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UTILITY WEEK | 21ST - 27TH JULY 2017 | 15 Policy & Regulation This week EVs could add 30% to peak demand by 2050 National Grid forecast reveals that – without smart charging – peak demand will leap by 18GW The growth of electric vehicles (EVs) could add up to 18GW – or 30 per cent – to peak power demand by 2050, National Grid has predicted in its latest Future Energy Scenarios report. Without smart charging, the company said peak demand could grow by as much as 8GW by the end of the next decade. The 18GW increase occurs under the "Consumer Power" scenario, which envisions a world where there is high prosperity but consumers have little inclination to become environmentally friendly. This scenario nevertheless foresees the widespread adoption of electric vehicles for their desirability and low cost compared with their combustion engine fore- bears. Peak demand expands by 3.5GW by 2030, or 8GW in the absence of smart charging capabilities. Electric vehicle sales are expected to be even higher in the "Two Degrees" scenario, which maps the route to meeting the UK's emissions reduction targets and replaces the "Gone Green" scenario from previous reports. In this world, consumers choose to be greener and have the wealth to support their decisions. Despite higher sales of electric vehicles, peak demand increases by just 6GW because of the high level of engagement among consumers – most of whom charge their vehicles at off-times – as well as the rise of shared autonomous vehicles. Electric vehicle sales are significantly lower in the other two scenarios, especially "Steady State" which has taken the place of "No Progression". TG ENERGY Reeves to head BEIS select committee Rachel Reeves has been elected chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee, which oversees the BEIS department. She was up against three other Labour backbench MPs – Liam Byrne, Ian Lucas and Albert Owen – to fill the post, which was vacated by Iain Wright when he stood down as an MP at June's general election. Reeves served as shadow Treasury chief secretary and then work and pensions secre- tary under Ed Miliband during the 2010-15 Parliament. When campaigning to become BEIS committee chair, she said her priorities would include securing a "sustainable and cost-effective energy policy". WATER Yorkshire fined for 2015 sewage spill Yorkshire Water has been fined £600,000 for allowing sewage to leak into a Staithes watercourse close to a popular bathing spot. Leeds Crown Court imposed the fine aer the incident at the Hinderwell waste water treat- ment works in July 2015. Richard Bradley, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court that the sewage had a significant impact on the quality of the water in the watercourse. It had leaked from a poorly- maintained, rusting sludge stor- age tank, which had holes in it. The Environment Agency had asked the firm to provide a plan for how it was going to clean up the mess shortly aer the inci- dent, but no reply was received. The company was still cleaning sewage sludge from the water three months aer the incident. In sentencing, the judge said the company had been reckless, rather than just negligent. ENERGY Tougher price controls to come Ofgem has told energy networks to "prepare for tougher price controls", saying there is "strong evidence" that their investors are willing to accept lower returns. The regulator has taken the "first steps" towards setting the price controls for the second chapter of RIIO by inviting stake- holders to give their views on changes to the framework. "Ofgem is working to ensure that customers pay no more than they need to for energy net- works while still benefiting from improvements in reliability and service," said senior partner for networks Jonathan Brearley. "That is why in launching the new round of price controls, we are looking at what lessons we can learn to improve further the RIIO framework for consumers. Smart charging is essential to cut peak demand Political Agenda David Blackman "May and Corbyn have traded places." By the time this edition of Utility Week is published, the House of Commons will have broken up. And it's a very different to March when parliament's last recess began. Theresa May dominated the political landscape and Labour was written off to such an extent that its radical plans to overhaul energy policy hardly even regis- tered. Energy UK, for example, did not even respond to a policy platform that included renation- alising a big chunk of the sector, the next Labour manifesto will receive a more detailed scrutiny. The party's right wing largely allowed Corbyn a free rein on the manifesto in the hope he would fail on his own terms. Many in Corbyn's camp will no doubt want to double down on ideas like public ownership of energy, but with the enormous challenges facing post-Brexit Britain, Labour will have to face up to whether renationalisation is a sensible priority for scarce public funds. an idea that had been off the table for more than 20 years. Instead, the focus was entirely on May's proposals to cap energy prices. That's all changed now, of course. The prime minister's authority is so weakened that while she appeals for a national consen- sus, she can't even stop her own cabinet from briefing against one another. And these days when Corbyn gets mobbed, commentators no longer sneer that he is merely preaching to converted but instead treat his statements with the seriousness warranted by a potential future PM. However, this also means