Utility Week

4 | 27TH APRIL - 3RD MAY 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Macquarie considering selling Calon Energy Macquarie is considering putting three large UK gas-fired power plants up for sale, at a time when shiing government policies and the rise of renewables has raised the pressure on large fossil fuel generation plants. A potential sale of Macquarie spinout Calon Energy — whose three power plants are capable of supplying up to 6 per cent of the UK's energy — would follow a simi- lar step by Centrica, which sold its last big UK power stations last year. Financial Times, 22 April Seabirds 'fly around' offshore windfarms Windfarms are far less harmful to birds than first thought, the biggest ever study has shown, because seabirds actively change their flight path to avoid them. Researchers used radar and video to monitor seabirds flying near Vattenfall's Thanet offshore windfarm for two years. They found birds were present near the turbines in just 2 per cent of the 600,000 videos shot during the period, and they recorded just six collisions – an average of one every four months. The Telegraph, 19 April Drought alert sounded for Afghanistan Afghanistan faces the threat of seri- ous drought this year aer a very dry winter, officials have said, with at least 20 of 34 provinces already suffering badly. The 20 provinces in the war-torn country saw a 60 per cent shortfall in rain and snowfall during the winter season. "This year drought has reached a level that we will have to announce an emergency in several parts of the country," said Hashmat Khan Bahaduri, spokesman for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority in Kabul. Reuters, 23 April STORY BY NUMBERS National media Utilita files for judicial review of SMETS1 cut-off U tilita Energy has filed for a judicial review into the cut-off point for installing SMETS1 meters for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers. The energy supplier said it had "repeatedly urged" the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to push the deadline back to at least 2020. It said SMETS2 meters could have a "negative impact" on vulnerable households if the network went down and it had been "le with no choice" but to seek judicial review. BEIS is pushing ahead with its plans to deploy SMETS2 meters and said it would "vigor- ously defend" its stance. The government in January extended the cut-off for install- ing first generation smart meters by three months. The original end date for SMETS1 was July 2018. It is now October 2018. Bill Bullen, chief executive of Utilita, said: "This is not a deci- sion we have taken lightly. "It's been suggested SMETS2 meters are more advanced than SMETS1 meters – but this is simply not true." Utilita said its SMETS1 meters have a keypad that allows PAYG customers to serve themselves if there are any difficulties and the network is down. It says SMETS2 is not designed for self-service and has the potential to put "millions of households at risk of going off supply". Bullen said: "We cannot rush this. We fully support the rollout of smart meters… but it has to be at the right time for everyone, and this is clearly not the right time for SMETS2." The company said there are only a few hundred SMETS2 meters in operation and none in the PAYG segment. A BEIS spokesperson, said: "SMETS2 will enable consumers to use smart services when they switch energy supplier… That is why, aer careful consideration of the impact on energy suppli- ers and consumers, we have set a deadline for energy suppliers to move over to deploying only SMETS2 meters." KP Water market awareness is still low More than half of small businesses in England are unaware they can switch water retailer, research by SES Business Water has shown. 59% of SMEs surveyed were unaware of the open water market. 6% of those surveyed have switched. 53% SMEs in the east of England are "most aware". 1% SMEs in the East of England had the lowest switching rate. 13% Highest SME switching is in the North. 35% Awareness of the market is lowest in the West Midlands and London. "It is more important than ever for utilities and their contractor partners to have a strong voice" Clive Bairsto, the former global head of resilience and crisis at National Grid, as he was appointed chief executive of Street Works UK.

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