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UTILITY WEEK | 4TH - 10TH MARCH 2016 | 31 Community Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen. bennett@fav-house.com; Assistant editor (insights): Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@ fav-house.com; Associate insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@ fav-house.com; Deputy news editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080; e: lois.vallely@fav-house.com; Networks correspondent: Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083, e: lucinda.dann@fav-house.com; Reporters: Saffron Johnson, t: 01342 332050, e: saffron.johnson@fav-house.com and Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tom.grimwood@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Richard Powell, t: 01342 332062, e: richard.powell@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarah.wood@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332507, e: peter.bissell@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Published by: Faversham House Ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 1UZ 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2015 Membership subscriptions: UK £637 per year. Overseas £749 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332507 Top Tweets Boiling mad Oi! Leave our kettles alone, Juncker! That was the battle cry that went out against dastardly EU plans to ban our kettles and toasters. In a sign of the new influence the UK wields in Europe these days, the European Commission shelved plans to outlaw high-wattage kettles and toasters for fears that it might drive some British voters into the hands of Brexit campaigners. An EU official was widely quoted as saying the Com- mission was "sensitive to the British obsession with water kettles", which strikes Discon- nector as a cheeky observation, although true. Collectively, we Brits drink 62 billion cups of tea a year, so kettles are important. No-one's counted the annual consump- tion of toast – but it's a lot. Most commentators agreed this was a sensible move by the straight-banana brigade, which aer all already caused heartfelt anguish in 2014 when it banned high-wattage vacuum cleaners, also much beloved by us Brits. There was reportedly panic buying in UK stores by people trying to beat the ban. Such is our widespread contempt for Europe and our innate belief that Brussels meddling is both nannyish and pointless that few bother to report that Brits do not so much love high-wattage appliances as ridiculously overpowered appliances. We equate higher numbers with "better", when it simply is not the case. Vacuum cleaners with motors in excess of 2,000W waste a lot of their energy. If they didn't, they'd create so much suction they'd anchor themselves to the carpet and you wouldn't be able to budge them. The EU's move against high- wattage appliances is about using energy efficiently. We'd still have tea and toast – we'd just have to wait a bit longer before arguing about whether to put the milk in first or not. Secretly, National Grid must be disappointed. It already has a headache dealing with power surges during ad breaks in popular TV shows and sporting events and the like, and the proliferation of energy-wasting, power-hungry kettles can only make its task of balancing the system harder. It is, however, keeping mum on the subject. Unlike the Commission, National Grid is a native of these isles and knows full well you don't mess with a fella's cuppa. Isis hits the roof Utilities are used to getting a rough ride from the press and public – it kinda comes with the territory. Even though the services provided are essen- tial, people have very different views on how they should be provided, and at what cost. For everything from windfarms to water bills to roadworks, feelings run high. Solar panels also elicit strong feelings. Some people just hate them. Even so, East Sussex-based solar panel installation firm Solar UK must have been sur- prised to find itself targeted in a cyber attack by Isis, the Muslim terror group with a proclivity for chopping people's heads off. The attack saw visitors to the company's website redirected to a web page built by the Cali- phate Cyber Army threatening death and annihilation to infi- dels who defied the will of the caliphate. They were especially peeved about the assassination of their British leader, Junaid Hussain, taken out by an Amer- ican drone last year, although why they held Solar UK more responsible for his death than any other UK installer of solar panels is a mystery. The Caliphate Cyber Army released a 50-minute video lamenting Hussain's untimely demise and promising cyber-retribution on the West generally and several British firms specifically, among them Solar UK. Incidentally, Hussain's wife, Sally Jones, a Muslim convert and fellow hacker and cyber-terrorist, is still on the run – assumed to be in Syria – but was originally from Kent. Who knows, maybe she didn't like the quote they gave her for a job or something, back when she was more interested in sav- ing money on her energy bills than bringing the blasphemous dogs of the West to heel, that is. Disconnector NEA @NEA_UKCharity There were a record 43,900 excess winter deaths last year - highest number this century #fuelpovertyawarenessday William Marchant @richonlyinname Drax is grumpy about keeping coal units open now, it's only going to get grumpier when CMA confirms it wants locational losses in 2 weeks... WWF UK @wwf_uk Positive news: the UK's CO2 emissions fell by 4.3% in 2015 following a big drop in #coal use. #EndCoal Richard Black @_richardblack Worth noting that #Brexit campaign is keeping people's energy bills higher than they need to be... Dr. Jill Stein @DrJillStein Bottled water will not solve Flint's infrastruc- ture crisis, adequate funding/#livingwages/ end of poverty, is what we need. Al Gore @algore Renewables accounted for nearly ¾ of invest- ments in new electricity generation in the US for 2015! Rod Adams @Atomicrod UK power stations are burning wood from US forests - to meet renewables targets Leonardo DiCaprio @LeoDiCaprio #ClimateChange action starts w/ electing leaders who'll make brave & vital changes needed to save our planet. Bill Gates @BillGates We need new inventions that improve our ability to store energy cheaply and efficiently UK Rants @uk_rants Ireland receives 92% of its energy supply from & via UK. Can't see Ireland giving UK any hassle over trade being maintained post #Brexit :)