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UTILITY Week 13th November 2015

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UTILITY WEEK | 13TH - 19TH NOVEMBER 2015 | 3 Leader Ellen Bennett This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Special report John Pettigrew has big boots to fill at National Grid, 8 | Interview Peter Haigh, managing director, Bristol energy 13 Policy & Regulation 13 | News Rudd defends UK's renewables progress 14 | Analysis NTBMs mean Ofgem has to rewrite the rule book 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News GDN sale to complete by 2017: National Grid 18 | Analysis Subsidies cuts could scupper many water renewables projects 20 Operations & Assets 20 | High viz The Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 23 | Market view Engineering software can be a useful tool for customer service 24 | Event Technology & Innovation meeting 26 Customers 26 | News Ofwat: price controls to 'promote trust' 27 | Analysis Wholesale gas prices 28 Markets & Trading 28 | News Ofgem hikes cash-out prices for generators 30 Community 31 | Disconnector Grid's new chief will have his hands full What a week for National Grid! From the return of the NISM to the sale of the gas distribution businesses, it hasn't been out of the headlines since last Tuesday, when Steve Holliday's departure next year was confirmed and John Pettigrew was revealed as his successor. Pettigrew's a Griddie through and through, with 25 years' experience at the organisation under his belt. But he faces an unprecedented set of challenges as he steps up to take the top job. What's going to be filling up his inbox? We've got a few ideas: 1. Last Wednesday's notification of insufficient system margin led to some alarmist headlines. Once a fairly common occurrence, a NISM hasn't been issued since 2012. As margins tighten, we'll be seeing more of them. It will be interesting to see whether the second one results in the same hand-wringing as this year's first. Either way, Pettigrew will want to keep an eye on tightening margins and ensure the organisation can cope when it comes to the (capacity) crunch. 2. It's not just the crunch posing problems for Grid's engineers. The transmission system faces unprecedented challenges: it's approaching its operational limits for voltage and the inertia in the system is changing, creating issues around frequency control. There are some 20 such deep engineering challenges set out in Grid's System Operator Framework 2014 – and according to noises coming out of the organisation, the update due at the end of this month will reveal the problems are presenting themselves faster than expected. 3. It seems fitting that Holliday's time at National Grid started with the sale of the first tranche of gas networks in 2002, before he become chief executive, and ends with the second, announced this week. The sale will likely be completed on Pettigrew's watch, and he'll want to ensure the company realises the value of the businesses, with the cash set to be returned to shareholders. What better way to greet the markets than with a wodge of cash? 4. Talking of the markets, there's the perennial "problem" of the US operations. While Grid is now firmly established as a transatlantic utility, its American businesses have never offered the same stellar returns as the UK arm. With experience of running the business in the States, Pettigrew has an opportunity to make his mark here. 5. As the complexity of the power system increases, new questions about whole system thinking are emerging. Time is running out to answer them, and Pettigrew will be firmly in the hot seat when decisions are taken between industry and government that will shape the power system for decades to come. Read more on page 6. Ellen Bennett, Editor ellen.bennett@fav-house.com GAS 15 | News GDN sale to complete by 2017 23 | Market view Engineering software can be a useful tool for customer service 27 | Analysis Big six fail to pass on falling wholesale gas prices WATER 9 | News Most bathing waters make the grade 18 | Analysis Subsidies cuts could scupper many water renewables projects 26 | News Ofwat: price controls to 'promote trust' ELECTRICITY 9 | News Government reviews Swansea Bay project 28 | News Ofgem hikes cash-out prices for generators ENERGY 6 | Special report John Pettigrew has big boots to fill at National Grid 8 | Interview Peter Haigh, managing director, Bristol energy 13 | News Rudd defends UK's renewables progress 24 | Event Technology & Innovation meeting Ciena: Utility to utelco: the telecommunications opportunity. http://bit.ly/1NTZVsX Knowledge worth Keeping Visit the DownloaDs section of Utility week's website http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/ downloads opower: Eon UK rebuilt trust with cus- tomer engagement and digital transformation. http://bit.ly/1M8xxd3

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