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NETWORK / 9 / DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 the UK market. We have over three million customers and are also recognised as being professional, innovative, and customer cen- tric - having developed quite a lot of smart energy solutions. At Vattenfall we have been operating and installing smart meters for over 15 years." The rollout of smart meters in the UK is something that has been met with ap - prehension, something which Viklund is acutely aware of. "I think it's natural that customers can be quite hesitant from the beginning," she notes. "It's a matter of showing what kind of information can be shared. At the end of the day it's the consumers' data. "I'm alsoconscious of the hesitance regarding data privacy. We've been through these things in Sweden, discussing and finding solutions. Safeguarding the cus - tomer's integrity and data is very important, emphasised by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation coming in next year. "I think being open and showing cus- tomers what you can do is important. In Sweden we have had experience of custom- ers becoming more interested in, and under- standing of, their energy consumption. "Online they're able to look up pos- sible power outages. For quite some years we have offered digital tools to customers. We believe that this is something else that could be of interest to the UK market." This customer focus is something that keeps cropping up during Network's discus - sion with Viklund. "The history of the energy market is such that customers have historically become quite passive," adds Viklund. "Nowadays when customers are being offered these kind of digital services, we put a lot of effort into communicating with them, and they are getting more interested day by day. "That interest will be developed, but we should not bog our customers down with a lot of data they don't need or ask for. But the availability should be there." So, is Vattenfall's experience with the rollout of smart meters something that they will use to their advantage when entering the UK market? "I think it is something we can evalu - ate," states Viklund, with a note of caution. "We're humble as an entrant to see and un- derstand what customers ask for and what they expect from network companies. It is something we'll pay a lot of attention to, but I also think it's important to approach the market with different kinds of services. We have experience in Sweden where we have city and rural networks. "We also have experience of Berlin where customers are a bit more hesitant about smart meters, but there are other things they're prioritising. I think the experience we have from being network operators in both Sweden and Germany, but also histori - cally in Poland, means we have learnt to enter a market with humbleness and big ears." Getting things underway With operations expected to start next year the firm has appointed Stewart Dawson to head up Vattenfall Networks Ltd. He has over 30 years' experience in managing both regulated and private networks in the UK. "There are no regulatory restrictions around where we can operate in Great Britain," comments Viklund. "What we will do is assess all the relevant and interesting business opportunities we have for the mar - ket so that we're not limiting ourselves. "We'll also be looking at the different customer segments. Looking at the expan- sion areas where IDNOs are invited to approach I think it's interesting for us to look at all different types of customer areas. We have experience of all these customer segments, so it is more about where the op- portunities arise. We will evaluate them on a business case basis and see where we can add most value. We are keen on being able to enter as soon as we can, based on the op - portunities that arise in the market." Vattenfall has experience as a distribution network operator in Sweden and Germany. Vattenfall has invested almost £3 billion in its UK wind energy business since 2008. Vattenfall Vattenfall/ Perfectly Clear Marketing