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UTILITY WEEK | 5TH - 11TH MAY 2017 | 7 Interview A s he vacated his chief executive's chair, Tony Cocker sees the Sword of Damocles hanging over the UK energy sector. When Utility Week meets him in Eon UK's soaring glass offices next to Victoria Station – only recently occupied by the company – the snap election and a Conservative pledge to cap energy prices have yet to materialise, though many had already labelled the latter an inevitability. If Cocker is despondent or frustrated to leave Eon in such an environment, he hides it well. During his five years as captain of the firm's UK arm, and 20 years with the wider company, Cocker has steered Eon through stormy waters and navigated a potentially treacherous sea of sector transformation with a patient and dedicated hand. His approach to leadership has earned him wide- spread respect and it was little surprise to see his name appear in a list of the utility sector's Top 10 most trans- formative leaders, nominated by the industry ahead of Utility Week Live 2017. But now another political maelstrom could threaten Eon's, and the wider sector's, ability to continue inno- vating and investing in customer-focused, smart energy services. Cocker doesn't deny the seriousness of the situ- ation for Eon and its compatriots. But he is characteristi- cally reserved and measured in his appraisal, picking his words thoughtfully, occasionally tapping the table in his corner office firmly with his fingers to emphasise a key point. He retains a lingering optimism that price regulation can be avoided and mourns the sidelining of recommen- dations made by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to address perceived market dysfunctions. "Our hope for that was that we would have an analytical investigation into the industry which would come out with some clear recommendations and clear the air," he reflects. "There are some clear recommendations from the CMA. We agree with some of what they've said. We don't agree with all of what they've said but we don't treat it as an a la carte menu. It is what it is. "Our strong belief is that we should implement the CMA's measures – the ones we don't like as well as the ones we like, and give those measures the time they need to bed in." Instead of clearing the air, however, Cocker says: "We've got this constant talk of intervention – which is effectively a Sword of Damocles hanging over the sec- tor – which is concerning. And… I think… it really adds to – big picture – investor uncertainty in the UK energy sector". This uncertainty is the result of an accumulation of political interventions in recent years, Cocker says. "We had a number of interventions early on [under the last] government on Rocs [Renewables Obligation Certifi- cates] and LECs [Levy Exemption Certificates], which to a certain extent undermined confidence, eroded confi- dence in the UK as an attractive place to invest." Cocker says these interventions – and the same goes for price regulation – were not "evidence-based policy". "They were not based on deep evidence and consulta- tion. They were based on manifesto commitments," he says. In a post-EU referendum environment where populist politics reigns and respect for experts and institutions is confined to nostalgia, Cocker's hope for a "return" to evidence-based policy seems optimistic. Cocker admits that there are fundamental questions being asked by the energy sector and its investor com- munity about "whether the UK still believes in competi- tive markets". But not wanting to dwell on this negative train of thought, he determines to find some positives to talk about. Remaining with policy, Cocker makes sure to be balanced and give government credit for some sound thinking in its plans for regional development, indus- trial strategy, and investing in skills – the latter an issue Cocker has invested a lot of time and attention in during his time as chair of the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership. The first of these sensible policy "planks" links to the "possibilities of distributed energy". Because these are intrinsically local and regional in nature, Cocker wel- comes a devolution of power to the regions which will allow a national market for distributed energy solutions to prosper.