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People & Opinion Utility Week community UTILITY WEEK | 11TH - 17TH DECEMBER 2015 | 7 When the face doesn't fit Almost 1 in 3 employees in energy and utilities sector are changing their Face- book settings to approve 'tags' before their office Christmas party, according to recent research from Ignyte. The research into employee behaviours associated with the infamous annual Christmas party revelry reflects that fact that employees have been stung by the appearance of embarrassing photos on Facebook in previous years. This year they are therefore taking steps this year to ensure they get to approve posts which 'tag' them before go live. The research also shows that one in five energy and utility sector employ- ees have bunked off work the day after a Christmas party thanks to being too hungover and 14 per cent attribute a break up with their other half to disputes arising from Christmas party behaviour. Tony Glover writes the latest in a new series of innovation columns for Utility Week. T he UK's largest network innovation event took place last month: the Low Carbon Network & Inno- vation Conference (LCNI) in Liverpool. It its fih year, Energy Networks Association hosted the confer- ence, which brought together network companies and other stakeholders to showcase the latest developments in the field of smart networks. Speaking to those attending this year, it was clear that LCNI has established itself as a "must attend" event on the calendar for all those who have an interest in network innovation and future energy systems. It was encouraging to see delegations from Australia, India, the US and across Europe, as the UK cements its position at the forefront of global smarter network development. The theme of this year's conference was one that is crucial to the fundamental aims of innovation funding: how do companies transfer innovation projects into business as usual? A number of speak- ers referred to the "valley of death" to describe the challenges that innovation projects face once they have concluded. Those involved attempt to apply what they have learnt into day-to-day operations, and navigating a way through this valley of death is vital if customers are to benefit fully from the money and technologies being invested. While some projects will not make the transition into business-as-usual in their entirety, individual elements from the vast array of learning over the course of a pro- ject are delivering significant benefits. It is in this area that the LCNI conference is playing an important role in fostering collaboration between network companies and other stakeholders, to draw out and refine these individual elements. By establishing a dialogue between various parties, LCNI is helping to overcome the challenges which are inherent in innovation projects and deliver the smarter networks that will be so important to our energy future. It is that shared learning which is at the heart of this conference, as well as ENA's smarter networks portal, providing an online repository for all projects across gas and electricity, funded through Ofgem's innovation mechanisms. Tony Glover, director of policy, Energy Networks Association *LCNI Conference 2016 will take place in Manchester 11-13 October. Visit: www.lcniconference.org Innovation and low carbon networks Eureka Tony Glover The challenges innovation projects face once they have concluded is known as the "valley of death" Who will police any agreements at COP21? Writing exclusively for Utility Week, Matthew Bell, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) explored the key challenge facing negotiators at the Paris climate change talks – "how can government be sure that other nations are stick- ing to their promises" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? While acknowledging the important part that commitments made by large mul- tinational companies can play in spanning and creating alignment across national boundaries, Bell said that responsibility falls to independent organisations such as the CCC to create transparent approaches to reporting emissions. Read Matthew Bell's chief executive view online at utilityweek.co.uk Photo: UNFCCC "We believe an industry standard on compensation for delayed and botched switches should be introduced" Daniel Walker-Nolan, policy manager, energy retail, Citizens Advice. See Walker-Nolan's blog on utilityweek.co.uk 1,437 The number of microgrid projects worldwide, according to Navigant Research. The Q4 Navigant Microgrid Deployment Tracker identified microgrid projects in more than 100 countries worldwide. The US still leads in terms of the number of projects supported in one region, but the Asia Pacific is moving quickly up the league table.