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UTILITY WEEK | 11TH - 17TH MARCH 2016 | 3 Leader Ellen Bennett This week 4 | Seven days 6 | People & Opinion 8 | Interview Marcus Rink, chief inspector, Drinking Water Inspectorate 11 Policy & Regulation 11 | News Ofwat to lift in-area trading ban in April 12 | Analysis Pre-Budget report 15 | Market view Brexit and the environment 16 Finance & Investment 16 | News 2,400 jobs to go in Npower overhaul 17 | Analysis The prospects for Affinity Water 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz Thames Water floating PV array 20 | Event The future of heat networks 22 | Analysis United Utilities/Severn Trent tie-up 23 | Market view The business case for DSR 24 | Market view Do smart grids make sense? 26 Customers 26 | News Safety group backs Grid's helpline plans 27 | Analysis Calls for clearer bills 29 Markets & Trading 29 | News Grid secures 3.5GW of SBR capacity 30 Community 31 | Disconnector Grid is doing a good job – leave it alone Like Caesar's wife, the operator of the national power transmission system must be above suspicion – which is why stories this week that National Grid's dual role as system owner and operator is up for debate have gained traction. The problem of a perceived conflict of interest between the two roles is not new – Ofgem has made it clear since the beginning of last year that it likes the idea of an independ- ent system operator. Apparently, ministers do too. Whether they are considering strip- ping National Grid of its system operator role because of new think- ing or merely giving greater prominence to an ongoing debate is a moot point: clearly, Whitehall is looking at this issue. It has heard complaints that National Grid has the potential to manipulate its dual role by managing the system in such a way that it makes extra money from ancillary services it provides as network owner. There have been no suggestions that the company has actually done so – it's the perception and the risk that are important here. But are they as important as a stable and secure power supply, at a time when capacity margins are at historic lows and the system is vulnerable at an engineering level as it undergoes major changes in both supply and demand? National Grid faces a huge ra of chal- lenges over the next two to three years, and the impact of this ongo- ing uncertainty on its ability to plan, its staff morale and its stability as an investment proposition are huge. Sure, ministers could strip the company of its system operator role, but the process would be lengthy, complex and a distraction at this critical moment. It would also divide the country's top engineer- ing talent and knowledge base between two bodies. The National Infrastructure Commission, which issued an eminently sensible report this week, concluded that National Grid should work towards stronger Chinese walls internally rather than full separation. Such a compromise may not win any headlines, but it certainly seems like a sensible solution at a time when there are bigger issues on the table. • Has your team gone above and beyond the call of duty this year? Utility Week's Stars Awards, celebrating the unsung heroes of utili- ties, are back for their third year. Due to popular demand, we've extended the entry deadline for just one week, to 18 March. The winners will be unveiled at the Hilton Manchester on 17 June. Go to www.utilityweekstars.co.uk to enter. Ellen Bennett, Editor, ellen.bennett@fav-house.com For all the news and analysis of the CMA provisional remedies due to be published aer Utility Week goes to press, visit: www.utilityweek.co.uk GAS 12 | Analysis Pre-Budget report WATER 8 | Interview Marcus Rink, chief inspector, Drinking Water Inspectorate 15 | Market view Brexit and the environment 17 | Analysis The prospects of Affinity Water 16 | News Wessex and Albion in housing venture 26 | News Smart meters 'will revolutionise water' ELECTRICITY 23 | Market view The business case of demand-side response 29 | News Day-ahead volumes up in February ENERGY 16 | News 'Spooked' investors want policy certainty 16 | News 'Decc says reforms will 'rebalance' RHI 26 | News Storage could save customers £50 a year 26 | News Praise for SSE's clear-cut bills 29 | News Gas and power prices down 8% 29 | News 2016 carbon price to be €6.6 per tonne Knowledge worth Keeping Visit the DownloaDs section of Utility week's website http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/ downloads Arcadis: Water sector innovation and perceptions of totex. http://bit.ly/1SaTP9F Achilles: How can utility suppliers get noticed by big industry buyers http://bit.ly/1KaByWW