Utility Week

UTILITY Week 27th May 2016

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UTILITY WEEK | 27TH MAY - 2ND JUNE 2016 | 31 Community Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen bennett@fav-house.com; Acting editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@fav-house.com; Insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathewbeech@fav-house.com; News editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080; e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Networks correspondent: Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083, e: lucindadann@fav-house.com; Reporters: Saffron Johnson, t: 01342 332050, e: saffronjohnson@fav-house.com and Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@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: sarahwood@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332507, e: peterbissell@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 How sewage heats your pool Most people wholeheartedly support the idea of recycling. Even if the practical business of sorting the household rubbish is a bit of a chore, the principle that we should re-use what we can, when we can, doesn't find many detractors. But even beardy eco-warri- ors can find themselves a bit squeamish about using sewage sludge as fertiliser or a biofuel. It may well be natural, but it's also natural not to want to pluck your food from your own excrement, or throw a brick on the fire, as it were. In this country, most companies are keeping their trails of sewage sludge under wraps. Hats off, then, to operators of the new T.Park facility in northwest Hong Kong that gives visitors the chance to relax at its spa in thermal pools heated by incinerated sewage, before heading to the café and rooop garden for a nice cup of tea. Not for them the quiet approach: they've got a story to tell. The sludge goes into incin- erators, chiefly to turn it into ash and reduce its bulk by 90 per cent to aid disposal. But the facility is also sustainable: it converts steam from the incin- eration process into electricity to power the rest of the site, and uses treated wastewater for cleaning and irrigation. What we don't yet know is how many takers the T.Park has for its spa. Most Brits don't like the idea of encountering a warm toilet seat, so how relaxing they would find a bath heated by incinerated poo is an open question. Khazi cuisine's a hit in Asia Perhaps folk in Asia are just less squeamish when it comes to things scatological. The Japanese are well known for spending thou- sands of pounds on high-tech, electronically pro- grammable toilets for their homes. In Taiwan, diners can patronise the Mod- ern Toilet restau- rant, where all the furnishings and food is linked in some fashion to toilets. Guests are seated on non- functioning toilets around gigantic bath tub dining tables where they are served drinks in glasses that look like urinals, with food and dessert to match. There are now ten Modern Toilets, with outlets in Taiwan, China, Japan and, yes, Hong Kong. At the time of going to press, the company has no plans to bring the idea to London. Do you know who I am? We are always reading about how utilities must do a better job of finding out who their customers are. Aer all, if you don't know who they are, you can't tailor your offering to them, right? Well, there's another reason you should know who they are: so you don't piss off powerful people. Not politicians and oligarchs – you do what you like to them. No, Disconnector means the people who wield the real power: celebrities. He muses thus upon hearing of the travails of Strictly Come Dancing star Anya Garnis, who was on the verge of buying her dream home with boyfriend Sunna Van Kampen when they found they couldn't get a mortgage because an error by Npower on Van Kampen's energy bill resulted in an "black mark" on his credit history. Their case was taken up by Money Mail, which says the problem was only rectified aer its intervention. Readers will be relieved to know that Garnis was able to secure her flat – so all's well that ends well. Except Npower gets its name in the papers for all the wrong reasons. Again. Just as utilities are being urged to compile a list of vulnerable customers, Discon- nector thinks they should also compile a list of actors, actresses and reality TV stars. And right at the top of that list will be anyone who has anything to do with the jewel in the crown of British broadcast- ing: Strictly Come Dancing. Disconnector Fabian Faes @Fabian-Faes Fascinating what is possible using an #led bulb and a #solar cell to get #wireless #internet. #Lifi William Marchant @richonlyinname Would you like to experiment with a strap-on (electricity meter)? You could win a year's free power thru this trial. Liz Lainé @lizlaineuk Taking students round eco house, encouraging questions. 'What's that?' says one, pointing at a washing-up bowl. #waterefficiency Jon Ferris @jonferris2 Would finishing construction at Hinkley Point C qualify as "extreme circumstances"? James Bennett @jcbmmx @tomwestland the real innumeracy was to ignore the global energy budget – especially the oceans – by focusing on surface temps. J. Bonington Toad @cheshiretoad Osborne says #Brexit will lead to higher energy prices. You couldn't make this crap up. EU has *caused* higher energy prices. Amy Mount @ASmallAMount I love #offshorewind, but when the @SSE CEO says it's the "only game in town", #energy policy needs sorting out… Pickup Lines! @PickupTexts Do you generate electricity with water through the process of hydropower because dam. BJP Delhi @BJPDelhiState Power cuts in Delhi. Is it another way of fulfilling poll promise of reducing electricity bills by 50% ? No electricity, No bill! Sierra Club @sierraclub On #climatechange, #DonaldTrump cares more about his golf courses than the planet. Erik Solheim @solheimDAC If you think diplomacy is expensive – try war! If you think climate action is expensive – try drought and flood! Top Tweets

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