyone thought to name him. Duke Energy marked his pass- ing only to blame him for caus- ing a power outage that le 4,500 people off supply and caused Northwest High School to send its pupils home before lunch. It's a poignant tale, leading the great man to contemplate the words of the bard. "Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage. And then is heard no more." No more was heard of Nutkin, certainly. One life down, eight to go On a cheerier note, Disconnector can report that Metro Rod engi- neers working in the northeast of England found a litter of kit- tens 13m down a drainpipe while running a routine camera check to ensure the pipes were clear before testing a sprinkler system. Had they not done so, the 150mm pipe would have filled with water and the kittens would certainly have drowned. It's a tale to warm the cockles of the hardest heart, although it would probably be a good idea if you didn't get too wedded to their fate. The survival rate of rescued animals reported in these pages is, sadly, not a good one. Heir today, gone tomorrow Disconnector was amused to read about the Essex pub called The Prince of Wales that received a bill for £1,773.30 from British Gas addressed to "HRH Prince Charles". The bemused landlord, Terry Gaskin, said the pub wasn't on mains gas and he didn't have an electricity account with British Gas. The letter, addressed to "Your Royal Highness", informed Mr Gaskin that Brit- ish Gas had tried to contact the recipient "a number of times" and the company had put the matter in the hands of a debt recovery company. Good luck with collecting on that one. The story does raise the intriguing possibility both that the heir to the throne is dodg- ing his energy bills, and that he is residing in a pretty modest home. Aer all, seventeen hun- dred quid isn't going to heat much of a palace these days. 3,580 average circulation Jan–Dec 2014 Subscriptions: uK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com Climate Reality @ClimateReality All of the coal, oil & gas known to humans has the same energy as the sun shines on us in 20 days. #Action2015 Craig Morris @PPchef If 2/3 of fossil resources must be left in the ground (unburnable carbon), why the breakdown: 88% coal but 35% oil? Tim Probert @TimProbert Struggling to see much practical difference between energy firms cutting bills 5% in lockstep under political pressure and price regulation Lucy Tobin @lucytobin And so the sheep follow: ScottishPower cuts gas prices by 4.8% – not until February 20th. But the industry is definitely totally competitive William Marchant @richonlyinname Valentine's day is for document lovers: CMA may issue ~30 working papers alongside Feb's revised issues statement. To respond? ~3 weeks Good Energy @GoodEnergy Already given up on the gym? Why not commit to a #GreenPledge instead this year! John Moylan @JohnMoylanBBC @edfenergy says 10 yr extension of Dungeness B means all 8 of its nuclear plants will be operating when #Hinkley C comes online in 2023... Barry McElduff MLA @BarryMcElduff Water is basic human right. Kennedy, 'NI Water' and unions need to sort this out ASAP! Aaron Makepeace @azz169 "We need to regulate energy supplier prices" they cry. Who regulates their price rises now? Ofgem/Ofwat do! Regulation is the problem Emily Gosden @emilygosden Ed Davey tells the Lords DECC is "weeks... possibly months" away from signing the final contract with EDF for Hinkley Point C nuclear plant Top Tweets