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UTILITY WEEK | 1ST - 7TH SEPTEMBER 2017 | 15 Policy & Regulation T he cost of energy in the UK has become a kind of tinderbox for public and political fury. And with every price rise announcement the heat of arguments and coun- ter arguments, justifying and condemning changes to bills, increases – the exchanges fol- lowing the recent British Gas announcement prove the point. To date, domestic energy costs have been in the crucible of this debate. But with govern- ment poring over the final detail of its industrial strategy and Terry Scuoler, chief executive of manufacturing trade body EEF, on the panel of the cost of energy review, industrial energy costs are undoubtedly in line for some fresh and high-profile scrutiny. EEF has long-campaigned for action against "uncompetitive" energy costs for UK manufactur- ers. It says the size of energy bills for industrial users in the UK puts them at a disadvantage compared to rivals in Europe and is therefore undermin- ing efforts to rebalance a UK economy which has become overly dependent on service- based industries. With a laughably short timetable for execution, a prescriptive scope and no plans for consultation, it will be hard for Dieter Helm's cost of energy review to unpack and recom- mend remedies to the complex set of influences driving indus- trial energy costs upwards. Nevertheless, Scuoler has entered into the review with a clear set of outcomes in mind. Ahead of the first meeting of the review panel, EEF issued four key requirements for a meaning- ful review. Foremost among these is that it must set out a clear set of reasons for disparities between UK industrial electricity costs and those across the rest of the EU. These reasons should identify the relative costs added to bills by wholesale, network and policy costs. Furthermore, EEF has said this clarity of understanding must lead to a tangible and transparent set of metrics which can be used to regularly test the competitiveness of industrial electricity costs in the UK. The trade body has enviously eyed similar indices published by European energy regulators, helping inform national energy policy and industrial strategy. It wants Ofgem to do the same. Of course, Scuoler has lim- ited power to get what he wants from the review. The team of five panellists appointed to offer advice has no direct bearing on the output. It's not even clear if they will be asked to review a dra of the final report, accord- ing to one industry source close to the process. Instead, their role is to offer evidence based on their personal knowledge in an attempt to "calibrate" the resulting report. That said, Helm would be unwise to brush aside the expectations of his panellists. Already this review has met with criticism for being lightweight. If, aer Helm reports, his col- leagues denounce the output as unrepresentative of their views, it will be dismissed entirely, creating a blotch on his eminent academic track record. business, Winser is a consummate energy systems expert. He was one of the lead- ing minds behind the current RIIO regime for energy network regulation and shaped National Grid's early approach to using demand-side balancing mechanisms. Aer leaving Grid, Winser was appointed to bring the Energy System Catapult, a government- funded innovation hub, into being. He told Utility Week the move was "the easiest deci- sion I've ever made". The catapult now leads the Future Power System Architecture project, which has challenged the ability of existing institutional arrangements in the energy system to meet the demands of a decentralised future. Richard Nourse, managing partner, Greencoat Capital "We think solar is going to be huge for gen- eration across Europe in the next ten years." – Oct 2013 Formerly an investment banker, Nourse is co-founder and managing partner of Green- coat Capital – the specialist renewables fund manager which manages around $1.8 billion (£1.4 billion) in infrastructure and private equity mandates. Nourse is in charge of the company's overall investment strategy and is a member of the investment committee. Prior to co-founding Greencoat, he enjoyed a long career in the City – first at Morgan Grenfell and then at Merrill Lynch where he led the EMEA energy and power team. On leaving Merrill Lynch in 2007, he joined the Shareholder Executive – part of the UK government – with responsibility for Brit- ish Energy, BNFL and Urenco. He remains a non-executive director of Urenco, as well as sitting on the boards of two of ESB NM LP's investments: Airvolution and Aveillant. Isobel Sheldon, director, Johnson Matthey Battery Systems Isobel Sheldon joined Johnson Matthey Bat- tery Systems as engineering and technology director in January 2016. Prior to that she was business manager at Ricardo UK – with responsibility for the development of the company's battery design, development and manufacturing strategy, and commercial lead for battery business development. She has also been managing director of Amber- jac Projects and programme manager at L&L Products. Comment Jane Gray "Industrial energy costs come under new heat."