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Customers This week Smart meters at risk from energy theft Magnetic tampering could result in multi- million pound losses for energy suppliers, says ADI Smart meters due to be rolled out to all UK homes from next year will be vulnerable to energy the through magnetic tamper- ing, resulting in multi-million pound losses for energy suppli- ers, technology company Analog Devices Inc (ADI) has warned. Ofgem data has revealed that energy the – of which magnetic the "is one of the easiest methods of tamper- ing", according to ADI – resulted in a £400 million loss to energy suppliers in 2014. This loss is passed on to consumers through their energy bills, meaning consum- ers will continue to pay for these "non-technical losses", which Ofgem said added £7.70 per home in 2014. The regulator said energy the also leads to a "misallocation of costs amongst suppliers, which can distort effective competition and hamper the efficient functioning of the market". ADI said it is "currently in conversation" with meter manufacturers servicing the UK market to bring its cost-effective method of preventing magnetic tampering, an isolation chip, to the UK, but currently there is no resistant technology present in the market. UK regulation does not specifically require meters to be resistant to tampering with large magnets, although there are obligations on suppliers to detect and prevent cases of energy the. Suppliers can build in sensors to meters to detect magnetic tampering, but these are costly. ADI marketing manager Mark Strzegowski said: "There is a big push, especially in the European Union, to try to reduce these losses." LD WATER 'Robust' process for Tideway complaints The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) is working with Thames Water on a "sound and robust" complaints procedure for customers in the Thames Tideway region. The group said it will work with both Thames Water and Tideway, the firm responsible for delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel, to focus on the effect that construction would have on customers. A dispute resolution system will be needed throughout construction, CCWater said, to ensure that every customer will be able to "seek satisfaction if something falters". Ofwat said in July that cus- tomers are set to benefit from any underspend on the £4.2 bil- lion tunnel. The regulator wants them to get 70 per cent of any underspend; the rest will go to recently appointed infrastructure provider Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd. ENERGY Eon calls for policy clarity on efficiency Big six supplier Eon called on the government for policy clarity on energy efficiency as Ofgem figures revealed the first target for the current Energy Company Obligation (Eco) period has been hit more than a year early. Eon's strategy and regulation director, Sara Vaughan, said reducing consumers' energy use through energy-efficiency meas- ures is a problem shared by gov- ernment and energy suppliers. She called on the government to provide clarity on how the Eco scheme will proceed aer the current obligation period ends in March 2017 so energy companies can give government "what it needs" on energy efficiency. Vaughan said: "If you look at Eco we have already funded and delivered nearly a quarter of a million measures across 181,000 homes. If government will give us what we need then we will give government what it needs." ENERGY Storage 'competitive within five years' The cost of energy storage is expected to "decline rapidly" over the next five years, bringing the technologies down to a cost- competitive level with conven- tional grid-support alternatives, according to a study of the cost- effectiveness of major energy storage technologies conducted by investment bank Lazard. Lazard said energy storage is at a turning point and it expects prices to fall, driving further innovation that will greatly expand the use of energy stor- age systems both on and off the power grid and increase the use of renewable energy. Not so smart?: meters susceptible to tampering I am the customer Jeremy Nicholson "The market will be back at the heart of energy policy" With one speech, energy sec- retary Amber Rudd has spoken more sense on energy policy than her three predecessors put together. Energy security is now the number one priority, as it always should have been. The quasi-religious obsession with renewables has been ditched – not before time – and the market will have more freedom to deliver ambitious decarboni- sation targets at least cost to the consumer. If that means retiring coal plant is largely replaced nism deliver? Will we actually see final investment decisions on Hinkley C, or CCS demonstration projects? Are unilateral emissions targets sustainable in the absence of global action? But the most important question has been set- tled: the market is coming back to the heart of energy policy. For the UK's industrial users, facing the highest electricity prices in Europe, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Jeremy Nicholson, director, Energy Intensive Users Group with gas, so be it. We need power when consumers need to use it, not when the wind hap- pens to be blowing. Consumers' money will continue to be poured into offshore wind for the time being, but a clear signal has been sent: unless costs come down, the subsidy trough will be removed. Furthermore, Decc will at last be looking at how to internalise the escalating cost that intermittent, non-dispatchable generation imposes on the rest of the system. This is music to the ears of those of us who have argued for such developments for many years. Many questions remain, of course. Will the capacity mecha- UTILITY WEEK | 27TH NOVEMBER - 3RD DECEMBER 2015 | 17