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UTILITY WEEK | 22ND - 28TH JULY 2016 | 31 Community Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@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: richardpowell@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 The people have spoken There has been so much news in the past few weeks that it is difficult to know which national or international disaster to worry about most. Life has taken on the hue of a rather improbable disaster movie that combines certain death in a towering inferno with the imminent arrival of a tidal wave – but only if the asteroid doesn't hit Earth first. Back in the olden days, peo- ple used to worry about some- thing called Brexit. But that was before a terrorist attack in Nice, and a failed coup attempt in Turkey, and Marine Le Pen becoming president of France… oh wait, that last one isn't hap- pening until next April. Not that it's been a total bust for everyone, of course. Aer a series of political manoeuvrings redolent of a Sam Peckinpah movie, Theresa May stepped dely over the bodies to assume the Tory throne aer all her colleagues spontaneously combusted. It's also been a good Apocalypse so far for Andrea Leadsom. Okay, the role of prime minister turned out be too much of a reach, but she has ended up as environment secretary, which ain't a bad result for someone who until a few weeks ago was energy minister – a post she held for only a year. Andrea turned out to be the right gal in the right place at the right time. But given that it's the mob who carried her into high office (meta- phorically), it's ironic that a (different) mob is now trying to get her thrown out again, on the grounds that she supports fox hunting and is therefore unfit to be anywhere near a job to do with the environment. An online petition has so far attracted 600 signatories. Oh well, live by the sword, die by the sword, right? Alas, poor Decc, I knew it well… So, farewell then Decc. You didn't have long on this mortal coil but you did what you could to try to change the world and, when all is said and done, you will at least be remembered as a department whose name made a working acronym. The same can't be said for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strat- egy, or BEIS, which is pretty rubbish on just about every level. As it happens, beis is also a Norwegian word meaning "pickling", which is only going to be confusing when civil serv- ants contact their counterparts in that country to try to get to the bottom of exactly what the Norwegian Option is. Separated by a common language You've got to love Americans. They are a can-do nation – while the rest of us gnash our teeth and complain about the world's intractable problems, the yanks just get on and do something about it. Well, sort of. Take the energy crisis, for instance. Coal is a cheap and plentiful energy source, but it also produces emissions. Renewable generation is inter- mittent and expensive. So what do we do? Well, if you're the Republican Party you simply declare that coal is "an abun- dant, clean, affordable, reliable domestic energy resource". Hey presto, problem solved. That's what the party's official dra platform said, which was craed before the Republican National Conven- tion in Cleveland, Ohio. The word "clean" was not initially included in the Repub- lican platform committee's coal statement. It was added by David Barton, an RNC delegate from Texas. Barton is the for- mer vice-chair of the Repub- lican Party of Texas and an evangelical leader, popular for his claims that the US constitu- tion is a "biblical document". Seriously. The reaction from environ- mentalists has been predict- able. "In the absurd, alternative reality in which this Republi- can platform is being draed, unicorns exist, the moon is made of cheese, and coal is somehow clean," said Sierra Club's global climate policy director John Coequyt. Spoilsport. Disconnector Steven Thomas @TheStevenThomas Imagine having to abolish Decc (tackles man-made global disaster) in order to create department for Brexit (ditto). Dustin Benton @dustin_benton @benstewart999 @kylamandel Could be BEIS takes Decc building because it has very good security (due to nuke unit). Perhaps Brexit department will need this too. Shira Lappin @shiralappin Brexit just cost me £20. So distracted by scrapping of Decc that I took cash out and walked away without taking it. #reshuffle Waterwise @Waterwise #Defra appointment of @andrealeadsom is welcome given her clear stance on climate change. Matthew Farrow @MatthewEIC So energy back to business department, climate change presumably back to @DefraGovUK. All very 2006. Nick Molho @NickMolho Key thing about #DECC and #BIS restructur- ing is that #climatechange is genuinely incorporated into energy and industrial strategy decisions. Gregory Barker @GregBarkerUK Am increasingly optimistic under @gregclarkmp #DECC #BIS merger could be massive step forward to whole economy approach to #ClimateChange. IRENA @IRENA In five years, global installed #solar PV capacity has grown from 40GW to 227GW. Michael Liebreich @MLiebreich Job 1 for new @DECCgovuk minister: cancel #Hinkley. Job 2: secure equivalent zero-C generation or energy efficiency. William Marchant @richonlyinname It's difficult to think of any evergreen product market where half the consumer population are engaged. & for six quid? Blimey. Top Tweets