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Utility Week 13th October 2017

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4 | 6TH - 12TH OCTOBER 2017 | UTILITY WEEK STORY BY NUMBERS Seven days... National media Onshore wind could stage a comeback Onshore wind power projects could make a return to the hard-fought competition for subsidies as Con- servative energy ministers warm to turbines following sharp falls in offshore wind costs. The government announced an end to new subsidies for wind turbines two years ago aer former prime minister David Cameron said that "enough is enough" for the rollout of turbines across England. In the meantime the cost of offshore windfarms has fallen by half following steady government support, raising questions over whether onshore wind should be allowed to compete against other technologies to provide low-cost renewable energy. The Telegraph, 4 October West End fatbergs Multiple "fatbergs" are clogging up sewers beneath London's West End, it has been revealed. Thames Water is closely moni- toring four major blockages lurking under the streets of the capital's theatre district. The masses of congealed fat, wet wipes, nappies and hardened cooking oil are in sewers in Savoy Street, Lisle Street, Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall Place. The Telegraph, 4 October Centrica CEO shares purchase The chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica has spent more than £173,000 buying shares in his firm as they plunged to historic lows. Iain Conn, 54, put his money behind the beleaguered energy supplier as he bought 100,000 shares at 173p yesterday. Shares plunged to 14-year lows last week and around £600 mil- lion was wiped off the company's value aer the Conservative party announced plans for a price cap. Daily Mail, 9 October Ofgem faces legal challenge to cuts in embedded benefits F lexible generation firm Peak Gen, along with seven other companies, has asked for a judicial review of Ofgem's decision earlier this year to slash triad avoidance payments. Ofgem said it would defend the decision, which stands unless struck down in court. "Peak Gen Top Co, along with seven other companies which own or have interests in power generation, has requested a judicial review in respect of Ofgem's decision on embedded benefits," the company told Util- ity Week. "In light of the ongoing legal action, it would not be appropriate to provide further details at this time." In June, Ofgem confirmed plans to almost entirely remove the residual element of triad avoidance payments, cropping it from the current level of around £47/kW to between £3/kW and £7/kW. The regulator argued that the payments were giving unfair advantage to distributed genera- tors and were set to rise even further without action. Triad avoidance payments are one of a number of financial advantages – known as embedded benefits – that are available to genera- tors embedded within distribu- tion networks. Embedded generators can receive the payments for helping suppliers reduce their trans- mission network use of system (TNUoS) charges. They are able to do this because they are effectively treated as negative demand during the triad periods of peak demand, which are used to set the charges. TNOuS charges contain a locational element, which reflects the cost of the reinforce- ments needed to accommodate new generation in different regions, and a residual element, which covers the sunk costs of the existing transmission network. "Ofgem has been served with a claim for judicial review," the regulator said in a statement. "We are defending the claim. Our decision stands unless quashed by the court." TG "The thing about water is that it gets everywhere" Environment Agency chief executive Sir James Bevan set out his thoughts on resilience in a report sent to water companies as they gear up for PR19. Read Bevan's full foreword at http://bit.ly/2i0xSQd Customers switching energy supplier The Energy Switch Guarantee has given customers more confidence when changing supplier, according to a new report from Energy UK. 90% Proportion of recent switchers who said they were satisfied with the process. 500k Number of customers who changed supplier in August 2017. 3.5m Total number of customers who have switched this year. 1,000 Number of cus- tomers surveyed for the research. 10 Number of com- mitments in the Energy Switch Guarantee, made by suppliers.

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