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UTILITY Week 10th April 2015

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UTILITY WEEK | 10TH - 16TH APRIL 2015 | 5 WATER On 31 March, RWE's Littlebrook power station closed under EU rules after more than 75 years of operation. The 1,140MW oil-fired station in Kent opted out of requirements to meet emissions rules, which limited its life to the end of 2015 or after 10,000 hours of operation. Last year, the decision was made to close the station at the end of March 2015 due to current market conditions. RWE Generation's chief technical officer, Roger Miesen, said the plant's closure "is a sad but not unexpected day". "I'd like to pay tribute to this station and the people who have worked here for so many years," Miesen said. 150 jobs are at risk at Bristol Water due to restructuring Bristol Water has warned staff that 150 jobs are at risk as part of a company restructuring process ahead of the opening of the retail market, Utility Week can exclusively reveal. Staff were informed on Monday last week of the potential job losses, which will see the company reduce in size by 10 per cent as part of an efficiency programme. Alongside the job losses, 100 new positions will be created. A spokesperson told Utility Week: "It's a process of gearing up towards the retail separation of the market, which obviously everyone is working towards, and development services will be part of that. "We're recognising that Bristol Water, as a company, has grown organically over the years and in order to be able to move forward and be competitive and efficient, we had to look at a new operating model." In a statement, Bristol Water added: "The reduction is evenly spread across the business to ensure no deterioration in our services and we will seek to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies." The restructuring process will take place over the next 12 months. "We will have to leave carbon in the ground, but leaving all fossil fuels in the ground is for the fairies" Former Labour minister and Environment Agency chief Lord Chris Smith told The Guardian that gas will have to be burnt in future, during a transition to cleaner fuels Ovo Energy has launched a smart pay-as-you-go energy platform and app for its prepayment customers. The company said Smart PAYG+ enabled "under-served and over- charged" pay-as-you-go customers to top up and monitor their energy usage anywhere via an app, text, online or at a local Paypoint outlet. The platform also includes: a credit countdown that updates every 24 hours; a smart meter; and an online-only discount. Ovo Smart PAYG managing director Justin Cockerill said: "From being forced to make top-up trips at the most inconvenient times, to household emergencies due to energy suddenly running out, prepayment energy customers have endured a rough ride from the industry. "We're putting the power into the customers' hands and giving them unprecedented control and convenience." Pay-as-you-go energy

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