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14 | 1ST - 7TH SEPTEMBER 2017 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Analysis T o guide the cost of energy review and ensure a wide range of interests are represented, an eclectic panel of energy experts has been pulled together. It will be led by Oxford professor and econo- mist Dieter Helm – a controversial choice given his robust views on the value of renew- ables and the challenge of decarbonisation. He will be aided in his quest by some big personalities from the utilities world. Dieter Helm, professor and economist "My review will be independent and sort out the facts from the myths about the cost of energy, and make recommendations about how to more effectively achieve the overall objectives." – Aug 2017 Utilities celebrity Dieter Helm is not shy of controversy. The economist has made his mark in the sector in recent years, putting forward challenging views on the low carbon transition, the continued role of fossil fuels in the energy system and the value of renew- ables – especially solar PV, to the UK. He has also refused to lay down arms on the strucu- ture of the smart meter rollout, maintaining calls for suppliers to be stripped of responsi- bility for the programme in favour of energy distribution networks. Helm's academic pedigree is impressive. He is a professor at the University of Oxford, a fellow of New College, Oxford, and profes- sorial research fellow of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He is also associate editor of the Oxford Review of Eco- nomic Policy and a director of Aurora Energy Research. In December 2015, Helm was reap- pointed as independent chair of the Natural Capital Committee. He has authored numer- ous books. Laura Sandys, chief executive, Challenging Ideas "The sector think they are super competitive, but actually what they mean is, there are lots of competitors. They are talking a numbers game rather than a market game." – Jun 2017 A self-professed green Tory, Sandys is a for- mer MP who served as parliamentary private secretary to then energy minister Greg Barker from 2012 to 2014. She stepped away from politics in 2015 and now leads a consultancy – Challenging Ideas – specialising in busi- ness transformation and innovation. Chal- lenging Ideas is also working with Imperial College London and the Energy Systems Cat- apult on a project to develop an "alternative" regulatory model for a transformed energy system. Sandys has firm views on the need for alignment between energy policy and social policy to tackle rising vulnerability and equity challenges in the energy system and is a Utility Week columnist. Terry Scuoler, chief executive, EEF "We are delighted to see manufacturers' long- running concerns over the competitiveness of UK electricity costs addressed through this manifesto commitment to achieving the low- est energy costs in Europe." – May 2017 A former military man and an economist, Scuoler has been chief executive of manufac- turing trade body EEF since 2010. The organ- isation has campaigned long and hard for policy action to counteract "uncompetitive" energy costs for manufacturers in the UK and was quick to welcome the Conservative mani- festo commitment to carry out a review of the cost of energy. Until July, Scuoler was also chair of CEEMET, a pan-European manufac- turing trade body. It was a position he took up before the EU referendum with an ambi- tion to "reform from within" to improve the efficiency of industry interactions with the European Parliament and its commissions. Nick Winser, chairman, Energy Systems Catapult "RIIO was a massive step forward for encour- agement of innovation… But I am sure there will be good debate about what will be fit for purpose as you see the emerging picture of all these different dimensions of change, right across the energy system." – Oct 2015 Ex-executive director for National Grid's UK The people behind the review Utility Week profiles the individuals selected to guide government's high profile investigation of the cost of energy in the UK. Dieter Helm on energy: "The current state of the energy sector is sufficiently serious to merit rapid action. He [energy secretary Greg Clark] cannot engage in the luxury of reviews and reports. He needs to act." "Like the Green Deal, the smart meter programme started out as a good idea, but has been badly implemented." "The energy sector is not in good shape. It is not fit for the purposes of a major industrial economy." "The quality of the CMA Report was widely believed to be poor." "The economics of supply are pretty simple – unsurprisingly since selling homogenous products, electricity and gas, to customers is a pretty simple business."