Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 12Th - 18Th MAY 2017 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | People & Opinion 9 | Generation review A special report on the prospects for tidal energy in the UK 12 Policy & Regulation 12 | News May confirms Tories' energy price cap plan 14 | Lobby The energy sector takes the fight against price capping to the retailers 16 Finance & Investment 21 | News Thames Water rebuffs criticism of finances 25 | Market view What does the future hold for the newly acquired Affinity Water? 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz Carmarthenshire firms benefit from the Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm scheme 20 | Market view Get ready – blockchain technology will fundamentally change the energy industry 21 | Interview Npower's former chief talks innovation 23 | Market view Why utilities should embrace the Industrial Internet of Things 25 | Market view The barriers to smart technology 26 Customers 26 | News Ofwat to bolster role of customer in PR19 27 | Analysis The smart meter rollout is tough, and has created some surprising collaborations 30 Community 31 | Disconnector GAS 12 | Stock watch Centrica loses more than 250,000 home energy customers 16 | News A hydrogen gas grid could scale CCS costs WATER 12 | News Severn Trent calls to enhance role of ODIs 17 | Market view The post-Brexit prospects for Affinity Water 26 | News Scottish Water sets up new customer forum ELECTRICITY 12 | News Lords seek action on nuclear strategy 16 | News Moorside on hold pending review EnERGY 12 | News nI warns of hit to energy post-Brexit 16 | News Centrica warns against price caps 21 | Analysis Paul Massara on innovative technology 26 | News Engage or become obsolete, warns EY 26 | News Energy price cap could be a 'disaster' 27 | Analysis The smart meter rollout has created some surprising collaborations Pitney Bowes: Make self service smarter and more engaging http://bit.ly/2nAa2rC GORE: New Arc Rated Foul Weather Protection http://bit.ly/2ot3xrO Knowledge worth Keeping Visit the DownloaDs section of Utility week's website http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/ downloads Scoggins: the heat is on A warm welcome to Chris Scoggins, incoming chief executive of MOSL, taking over from Ben Jeffs. Formerly head of National Rail Enquiries, he must be used to sharing news of operating problems. Let's hope he doesn't have to in his new role. Here are five top challenges he faces: l It's little surprise that the biggest complaints coming from the water market to date have been around data quality. Companies warned that the rush to the April 1 deadline would compromise data quality, and they were right. Utility Week's new sister publication, Water.Retail, revealed last week that as many as one in ten customers could be missing from the central database. Some retailers are calling on other wholesalers to follow Anglian Water's example and pay them to identify missing sites. l There are tough conversations about how much switching shows a healthy market, and how much has happened in water retail to date. Despite its stated commitment to transparency, MOSL has so far been reluctant to share information. Let's hope Scoggins brings to bear his experience of answering difficult questions. l Awkward conversations are happening around MOSL's budget, too, with some retailers muttering about the financial burden it places on them. Until the market opened, MOSL's activities were funded by the 16 largest incumbent wholesalers, whose contributions were proportionate to their customer numbers. Now it's funded 50/50 by wholesalers and retailers, and with the proposed price tag for 2017/18 at £13.7 million, it's not small change. l The budget will fall heavily on new entrants and small retailers – although payments are calculated in proportion to size. Ensuring these smaller players enjoy a level playing field is one of the top jobs for the new CEO and will require sound negotiating skills. l Diplomacy will also be called for in dealings with Ofwat and others. Whitehall will be watching closely, with a view to whether domestic competition should follow non-domestic. Like the market itself, Scoggins should expect scrutiny at the highest level. Talking of scrutiny, an article in the Financial Times attacking Thames Water's financial affairs, linking them to its recent record fine for sewage and the vexed issue of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, opened the skirmishes for PR19. Thames has written to the FT challenging some of its numbers, and Ofwat chair Jonson Cox was quick to point out in print that the company, which in part prompted his action on board governance, now complies with the regulator's new rules. Whatever the facts, the message to the water companies is clear: you may not be facing the same scrutiny as energy retailers, but don't make the mistake of thinking no one's watching. Ellen Bennett, Editor, ellenbennett@fav-house.com Leader Ellen Bennett

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