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4 | 4TH - 10TH MARCH 2016 | UTILITY WEEK National media Energy crunch 'looming' New research from law firm Bircham Dyson Bell suggests the UK faces a "looming energy crunch" with almost 25GW of generating capacity due to close by 2030. 18 number of big power stations that have closed since 2012. 14GW amount by which this has reduced the UK's total capacity. 86GW UK total capacity now. 7GW further capacity Britain is on course to lose by 2020. 18GW further capacity Britain is on course to lose by 2030. Boy wins 'Girls in tech' competition EDF Energy has been criticised aer a 13-year-old boy won a competi- tion that was part of a campaign to attract teenage girls to the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths. Children were asked to think of ideas for a connected home bedroom product. EDF said that while its Pretty Curious programme is still aimed at girls, the UK competition was later opened up to all 11 to 16-year-olds. It continues to share the same website and branding as the girls' scheme. BBC News, 26 February Oz renewable agency invests in Mojo Power The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) has backed a $5 mil- lion investment in Mojo Power, an electricity retailer that helps households consume less energy and is already taking customers in New South Wales. The company works on a sub- scription model, where a monthly fee gives customers access to elec- tricity at rates that only cover the expected cost of delivering it. Unlike other retailers who make money by adding a mark-up to wholesale rates, Mojo said it only made money from a customer's subscription fee, not from their energy use. The Guardian, 28 February Jersey islanders get water-saving kits Jersey Water is issuing water-saving kits to islanders to help them use water more sensibly. The company said the kit would be particularly useful for homes with older plumbing systems. The kits include several handy items, including a timer to help to limit the amount of time people spend in the shower. ITV News, 28 February STORY BY NUMBERS Severn Trent and UU join forces on non-household Seven days... S evern Trent and United Util- ities this week announced a joint venture (JV) that will see them take a 26 per cent share of the non-household retail mar- ket when it opens to competition in April 2017. Stuart Howell, chief financial officer of the yet-to-be-named JV, told Utility Week there would be no compulsory job losses aris- ing from the deal. The office of the new business will be based in Stoke-on-Trent, equidistant from Severn Trent's offices in Birmingham and Coventry and United Utilities' office in War- rington. The deal, which will see Sev- ern Trent pay £3.5 million upon completion to create a 50:50 JV, is subject to clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Sue Amies-King, chief execu- tive of the new business, said: "We're limited as to what we can do, pending the CMA progress. We've now made our submis- sion; they've got 40 days to consider that and pass to phase one, that takes us to late April/ early May." The new management team is working on a "new, fresh brand with a new, fresh approach", Amies-King said. She added: "Clearly, job number one will be to retain the customers we already have and look aer them, and equally we're going to be a grower in the market – we want to achieve growth and win business nationally." The combined operations currently have around 400,000 business customers. Amies-King refused to comment on the venture's growth targets. LV/EB "This independent body must be given strong teeth" The Confederation of British Industry released a report outlining eight key areas of infrastructure that it believes the newly created National Infrastructure Commission should prioritise, including energy generation and supply, low-carbon energy, water and flood defences 2.4GW The de-rated backup capacity National Grid has secured for the winter of 2016/17 from Centrica, Engie, Eon and ESB