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4 | 16TH - 22ND DECEMBER 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Business customers could desert incumbents A survey by Util- itywise has sug- gested that English water companies could "lose hun- dreds of thousands of business cus- tomers" from April next year because of poor value for money, low-quality service and a lack of trust. 53% of English busi- nesses likely to switch supplier in 2017. 74% of businesses likely to switch when informed about deregulation. 38% of business cus- tomers think they pay too much for their water. 22% want better customer service from their water supplier. 19% of business cus- tomers are happy with their supplier. STORY BY NUMBERS Southern Water names new chief executive Seven days... S outhern Water has appointed Ian McAulay to succeed Matthew Wright as chief executive. He will take up the post on 1 January 2017. McAulay was formerly chief executive of waste manage- ment company Viridor but announced in September that he was leaving to "pursue other opportunities". Having also held the post of managing director of capital programmes at United Utilities, McAulay has extensive experi- ence in the UK's regulated util- ity, construction and environ- mental services sector. He also has substantial experience of running privately owned entities both in the UK and overseas. He comes with a "demonstrable track record of achieving strong operational results and transformational change". Commenting on his appoint- ment, McAulay said: "This is an exciting time to be joining Southern Water… We must strive to innovate and meet the twin challenges of climate change and population growth, while growing trust and confidence in the water and wastewater services we provide." Southern Water chairman Robert Jennings said: "It's an exciting time as we build on solid operational improvements and look to deliver improved customer service. "Ian brings with him exten- sive experience of managing large, complex organisations and overseeing the delivery of size- able capital-intensive projects in a regulated industry." LV "Tepid at best" The verdict of manufacturers' organisation EEF on the government's management of security of supply. The lobby group called on the government to reintroduce an annual energy statement to help allay fears over the security of supply. National media Bill Gates backs $1bn energy fund Bill Gates and more than a dozen of the world's wealthiest indi- viduals are behind a new $1 billion investment fund to foster advances in clean energy production. Dubbed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the 20-year fund is backed by a mix of technology luminaries and heavyweights from the energy industry. The goal is to pump money into risky, long-term energy technology that could dra- matically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a state- ment. The investments will likely go into areas such as electricity generation and storage, agriculture and transportation. Bloomberg, 11 December Senate funds removal of Flint's lead pipes The senate has passed a bill that included $170 million in funding to remove lead-tainted pipes from the water supply in Flint, Michigan. Environmentalists were con- cerned, however, about a "poison pill" in the legislation which rolled back environmental protections in California's Bay-Delta estuary. "We should not have to trade delinquent congressional action in Michigan for the erosion of endan- gered species protection and a threat to fishing jobs in California," said Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a statement. "But that is the result of the partisan games at play in this bill." The Guardian, 10 December EU okays energy plans in France, Denmark The European Commission has cleared four renewable energy support schemes in France, as well as Danish support for energy- intensive users, saying they were in line with European Union rules on state aid. Reuters, 12 December