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Ruth Findlay is head of internal communications at Scottish Water and she is speaking at Utility Week's Water Customer Conference in January 2016. What's the most important lesson people should take away from your presenta- tion? Authentic leadership is important for setting context in communications with frontline employees. But to achieve real two-way engagement, organi- sations need to rebalance the role of "internal broadcaster of information" with the role of "the listener, conversation enabler, and guide". What has been your most successful or challenging experience in your career and what did you learn from it? When I was starting out in my communications career I was asked at very short notice (less than 24 hours) to chair and facilitate an internal confer- ence of several hundred very senior leaders, in place of a well-known public figure. Hav- ing only ever seen men (and People & Opinion Utility Week community Speaker's corner Ruth Findlay, head of internal communications, Scottish Water much more senior/experienced than me) in this role, and with such little notice, it would have been easy to say no. But I agreed to do it and received really good feedback. It was definitely career-defining in the sense that it gave me huge self-confidence and meant that I was suddenly seen on an equal footing with other more senior leaders in a mostly male environment. I progressed quickly aer that and have always thought there was a connection with that one brave little step. Identify five people you would invite to your dream dinner party and why? Only five? That's difficult. It would be rather eclectic I think. I would have Desmond Tutu because I'm a big admirer of his work in South Africa and also in Northern Ireland, where I'm originally from. My second choice would be Kate Bush, who I had the pleas- ure of seeing play live in 2014 in London. She's such a talent and an enigma; it would be great to get to know her. Then I would have acclaimed writer and director, Stephen Poliakoff. I love his screenplays and did once meet him at the Edinburgh Book Festival – a hugely intellectual man who is a master storyteller. I would also have the author Jeanette Winterson, whose political views would differ from mine, but with whom I think I could have a great and lively conversation. Lastly I would invite Joanna Lumley, because she is so fabulous and funny and, well, who doesn't love Joanna? Name four items you keep on your desk that reveal some- thing about your interests/ personality. On my desk I have an annual calendar with photos of my family – it has a practical purpose but I also like having photos of my children visible around me. I also have a few communi- cations books by my favourite authors – John Smythe and Bill Quirke, for example, which I dip into quite a bit. I carry around in my bag a book of poetry by W B Yeats, my favourite poet. I started reading Yeats when I was ten or 11 and I still read some of his poetry every day. I also have a coaster on my desk which was a gi from one of my team. It reads: "Save water and drink cham- pagne". Which is very apt! The Main Event Utility Week's Water Customer Conference will take place in Birmingham on 20 January 2016. Other confirmed speakers include: • Richard Flint, chief executive officer, Yorkshire Water and Kelda Group • Ben Jeffs, chief executive officer, Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL) • Alan Lovell, chair, Consumer Council for Water • Sarah Bentley, chief customer officer, Severn Trent Water More details about this event are available at utilityweek.co.uk UTILITY WEEK | 16TH - 22ND OCTOBER 2015 | 7 Modelling Requirements for GB Power System Resilience, a report by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, produced for the Council of Science and Technology, identifies technologies and capabilities the UK needs for modelling future energy systems. "Some 27 per cent of customers have switched energy supplier in the last three years. In the mobile phone market it's 24 per cent " Dr Richard Westoby, director of retail economics, SSE, writes to the CMA to urge it to address the causes of the energy sector's problems, not the symptoms. See p13 Generation providing control (All transmission connected) 10-15 large generating units in frequency control mode Distribution network automatic controls (Voltage regula- tion devices) 10,000 devices Smart cities and smart communities (GB Future Cities) None these are now emerging and development are international Automatic controls in homes (Home energy management) None in broad terms, all demand is passive Generation providing control (Transmission and distribution connected) (600,000) if 10% of small units using waste, hydro and PV Generation providing control (Transmission and distribution connected) (900,000) if 10% of small units using waste, hydro and PV Smart cities and smart communities (GB Future Cities) 60+ smart cities a forecast based on the 30 city council projects active today in Britain Automatic controls in homes (Home energy management) 15m if half the smart metres link with energy manage- ment devices NOW 2030