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UTILITY WEEK | 5Th - 11Th AUgUsT 2016 | 3 Leader Jane Gray This week 4 | Seven days 6 | People & Opinion 8 Policy & Regulation 8 | News Embedded benefits 'distorting' market 10 | Lobby Hinkley Point C, the neverending story 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News Centrica profit slides as customers exit 16 Operations & Assets 16 | High viz Solar Impulse 2 18 | Analysis System architecture study proves case for energy market reform 19 Customers 19 | News Alarm bells ring for water retail timetable 21 | Analysis Thames Water bows out from business retail 24 | Analysis Summer offers utilities a chance to connect with their customers 26 | Analysis Is the honeymoon over for small energy suppliers? 27 Markets & Trading 27 | Market view Demand response is a win-win for businesses and energy security 28 | Special report WNS looks at how smart meters will transform relationships 30 Community 31 | Disconnector Hinkley soap opera descends into farce No sitcom or soap opera has ever maintained such a long-running will they/won't they? drama as EDF and the UK government have over Hinkley Point C (see Analysis, p10). For years, the now notorious new nuclear project has been the cause of speculative headlines, bailouts, deals, counter-deals and criticism. Then, just when EDF announces its final investment deci- sion in favour wof the project – secured by a precarious margin of three board votes – seemingly bringing the saga to a finale, govern- ment responds with an almost churlish statement saying it needs to review the "component parts" of the deal to support Hinkley Point C's construction. Hinkley's opponents – and there are many – welcomed news of a fresh delay as a last-minute reprieve, variously interpreting it as a sign that government is now questioning the cost of the deal, the extent to which new nuclear power should play a role in a decentral- ised, electricity storage-enabled energy future or the environmental hazards associated with nuclear waste. Hinkley Point C advocates, including unions, trade bodies and business groups, are mortified by the unexpected delay. They have slammed the move as barmy, and fear for business confidence, lost jobs should the Somerset's nuclear leviathan be aborted, and UK energy security. One union, Prospect, says that it is "incomprehensible that min- isters and officials are not familiar with the deal hammered out with EDF over a number of years". Many political commentators agree. Rather than being about energy policy or the expensive Hinkley strike price, they have framed the delay as a symptom of Theresa May's apparent dislike of foreign ownership of UK assets and, in particular, her perceived concerns about the level of Chinese financ- ing behind the scheme. In truth, though, most of what has been written about govern- ment's motivations for delay is pure speculation. Greg Clark's anodyne four-line statement gave hardly anything away. What can be said with confidence, whether you approve of the decision or not, is that government handled its announcement poorly. Waiting until aer the final investment decision to suggest that the existing Hinkley deal needs revisiting sends a message about the UK government's ability or desire to make important stra- tegic decisions on critical infrastructure. There are better and more mature ways to issue measured messages to businesses as they seek to make difficult investment decisions. Jane Gray, Acting Editor janegray@fav-house.com gAs 15 | News Centrica profit slides as customers exit 24 | Analysis Summer offers utilities a chance to connect with their customers 28 | Special report WNS looks at how smart meters will transform relationships WATER 19 | News Alarm bells ring for water retail timetable 21 | Analysis Thames Water bows out from business retail ELECTRICITY 8 | News Embedded benefits 'distorting' market 10 | Lobby Hinkley Point C, the never ending story 18 | Analysis System architecture study proves case for energy market reform 27 | Market view Demand response is a win- win for businesses and energy security EnERgY 15 | News SSE retail base shrinks by 50,000 16 | High viz Solar Impulse 2 26 | Analysis Is the honeymoon over for small energy suppliers? Visit the Downloads section of the website Cisco Intel: Get connected, stay secure http://bit.ly/29qWpZB Citrix: Transforming utilities through connectivity http://bit.ly/29yGg1l Assa Abloy: Solving the key security challenges of critical infrastructure http://bit.ly/29IZ0fp