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UTILITY Week 11th November 2016

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4 | 11TH - 17TH NOVEMBER 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Infrastructure confidence lacking A study by the CBI and AECOM has found that almost half of British firms (44%) believe UK infrastructure has improved over the past five years, but only 27% think it will pick up in the next five years. Energy-specific figures are: 74% of respondents said improved energy security is an important long- term goal of their business. 71% said the need for greater investment in energy efficiency is important. 59% of energy infra- structure providers are dissatisfied with the govern- ment efforts to boost investment. 83% of businesses are not confident in the UK's ability to meet its Paris Climate Change Agreement obligations. STORY BY NUMBERS National Grid chief calls for 'fundamental' review Seven days... O fgem should undertake a holistic review of network charging, rather than looking at "individual elements" such as the embedded benefit. In an interview with Utility Week, National Grid chief execu- tive John Pettigrew said he was "encouraging" Ofgem to extend its review of the embedded benefits regime. "There needs to be a more holistic review of charging," he said. "I understand the drivers for the embedded benefit review – looking to make sure that it is equitable in terms of making sure that everyone who is using the network in some shape or form is paying their fair share – but I think that it would be more useful at some point, pretty soon, to take a more holistic look. Not just at the transmis- sion charge and the distribu- tion charge but at charging for networks generally." In August this year, Ofgem published an open letter on its website saying it believed benefits for embedded genera- tors under the current network charging regime were "distorting investment decisions and lead- ing to inefficient outcomes in the capacity market". Ofgem said amendments to the current regime should be addressed "as a matter of priority" and called for industry input into creating suitable modifications. It hoped to decide on remedies within the year. Pettigrew, however, said a rushed review would be "prob- lematic". "Anything that moves away from where we are today will mean winners and losers," he said. JG See interview, p6 "This is the last chance saloon for the energy industry" Consumer watchdog Which? says energy suppliers are still not engaging with their customers about switching from expensive tariffs. National media Sustainable palm oil group under fire Some activist groups are with- drawing support for the palm oil body that provides sustainability certificates for the industry, saying it is biased toward producers and its complaints panel is flawed. Aidenvironment, an Amster- dam-based green group, could become the latest to cut ties with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) over what it calls poor handling of a complaint against major palm producer IOI Group. RSPO – a body of palm produc- ers, consumer companies, and activist groups – has long faced criticism for weak enforcement standards. Reuters, 7 November Oz nuclear waste dump rejected Pressure is growing on the South Australian government to scrap the idea of building a high-level nuclear waste dump in the state's north aer a citizens' jury rejected the concept. Premier Jay Weatherill said his cabinet would take the verdict of the jury on board, but would also consider the views of more than 50,000 people who have provided feedback to the government so far. The Guardian, 6 November Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Sydney Two water cooler towers that caused 13 people to fall ill with legionnaires' disease during two outbreaks earlier this year have been identified by health officials. The NSW Ministry of Health has determined the water cooler tow- ers on adjacent streets in central Sydney tested positive for the same strain of the disease, which has symptoms similar to pneumo- nia, according to an investigation report. Daily Mail, 7 November

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