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4 | 27TH MAY - 2ND JUNE 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Irish Water: one-third dodge bills Almost two-thirds of the Republic of Ireland's water customers paid water bills in the first year of charg- ing, according to Irish Water. The country's new government has since suspended domestic water charges, with effect from the end of March 2016. 64% Proportion of customers who paid all or some of their water bill. €42.3m Revenue received by Irish Water in the third billing cycle. €33.4m Revenue received by Irish water in the fourth billing cycle (up to Feb 2016). €144.2m Total revenue collected from domestic custom- ers in the first full year of billing. STORY BY NUMBERS Thames Water takes new CEO from telecoms sector Seven days... T hames Water has announced that Truphone chief executive Steve Robertson will replace Martin Baggs as chief executive in early September 2016. Robertson has spent his career in the telecoms sector, and for the last decade in chief executive roles, first at BT Open- reach and then at Truphone. Robertson said: "I am delighted to join Thames Water and excited to be given the opportunity to lead a business that makes such a vital contri- bution to our customers' lives and the economy of our region." Thames Water chairman Peter Mason said: "Following Martin Baggs' decision to stand down we have conducted a thorough search for a new chief executive and I am delighted to announce that the board has appointed Steve Robertson to this important post. "As chief executive of Truphone since 2011, and previously of BT Openreach, he has demonstrated outstanding ability to innovate and meet customer needs in a regulated environment. He will be joining Thames Water at a time of sig- nificant change in the industry, with the competitive market open to all non-household cus- tomers from next April. "This, along with other upcoming regulatory changes, will require an even sharper focus on customer service. We look forward to Steve leading the company into this new era." "I also want to take this opportunity to thank Martin Baggs for all he has achieved in his time as chief executive," he added. "His energy and determi- nation to achieve the best pos- sible results, combined with his grasp of detail and knowledge of the industry, have made a huge contribution to the company's recent successes, not least in the improvements in customer ser- vice and the successful launch of the Thames Tideway Tunnel project." LV National media Hard water linked to babies getting eczema About a fih of children suffer from the chronic skin inflamma- tion but rates are higher in areas with greater concentrations of hard water. A study led by King's College London found that living in a hard water area was associated with an up to 87 per cent increased risk of babies developing eczema at three months. Evening Standard, 23 May India drought: five die trying to restore well Five villagers in a drought-hit part of northern India have died while trying to restore a disused drinking well. The men died aer inhaling poisonous gases that had collected in the well in Haryana state, a local official said. Much of India is in the grip of a severe drought, which has killed at least 300 people. Haryana and two other states were last week criticised by India's Supreme Court for failing to acknowledge the water shortage problem. BBC News, 17 May Portugal runs entirely on renewable energy for four consecutive days Portugal has hit a significant mile- stone in its bid to become entirely reliant on renewable energy sources aer running for 107 hours without using any fossil fuels. From 6.45am on Saturday 7 May until 5.45pm on Wednesday 11 May the country used sustainable electricity alone. Portugal, which previously relied heavily on coal and natural gas, has made a considerable effort to increase its use of solar, wind and hydro power in recent years. The Independent, 18 May "We want to get to where the energy companies are" Speaking at Utility Week Live, Sutton and East Surrey Water innovation manager Jeremy Heath said there is a great deal of value that could be derived from the use of smart meters. £1m Amount raised by energy storage company Powervault through its latest crowdfunding campaign.