Utility Week

Community Lost at sea When a Dutch trawler dredged up a 500lb Second World War bomb 60km off the Norfolk coast, the captain must have thanked his lucky stars the thing didn't go off. He did what any sensible man in his position would, and dropped it back into the sea. Unfortunately, at the point he decided to jettison the bomb he was a mere 60m away from an undersea gas pipeline. When he reported the incident to the authorities the Royal Navy was hastily called into action to head off a poten- tially disastrous underwater explosion. Portsmouth-based minehunter HMS Cattistock was deployed and specialist divers attached a liing device to the bomb to safely remove it from the seabed and tow it a mile away to be safely blown up. As it turned out, the bomb was found to be inert and no longer a threat, although there was no way of knowing that until it had been destroyed. The episode is a timely reminder that sometimes events have unintended consequences. Hell hath no fury… Which segues nicely into the carefree, consequence-free president of the USA. Last week the North Korean state newspa- per Rodong Sinmun sentenced Donald Trump to death in an editorial declaring: "He should know that he is just a hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people." In a rare display of states- manship, The Donald chose to maintain a dignified silence. Unfortunately, his new-found reticence didn't last long. When the Chinese authorities released three American basketball players being held on shopli- ing charges, Trump Tweeted: "I should have le them in jail!" The problem, it transpired, was that when he'd visited China he'd raised their case personally with Chinese premier Xi Jinping and he was furious that one of the players' fathers had publicly questioned the importance of Trump's intervention in secur- ing their release. If there's one thing that really upsets Trump, it's ingratitude directed at him. Free as a bird Something else that was directed at Donald Trump recently was the middle finger of Juli Briskman, a 50-year-old US mother who caught the public's imagination when a picture went viral of her flipping the bird at Trump's passing motorcade as she cycled to work. Her employer Akima, which does a lot of work for the gov- ernment, didn't see the funny side and promptly fired her. Seven days later she had received 453,678 offers of alter- native employment from across the US. Yet another event with unintended consequences. On the wall idea Taking a steer from the fragrant Andrea Leadsom, Disconnec- tor would like to big up Britain amid all the Brexit despair. The great man draws your attention to work being under- taken by scientists at Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and Central Saint Martins, who have pioneered an innovative wallpaper that contains live bacteria that can be used to generate electricity. That's right: the bacteria generate electricity when exposed to light and special ink is used to conduct it to terminals that can power an electrical device; so far, they have managed to power an LED bulb for 100 hours using only an A4-sized piece of the paper. They say the applications of "living wallpaper" are numer- ous. At least when the intercon- nectors go dead aer March 2019, we'll be able to huddle round a wallpaper-powered LED lamp and read Michel Barnier's terms of our surrender. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Deputy editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@ fav-house.com; Features editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Deputy news editor: Katey Pigden, t: 01342 332082, e: kateypigden@fav-house.com; Content editor: Alice Cooke, t: 01342 332102, e: alicecooke@fav-house.com; Senior reporter: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Sales executive: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house. com. t: 01342 332009; Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e; sophieabbott@ fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Published by: Faversham House Ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 1UZ. 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2015 Membership subscriptions: UK £669 per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK's magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact the editor, Ellen Bennett, at ellenbennett@fav-house.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Thomas Edwards @TomHenryEdwards Its good to see GB part of int'l alliance to drop coal, but domestic policy still no clearer on whether SoS will retain power to keep coal open Joe Ware @wareisjoe Michael Liebreich at launch of the UK's Powering Past Coal Alliance with @Clare4Devizes "You can't just promote clean energy, you need to demote the dirty to help your energy market" #BeyondCoal Chris Littlecott @chrislittlecott Faz editorial complains that #PoweringPastCoal Alliance members don't have much coal. Actually, UK was 40% coal electricity just 5 years ago. William Marchant @richonlyinname Regulators face a difficult trade-off with market entry tests: too stringent & you discourage new players, too lax and you let rogues in. I'm not sure Ofgem has found the right balance yet. George Smeeton @GSmeeton Centrica boss claims Govt could 'cut £200 from bills overnight' by shifting green levies to general taxation; big jump from £150 they claimed 'green taxes' cost in summer! John Deben @lorddeben Average fuel bill now £240 lower because energy efficiency means people use less energy. Green costs add £108 to bills (not Centrica's £200) so customer's net gain is £132. Centrica's suggestion Government could cut £200 from bills overnight looks pretty odd. Atlantis Resources @atlantisresplc Delighted to announce our partnership with the Duchy of Lancaster to develop the Wyre Estuary tidal barrage and flood protection project this morning Richard Howard @UKenergywonk "Driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche." Great quote from @elonmusk on launch of new Tesla roadster. Top Tweets UTILITY WEEK | 24TH - 30TH NOVEMBER 2017 | 31

• Cover