Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH MAY 2015 | 3 Leader Ellen Bennett This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Interview Johanna Dow, chief executive, Business Stream 11 | Special report In-depth analysis of the conference and seminar programme at Utility Week Live 16 Policy & Regulation 16 | News CMA allows Pennon to help Bournemouth 18 Finance & Investment 18 | News Offshore wind boosts Scottish Power profits 19 | Analysis GdF Suez reports first financial results rebranded as Engie 20 Operations & Assets 20 | High viz Bristol's solar tree 21 | Pipe up Tony Stiff addresses the problem facing energy retail 23 | Market view Suppliers must not let smart meter testing fall behind schedule 25 Customers 25 | News Green Deal needs 'radical overhaul' 25 | I am the customer Jeremy Nicholson 26 | Market view It doesn't take much bad data to spoil the rest 28 | Market view Moments that matter between utilities and their customers 30 Community 30 | Reader of the week Lucinda Dann, Utility Week 31 | Disconnector Tesla has energised people's imagination Something amazing happened last weekend. For the first time in many years, people were talking about energy – and they were excited. They weren't bemoaning their bills, or their service, or wondering what the new government would do to fix the market. People from outside the industry, people at parties and in cafes, were talking about Tesla's new 4 domestic battery, which according to founder Elon Musk, heralds a "fundamental transformation in how the world works". He may just be right. Energy storage is the missing piece of the renewables jigsaw, and if Tesla has truly found a way to make it effi- cient and cost-effective at a domestic level, then the way that people buy and consume energy could be about to change forever. As it did with its electric vehicle designs, Tesla is offering to open source its battery designs, allowing rivals to access them for free in order to build a sustainable market and supply chain. It is also reportedly developing a larger scale version of the battery specifically for utili- ties, although details have not been forthcoming. There are, inevitably, critics. Naysayers have suggested that the technology could be quickly superseded by more advanced fuel cells, and that the cost will be prohibitive for ordinary householders. But this misses the point: the front-page headline in this Satur- day's Times was "Power to the people in energy revolution". When was the last time the industry had publicity like that? People are genuinely excited about this technology, and its potential to give them control of their energy consumption and generation. They are also inspired by Musk, the first man to bring celebrity glamour and a touch of razzle-dazzle to domestic energy. Power companies – retailers and networks alike – should grab this opportunity with both hands. It's a chance to change the rela- tionship with consumers, and finally move away from the endless negativity about energy. A call-round of UK utilities this week asking for their views on the technology elicited a lacklustre response. Let's hope companies wake up quickly – or the conversation might just move on without them. Ellen Bennett, Editor ellen.bennett@fav-house.com GAS 19 | Market view GdF Suez reports first financial results rebranded as Engie 25 | I am the customer Jeremy Nicholson 25 | News NGN funds scheme to fit CO detectors WATER 6 | Interview Johanna Dow, CEO, Business Stream 16 | News CMA allows Pennon to help Bournemouth 18 | News Macquarie says Thames Water stake is not for sale ELECTRICITY 18 | News Offshore wind boosts Scottish Power profits 20 | High viz Bristol's solar tree ENERGY 11 | Special report In-depth analysis of the conference and seminar programme at Utility Week Live 23 | Market view Suppliers must not let smart meter testing fall behind schedule 25 | News Green Deal needs 'radical overhaul' 26 | Market view It doesn't take much bad data to spoil the rest 28 | Market view Moments that matter between utilities and their customers Knowledge worth keeping Visit the Downloads section of Utility Week's website http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/ downloads Salesforce: How the cloud can help meet business objectives http://bit.ly/1EFZjlj Vodafone: Machine- to-Machine (M2M) Utilities Insights http://bit.ly/1BDpCGZ