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UTILITY Week 11th December

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UTILITY WEEK | 11TH - 17TH DECEMBER 2015 | 9 Interview H eading into the new offices of Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL), Utility Week notices the slogan emblazoned on the recently installed glass partitions in the Holborn HQ. "Every day is a delivery day." One imagines the famous "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster would be equally fitting. Certainly that's a mantra that chief executive Ben Jeffs seems to be adhering to. He welcomes Utility Week into his new office, which appears quite barren – only a desk-cum-meeting table, a lamp, a wall that doubles up as a whiteboard, and a number of chairs populate the room, which is separated from the rest of the office by floor-to-ceiling windows. The room gives Jeffs an ideal lookout for observing his team in action, perhaps even keeping them on track, just as MOSL is trying to do with the water industry as the opening of the non-domestic water market approaches. This is a mammoth task, involving keeping market participants up to speed; building trust and confidence that the market will be ready; assisting market par- ticipants in their preparations; ensuring the design and build of the central IT system happens on time and on budget; testing all the systems and working through any potential issues; and putting in place protocols to deal with the seemingly inevitable data quality issues. On top of all of this, MOSL has just completed its sec- ond office move since it was formed by United Utilities, Anglian Water and Northumbrian Water in February 2015. Jeffs seems remarkably calm and relaxed despite the mountain of work that still lies ahead. One that could grow even further because, in the week aer Utility Week's visit to MOSL, the Treasury made the surprise announce- ment that it plans to introduce retail competition to the domestic water market by the end of the decade. The utility veteran, who has witnessed the birth of a competitive market before in his previous roles at Transco and National Grid (see box overleaf), is obvi- ously reassured by that experience. So much so that when asked whether the market will open on time, he responds with an emphatic "yes", and says there will not be a last-minute decision to delay opening because the assurance process will keep market participants on track and progress well documented. "Some believe that a decision in spring 2017 is leav- ing it too late," he says. "The assurance process is about building confidence. I don't ever see getting to spring 2017 without people feeling they know where the process is at and what the issues were. "We can't deal with stuff that comes totally from le field, but apart from anything coming out of the blue – which shouldn't happen because we monitor risks – we won't get to that point without knowing." Readers might think "he would say that wouldn't he", but Jeffs is quick to back up his optimism about timely market opening. He flourishes the MOSL "masterplan" as evidence that everything is on track. "You wouldn't be able to do this job if you didn't have a plan," he says. The plan features five work streams the delivery body

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