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UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH DECEMBER 2016 | 3 Leader Jane Gray This week 4 | Seven days 6 | People & Opinion 8 | Interview Lawrence Slade, chief executive, Energy UK 13 Policy & Regulation 13 | News Still good reason to worry about CPS 14 | Analysis CCS will come too late to save coal in Europe 15 | Analysis The autumn statement 16 | Market view How to stay ahead of water deregulation 18 Finance & Investment 18 | News Thames-Castle Water £99m deal 19 | Analysis Severn Trent's takeover battle with Ancala for Dee Valley Water 20 Operations & Assets 20 | High Viz Scottish Water 22 | Analysis The transition to a smart, flexible energy system 23 | Market view Cyber-attacks in Finland 25 Customers 25 | News Startup dives into retail water market 26 | Market view Water company benchmarking 27 | Market view The death of the energy bill 28 Markets & Trading 28 | Market view Brexit and the IEM 30 Community 31 | Disconnector Volatility swells the attractions of utility assets As the opening of the non-domestic water market approaches, most eyes in the water sector have understandably focused, with heightened anticipation, on the manoeuvres of companies as they prepare for competition. In 2016, these preparations have included launches of critical IT systems, poring over retail strategies, and the announcement of a number of high-profile acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures – the most recent of which is a marriage between Pennon and South Staffordshire Group. We have even seen some new entrants, such as The Water Retail Company, headed by the Energy Managers Association's Lord Redesdale, which aims to capitalise on synergies between energy and water efficiency. However, while commentators have engrossed themselves in speculation about how effective all this groundwork will be in prompting water account switching, back in the world of domestic supply a tussle between the aspirant buyers of a relatively small water-only company has suddenly escalated into a significant industry story (see p19). The bidding war between Severn Trent and infrastructure investment firm Ancala for ownership of Dee Valley Water seemingly sprang from nowhere, taking even the bidders by surprise. It appears likely as we went to press that Severn Trent will win out, saving the company face aer its bold statement on 16 November that the acquisition of Dee Valley was a done deal – only to be outbid within the week by Ancala. Whoever wins this takeover battle will gain a promising asset, serving 260,000 households and with rapidly improving customer service and efficiency records, all in a stable regulatory regime. Dee Valley's acquisition has been a messy affair, but it demonstrates two things very clearly. First, we should not expect all the interesting action in the water sector to come from the newly competitive business retail market. And second, we should not underestimate investors' desire to add reliable utility assets to their portfolios in the current volatile economic environment. Further acquisitions and consolidation can be expected, and the most attractive deals are unlikely to come without a fight. Jane Gray, Acting Editor janegray@fav-house.com GAS 13 | News Transmission must be 'more flexible' to cope with volatility 15 | Analysis The autumn statement 23 | Market view Cyber-attacks in Finland WATER 16 | Market view Staying ahead of water deregulation 18 | News Thames-Castle Water £99m deal 19 | Analysis Severn Trent's takeover battle for Dee Valley Water 20 | High Viz Scottish Water 25 | News Startup dives into retail water market 26 | Market view Water company benchmarking ELECTRICITY 13 | News Still good reason to worry about CPS 14 | Analysis CCS will come too late to save coal in Europe 28 | Market view Brexit and the IEM ENERGY 8 | Interview Lawrence Slade, chief executive, Energy UK 22 | Analysis The transition to a smart, flexible energy system 27 | Market view The death of the energy bill Visit the Downloads section of the website WNS: The UK Smart Meter Rollout http://bit.ly/2espIJ3 ESRI: How location information is improving stakeholder engagement http://bit.ly/2fEwLP9 Certas: Balancing capacity market concerns : setting the record straight on fuel http://bit.ly/2essYnG