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12 | 10TH - 16TH JULY 2015 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Political Agenda T he Commons select committees are taking shape. The chairs have been named and now we know who most of the members will be. But those of you with a keen interest in water who are hoping the make-up of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee will reflect that, may be some- what disappointed. Conservative chairman Neil Parish is a relative old hand, having been a member of the Efra committee for the full duration of the last parliament. This means he is no stranger to the issues of the water sector, having been part of six inquiries looking at it over the past five years. Despite this, his interests appear worryingly free of anything water-related: the four he has listed are regional policy, animal welfare, agriculture, and EU enlargement. Parish will be joined by fellow Tories Chris Davies, Simon Hart, Rebecca Pow and Rishi Sunak. Labour's Jim Fitzpatrick and Harry Harpham as well as the SNP's Paul Monaghan will also take up their places when the Efra committee sits for its first meeting. None of these new faces have a registered interest in the water sector, with farming seemingly taking a higher priority among the new-look 2015 committee. The new Efra committee appears to be closely fol- lowing the department it is going to be scrutinising. Environment secretary Liz Truss has already earmarked food production, agriculture and farming as her, and Defra's, priorities for the next five years. The new parliament risks being a little light on water over the next five years, exactly when political scrutiny is required, with the non-domestic retail market due to open in April 2017. Water minister Rory Stewart is set to have market reform as his water priority – despite not listing water as a political interest – and in a couple of keynote speeches highlighted recycling and resource management as his main areas of focus. Things for the Energy and Climate Change commit- tee (ECCC) – which former shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex warned could risk losing credibility due to the lack of energy experience of SNP chair Angus MacNeil – are slightly different. Labour's experienced heads of Alan Whitehead and Ian Lavery are set to return to the committee, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge that will be vital. Their keen energy eyes and depth of understanding will be welcome as the new-look committee get to grips with CfDs, the LCF, the RO, the Eco, SMETS2, and everything else that makes up energy policy. A s the new chair of the cross-party Energy and Climate Change committee (ECCC) – one of the Commons' most influential committees – I am looking forward to working collaboratively with colleagues from all parties in the best interests of consumers, businesses and the environment. It is a big a responsibility taking on the role at this critical time. The UK faces big challenges on energy in the next five years. Our once thriving oil and gas industry has been hurt by historically low oil prices. Our wind and solar sectors are growing rapidly, but have been hit by sudden subsidy changes. And the big six energy compa- nies have lost the trust of consumers. Carbon emissions are beginning to move in the right direction, but searching questions need to be asked about whether we are on track to meet our longer-term climate targets. Nuclear new-build is behind schedule. Commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) still seems to be an aspiration. And slow progress on energy efficiency has le millions living in draughty homes that leak heat, money and emissions. Westminster is still electing members to sit on the ECCC, so decisions are yet to be made on our future programme, but I will be recommending that we follow up on some of the excellent work done by the previous committee. I will also recommend that we proactively engage with stakeholders about the issues we should investigate. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has this week issued its interim report on the functioning of the energy market. I hope its final recommendations, due by the end of the year, will set the groundwork for re-establishing trust in the retail energy market. The cost of connecting power stations to the grid and distributing the electricity they generate is a significant component of energy bills, but these "network costs" are oen overlooked in the debate about energy prices. The previous Committee called on Ofgem to simplify the current arrangements, but there are still big variations across regions and nations. I would like us to look again at this. Of course, all energy policy decisions have to be made in the light of climate change. The International Energy Agency has warned that the world is on track to exceed a two degree rise in temperature, so the outcome of international climate talks coming up in Paris are of crucial importance. World emissions need to peak and start declining by the 2020s. That is going to be a big challenge, but one that we must meet. The policy decisions made at Westminster on all these issues will need careful scrutiny. Under my chairmanship I will ensure that the ECCC continues to be rigorously evidence-based. I look forward to working with colleagues and stakeholders in the industry to hold the government to account and get the best deal for energy consumers. Angus MacNeil, chair, Energy and Climate Change committee "Our oil and gas industry has been hurt by low oil prices, our wind and solar sectors have been hit by sudden subsidy changes. And the big six have lost the trust of consumers." View from the chair Angus MacNeil "The UK faces big challenges on energy in the next five years" Water shortage? Farming is seemingly taking a higher priority than water in the new- look Efra committee, says Mathew Beech