Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 3RD - 9TH NOVEMBER 2017 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | Interview Michael Lewis, chief executive, Eon UK 10 Policy & Regulation 10 | News SMETS 1 customers will be able to switch 11 | Analysis Deiter Helm's energy review 12| Analysis The brave new world for network companies 14 | Opinion Our interdependent energy world 15 Finance & Investment 15 | News Onshore wind 'ban' could cost £1 billion 17 | Analysis The part played by the Crown Estate in the offshore wind industry 18 Operations & Assets 18 | High viz Anglian Water Bracebridge Heath reservoir 22 | Research The Future of Utilities, exclusive research by Utility Week and Wipro 24 | Market view How do utility managers plan to address today's pressing challenges? 25 | Market view What will water companies look like in 2030? 27 Customers 27 | News UU cryptosporidium advice was 'unclear' 28 | Market view A peer-to-peer marketplace for electricity trading 30 Community 31 | Disconnector GAS 22 | Research The Future of Utilities, exclusive research by Utility Week and Wipro WATER 18 | High viz Anglian Water Bracebridge Heath reservoir 25 | Market view What will water companies look like in 2030? 27 | News UU cryptosporidium advice was 'unclear' ELECTRICITY 15 | News Onshore wind 'ban' could cost £1 billion 17 | Analysis The part played by the Crown Estate in the offshore wind industry ENERGY 6 | Interview Michael Lewis, chief executive, Eon UK 10 | News SMETS 1 customers will be able to switch 11 | Analysis Deiter Helm's energy review 12| Analysis The brave new world for network companies 14 | Opinion Our interdependent energy world 28 | Market view A peer-to-peer marketplace for electricity trading Pitney Bowes: Make self service smarter and more engaging http://bit.ly/2nAa2rC CGI: Demand side flexibility in UK utilities http://bit.ly/2hrMapA Knowledge worth Keeping Visit the DownloaDs section of Utility week's website http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/ downloads Leader Ellen Bennett Helm's review is a revolution too far It's little surprise that the Helm Review, published last week, pro- posed radical root and branch reform of the energy system. Indeed, Dieter Helm, the prominent economist commissioned by ministers to review the entire energy value chain, is known for his outspoken opinions and his clear ideas on where the current system falls down. Anything less would have been frankly off-brand. Yet in going as far as he did, with proposals that effectively tear up the current energy system and start again, Helm has potentially limited the usefulness of his own review. Utility Week asked a series of experts whether the review represents a blueprint for reform or blue-sky thinking and the answers, on p11, almost all veer towards blue sky. More moderate proposals would have had a greater chance of building a consensus and ultimately of adoption. Helm's proposals for networks are profound. His vision of a system governed, at a local level, by independent, publicly owned regional system operators (RSOs) works well in theory. It makes sense if you start from a blank sheet of paper – but if the starting point is a completely different system that, by and large, is function- ing well, it starts to fall down in practice. We look at Helm's propos- als for networks on p12, and will follow up in the weeks ahead with detailed views of his proposals for energy generation and retail. Helm's review puts the issue of RSOs firmly on the table. It's already front of mind for regulators and CEOs, with Ofgem's Dermot Nolan hinting earlier this year that National Grid-style business separation may be a solution for DNOs. With Helm's intervention turning up the pressure, action on this seems increasingly likely to happen in RIIO2, rather than be kicked down the road. One of the questions Helm doesn't address is the wider political context. How does the overhaul of the UK energy system fit with the Brexit agenda? This isn't a side issue: government business for the foreseeable future is about Brexit first, last and centre. Do ministers have the appetite – or the parliamentary time – to set out the swathe of legislation the review's recommendations would require? It seems unlikely – yet the need for far-reaching change to facili- tate the energy transition is beyond doubt. Given the combination of circumstances, it seems inevitable, as well as sensible, that the change will be driven by the sector rather than by legislators. With the networks developing their own solutions to the system operator question, the ENA's Open Networks project facilitating an industry- wide dialogue, and the Future Power System Architecture project pushing the boundaries of the debate, the change is well under way. Ellen Bennett, Editor, ellenbennett@fav-house.com

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