Utility Week

UtILItY WeeK | 23rd - 29th September 2016 | 13 Policy & Regulation Winter resilience H eavy autumnal showers and the first storms of the winter – Angus and Barbara will be the first two – are starting to hit the UK. As they do thoughts will once again turn to the resilience of utilities and the services they provide. Flood resilience is sure to be on the agenda at party confer- ences, especially on the back of the flash floods and heavy storms we've recently seen around London and Manchester. This is even more pertinent because earlier this month the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its flood resilience review, which set outlined its new approach to flood preparation and resilience. In the report, the government said the water and telecoms sec- tors had plans in place for temporary improvements to resilience for the coming winter, like those already available in the electric- ity supply industry. However, it committed to top up these invest- ments with £12.5 million of spending on additional temporary defences, such as barriers and high volume pumps, at seven loca- tions across the country. Debate will centre on the extent to which flood resilience is a utility business responsibility, for which they should be account- able, and the extent to which government should take direct action to ensure customers and the economy are not discomforted or endangered by increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Politicians and the sector will both be keen to avoid a repeat of the events – and the negative headlines – that followed the storms of 2013-2014 and led to the creation of the 105 emergency number for power cuts. Fuel poverty and customer resilience to cold weather will also be a hot topic, with plans for a new energy efficiency scheme and recommendations of a new report from the Committee on Fuel Poverty sure the prompt debate. The government's energy in-tray is filling up. A s parliament returns briefly ahead of confer- ence season and a—er steadfast performance from the prime minister over the sum- mer following Brexit, energy is back near the top of the policy agenda and is set to remain so for the foreseeable future. Over the coming months we are expecting some significant decisions from government that could have far reaching conse- quences for the energy sector for the next decade. Beyond the policy position- ing from the new ministers in the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), we expect soon an announcement of the next CfD auction; the emergency capacity mechanism auction, which is hoped to attract new gas; the publication of Charles Hendry's tidal review report; the first round of the SMR competi- tion; the significant commence- ment of the smart meter rollout; and the official signing of the Paris climate change agreement. One thing is clear, though, the government is keen for now to signal the continuation for supporting clean tech with a battery storage consultation set to get underway. This consulta- tion won't impact hugely on short and medium-term energy delivery but it has significant value for UK plc as a market leader and for revolutionising the way we reach our middle century energy targets. And so to Her Majesty's Official Opposition. Labour's problems have dominated the political news and has some- what competed with Brexit for the headlines. However, the current shadow energy minister is an energy sector "sage" who has devoted a huge amount of his political career in and around the energy and climate change agenda. Barry Gardiner MP, who is a former member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, has taken up Labour's energy lead in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. Gardiner has commented on energy matters throughout the summer, including on Hinkley, and stated that Labour supports new nuclear as part of an energy mix but at a more respectable cost. Labour continues for now to support renewable energy and clean tech as well as gas. Overall, both the PM and BEIS minister's energy in-tray's are bursting with decisions that have to be taken in order to ensure investment and delivery of enough energy capacity both in the short and medium term as traditional generation comes offline. I end this short overview by sticking my neck out by com- menting on UK winter capac- ity and resilience. The UK gas storage capacity is currently running at three to four days winter capacity compared with the 14 days the UK has had for a number of years. This is set to continue throughout the winter months due to British Gas clos- ing significant parts of its Rough gas storage unit. For energy intensive users this is a worry and they have longed called for government intervention to secure investment in gas storage to make it as secure as other European countries (for exam- ple, France and Germany have between 80 and 100 days of stor- age each). If we have a cold and prolonged winter that leaves gas supplies at dangerous levels, it will impact government, indus- try, and public support for low carbon and renewables – and may lead to a handbrake turn on energy policy early next year. Opinion Mike Harrison, Energy consultant Do you think these Party leaDers are Doing well or baDly at their job? % if there was a general election tomorrow, which Party woulD you vote for?% theresa may 48% very/fairly well 17% fairly/very badly jeremy corbyn 21% very/fairly well 61% fairly/very badly tim farron 11% very/fairly well 24% fairly/very badly Breakdown by Westminster voting intention Conservative Labour Lib Dem Ukip Other Source: YouGov, 4-5 September 2016 Source: YouGov, 4-5 September 2016 +85% -11% +16% -6% +23% -39% +32% +23% -70% -17% -76% -27% 40% (+2) 29% (-1) 7% (+0) 13% (-1) 11% (+1) +31% -40% -13%

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