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UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH MAY 2015 | 5 American electric car manufacturer Tesla unveiled its rechargeable lithium-ion energy-storing battery, Powerwall, last week and The Institution of Engineering and Technology's Simon Harrison told Utility Week that distribution network operators could use it to "offset peak demand problems" on their network, "deferring or avoiding investment" in upgrades. The Powerwall is available in 10kWh and 7kWh forms and can be charged via solar panels or a grid connection. "Closing the skills and knowledge gap facing the industry is a crucial task" Nuclear Institute chief executive John Warden on a deal to close the nuclear skills gap in the UK 60% number of businesses that are unable to tell the differ- ence between estimated and actual bills UK utilities are underutilising big data, according to a new report by Capgemini. A "big data surge" will be seen in the UK starting at the end of next year with the mass rollout of smart meters, so there is an opportunity for data analytics to im- prove customer service and operational efficiency. However, only 20 per cent of the utili- ties surveyed by Capgemini had already implemented big data analytics, with more than 40 per cent stating that they had not implemented any big data analyt- ics initiatives. This compares unfavour- ably with take-up in other sectors. Utilities not ready to exploit big data Drax finance director makes sudden exit Generator Drax has announced that finance director Tony Quinlan will step down from 31 May, in a move analysts said was "not widely expected". Current head of corporate finance Michael Scott will serve as interim finance director, while the company begins the process of filling the position "as soon as practicable". Utilities analysts at investment firm Whitman Howard said: "We believe that this move was not widely expected. However, we do not see anything sinister here, and the transition plans seem reasonable." Scott joined Drax in May 2005. He will be liaising with Quinlan to ensure a smooth transition over the next month or so. Quinlan joined Drax as finance director in September 2008 from Marks & Spencer, replacing Gordon Boyd. Analysts added that Drax's bio- mass conversion plans remained of "greater interest" and that the works had "progressed as planned without major issues". ELECTRICITY Source: Capgemini Big & Fast Data: The Rise of Insight-driven Business, March 2015 Financial services Oil and gas Telecoms HAVE YOU IMPLEMENTED BIG DATA ANALYTICS? Don't know Not implemented big data analytics Currently implementing big data analytics Already implemented big data analytIcs 32% 31% 46% 44% 20% 23% 26% 28% 7% 9% 6% 6% 41% 36% 22% 22% Utilities