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UTILITY WEEK | 27TH MAY - 2ND JUNE 2016 | 11 S P E C I A L R E P O RT / M AY 2 0 1 6 equals good, opex equals bad" mentality. Back in the Wipro Water Theatre, Dirou said that the use of totex as a driver for research and innovation "is an area for improvement" within the sector. "I'm an advocate of utilising small data to provide big solutions," he added. From an Ofwat viewpoint, Gablinger stated the shi will help drive the rate of efficiencies that can be found – something that had been getting progressively harder in previous price controls – by giving companies the ability to use the most appropriate and favoured solutions. "Totex allows companies to focus on the whole- life cost of an asset – leading to improved think- ing and improved solutions," he said. MB Asked whether he thought competition could eventually lead regulation to wither on the vine, he responded: "Frankly, I hope so." he added: "The idea of the regulator that's interminably there is not something I see as desirable." TG "Just cranking the handle on the old regulatory model is not going to deliver transformational efficiencies, and in fact it isn't even going to deliver the same efficiencies that we've been used to." Cathryn Ross, chief executive, Ofwat KEY POINTS Ofwat: • The regulator, like the industry, is undergoing a transformation. • The old ways of regulating were generating diminishing returns. • The industry is moving towards a pro-market model. • Competition creates new business model opportunities. Ofgem: • The regulator doesn't want to fight the industry, but will if deemed necessary. • The CMA remedies need the full backing of the industry. • Wider regulation possible if that co-operation isn't there. • Ofgem ideally wants to be a hands off regulator, allowing competition to drive the market. Sponsored by l Attention turns to the customer Ever since it came to light that the non-domestic household water market was going to be opened up to competition, the bulk of industry chat around the subject has been about the how. However, in morning sessions in the Wipro Water Theatre on day one at Utility Week Live, the topic of conversation had moved on. There was actually mention of the 'c' word – customers. Read the full blog, visit: http://bit. ly/1VaV6hB DATA Sleepless nights ahead "I'm sure most CIO's have sleepless nights, wor- rying about how to protect their organisations," said Paul Jenkinson, IT security and technical architecture manager at UK Power Networks as he spoke about the potential of cyber threats to paralyse energy network innovation efforts at Utility Week Live. Along with fellow presenters, Jenkinson was clear that such threats are com- mon, increasing and serious in nature – but can be managed. Utility Week Live's cyber security debate was hosted by Network magazine, the new sister title to Utility Week, and posed the question: what does cyber-resilience look like in an age of intel- ligent infrastructure? Key points to emerge from the session, which highlighted new kinds of cyber-attack such as "worms", as well as the role of regulation and the relationship between cyber security and innova- tion, were: l I ntegration of IT with operational technologies increases the likelihood and potential impact of cyber-attacks on energy networks. l More collaboration and jargon-busting is needed to promote shared understanding of security risks between IT and operations technology leaders. l Fear of security issues and commercial loss is leading to a lock-down of data in the heat sec- tor – this is a barrier to innovation, operational improvement and market growth. l Cyber-resilience requires regulatory attention, but solutions must not impose tick-box compli- ance measures, said Jenkinson A detailed write up of this debate and wider cyber-resilience issues for UK energy networks will appear in the June issue of Network. Find out more at: networks.online