Utility Week

Operations & Assets UTILITY WEEK | 18TH - 24TH MARCH 2016 | 21 Q&A Sara Venning, chief executive, Northern Ireland Water What do you see as the main difference between the Northern Irish and Great British water markets? "I think we have all the same drivers and all the same quality and aspirations around quality and environ- mental compliance, so I guess the key difference is the funding of the enterprise and of the business. For us in Northern Ireland that has manifested itself now in an uncertainty around funding, and that lack of a medium-term financial plan. If I think about counter- parts in GB, they're now a•er their five-year plan, they have certainty of funding, and that just enables you to do so much more, and it enables you to deliver so much more outputs and efficiencies. So I guess that's the main difference." Where is Northern Ireland with domestic charging? "Domestic charging in Northern Ireland is something that is decided by the Northern Ireland Executive, the governing body of Northern Ireland. And where we're at is that they're heading into an election, and their indica- tion at present is that they want to continue with the current model whereby the government would continue to provide a subsidy for water and sewerage services." What does Northern Ireland Water think about that? "We're very ambivalent as to how the funds are gener- ated. Our main concern is that as a water and wastewa- ter utility – a very asset-intensive business – we need certainty of funding… each programme from govern- ment sets out the social and environmental guide- lines for us as a business and we build those into our business plan. So as far as funding goes, we're ambivalent about how they do it. Our main concern is that, whatever method the government chooses, they ensure we have that long-term view, and that we have that certainty that enables us to get on and deliver the infrastructure and the customer services required." What has been your biggest challenge since you took on the role of chief executive? "Undoubtedly we've had a number of chal- lenges as a business – in terms of security of supply back when we were dealing with severe weather events. We were dealing with extremes of weather back in 2010, and we were dealing with indus- trial action recently, which was also a challenge for the business. But I think really, taking the business and saying to ourselves 'we can do this, we're as good as anyone else', and what we really want to deliver is top-level customer service and just change and turn our focus to that. "So a number of big challenges, probably the big key challenge is how do we deal with climate change? How do we make sure, as a business, we're resilient enough to deal with climate change?" What are Northern Ireland water's climate adapta- tion plans? "We're working very much in partnership and in con- junction with the work that's being carried out right across the industry, across a range of measures, whether that's resilience in our own networks or planning for climate change now in all that we do, in all that we buy, and all the maintenance that we carry out. And then also working with customers and consumers to make sure that they're planning adequately, because o•en the effects of climate change, including flooding, is some- thing they need to work on. They need to protect their properties, as well as us making changes to how we work. Carbon is another key area. We're looking at all the ways we can reduce our carbon footprint, and our own continued good stewardship of the environment." Does Northern Ireland Water have – or does it have any plans for – renewables and onsite generation? "Yes, that's quite a key feature of our PC15 business plan, to maximise what we can achieve from renewa- bles, to maximise our asset base – whether that be solar energy, or any other form of renewables that we can use beside our own load base. I think the key thing for us is that we have a load, and we have land or an asset on which to install perhaps photovoltaics or similar. We're seeking to reduce our energy consumption from the grid in two ways: by using less electricity and by using more renewables. We're looking at various ways of doing that – we might enter into partner- ships with third parties as well as some installations of our own. We've commenced that programme and we see that ramping up through the period." What main piece of advice would you offer to someone taking on or running a business like Northern Ireland Water? "Be passionate about what it is that you do, be interested in what it is that you do and get to know all of it, and be very resilient, just like your network and your assets have to be." "Our main concern is that, whatever method of funding the government chooses, we have the certainty that enables us to get on and deliver the infrastructure and the services required."

• Cover