Utility Week

Community The 248 billion dollar question The US is much like the UK in many respects, except everything there is done on a larger scale. Thus, energy companies here sometimes erroneously bill customers for a few grand, but a woman in Pennsylvania was sent a bill for $248 billion for one month's electricity. Mary Horomanski from Erie, told the Erie Times-News: "My eyes just about popped out of my head. We had put up Christ- mas lights and I wondered if we had put them up wrong." The actual amount turned out to be $284.46, which a phone call to Penelec, the utility involved, quickly established. Mark Durbin, a spokesman for First Energy, Penelec's parent company, apologised for the mix-up and was quoted in the Washington Post saying: "We appreciate the customer's willingness to reach out to us about the mistake." Reaching out, huh? Discon- nector wonders if that was the phrase Mary used when she rang them to query the bill. Street crime There's a lot of stories in the media these days about cyber crime and hacking, and as oen as not the finger points to China, with accusations that industrial sabotage is pursued on an industrial scale and financed by the state. But in a timely reminder that old-fashioned smash and grab still has its place, thieves in China removed a 1.8m sec- tion of solar highway just five days aer it had been unveiled with much fanfare in the east- ern city of Jinan. The 1km stretch of road is made up of solar panels under a layer of transparent concrete, so cars can drive over the photo voltaic cells. The panels have little resale value, so the assumption is that the thieves were aer the technology. Before the highway even opened there had been several attempts to steal components and technology, an employee at Shandong Pavenergy, the road's developer, said. Mys- terious men oen wandered around the construction site and took photos of the project. "Even aer the project is done, people are still stealing," he said. "It's very upsetting." Far be it for the great man to lecture the Chinese, but maybe if the authori- ties were a little more, um, proactive in enforcing intellectual property rights, the country would provide a more rewarding environ- ment for innovation rather than copycats. Moving service In the month the UK govern- ment outlined how it would get all unabated coal generation off the system by 2025, elsewhere in Europe coal is still very much alive. In Germany, RWE is invest- ing large sums in vast open cast mines, such as one that will swallow the rural Immer- ath. For years the company has been buying up land, demol- ishing houses and rebuilding the village 10km away. Even the cemetery was relocated. The last building standing was a 19th-century double- spired "village cathedral" and earlier this month it was razed to the ground, despite the pro- tests of local campaigners and environmentalists. Fracking companies in the UK must look at Germany envi- ously. It's bad enough dealing with a bunch of angry Surrey villagers, but imagine trying to get permission for an open cast mine that involved demolishing heritage stuff. Wouldn't happen, mate. 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; Associate editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@ 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; Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Reporter: Clare Ruel, t: 01342 332069, e:clareruel@fav-house.com Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@ 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. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2016 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 UTILITY WEEK | 19TH - 25TH JANUARY 2018 | 31 Phil MacDonald @PhilMacD1 Amazing to see how coal's share of electricity generation has fallen since 1960 - even in Poland. Divide between UK and Germany is stark. #beyondcoal JesseJenkins @JesseJenkins Even if you believe 100% renewable energy is the end goal, if you think climate change is really an urgent existential threat, the order of operations is clearly phase our coal, then gas, then nuclear. Germany is doing opposite. Léonie Greene #FBPE @LeonieGreene Pleased to see @ofgem shake up. Hope for more policy/regulatory consistency for smart tech/markets, quantification of network benefits (not just costs!) from smart homes & businesses. Generally, less protection of BAU over risk-takers & innovators, who benefit consumers longterm. Open Energi @openenergi 2017 in review: overall electricity demand fell 2.8% but a 30GW swing between the winter peak (49.8GW) and the summer minimum (16.6GW) demonstrates the challenge as more generation becomes intermittent and demand patterns shift. Tom Steward @Steward_T Fascinating morning at EUK hearing from Co-Op about experience as a supplier of last resort. Frightening what pieces they had to pick up. Raises interesting consumer protection questions - how to maintain low barriers to entry whilst ensuring new entrants are suitably robust. Gareth Miller @garethmillerCE Eggborough looking at new CCGT & now SSE on a coal site. Many coal stations facing 2025 closure will consider practical & economic feasibility. Reduced costs vs complete new build CCGT an advantage in cap market when coal leaves. But other techs will be fighting for that room too! Mike Foster @mikefosterEUA Who pays the cost of decarbonisation of homes has never been discussed by politicians - it needs to be to help inform policymakers of what is acceptable. Top Tweets

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