Utility Week

4 | 1ST - 7TH JUNE 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Drones worth £1.1bn a year by 2030 There are significant opportunities for economic gains to be made from drones across all UK sectors, but the GDP upli generated by drones is forecast to raise £1.1 billion a year for the Agriculture, Mining, Gas and Electricity sectors, according to a report from PwC. It said there will be more than 76,000 drones in use across the UK by 2030. Steve Jennings, PwC's UK energy leader, said: "By automating routine tasks, improving effective- ness, safety and reducing costs, drones will free up people to focus on higher-value work." The Guardian, 29 May Only 28% think ONR sufficiently resourced A survey published this month by the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR), said only 28 per cent of industry stakeholders had confi- dence in it to have "the resources and capabilities to deliver in five to ten years". These concerns come against a backdrop of both a shortage of skilled workers in the nuclear sector and an upcoming increased demand for the regulator in line with increased nuclear demand. Daily Telegraph, 27 May Concerns raised over festival water supplies after drug deaths Concerns have been raised about access to free drinking water at Mutiny festival last weekend aer the death of two people believed to have taken ecstasy pills. People who attended the event alleged on social media that there was a lack of drinking water aer 4pm, when they claimed some of the taps stopped working properly and large queues built up. The festival's organisers denied access to water was limited. The Guardian, 28 May STORY BY NUMBERS National media Energy price cap will come into effect in December T he proposed energy price cap is planned to come into effect in December 2018, Ofgem has revealed in its price cap consultation overview. The overview is the culmina- tion of five working papers pub- lished by the regulator on the design of the cap. They include information on how it should set the initial level of the cap, and how it might periodically adjust it up and down to reflect underlying cost changes. It said the cap was likely to be updated every six months, based on how suppliers' costs change. To establish these, it said it would look at four methodologies and then assess whether additional "headroom" is needed above the cost base to take into account uncertainties and risks. The price cap is due to be lied in 2020, but the govern- ment can extend its duration by 12 months on up to three occasions. Additionally, it emerged as part of the overview that "green deals" will not be exempt from the cap, as was previously thought. Ofgem said: "We want to prevent suppliers 'gaming' the cap – exempt tariffs should genuinely add to the overall sup- port for renewable energy and reflect genuinely higher costs of providing the tariff. "We propose not to provide an exemption. But we are con- sidering providing derogations from the cap if suppliers satisfy us that their tariff genuinely adds to support for renewable energy and incurs materially higher costs. We would expect to set a high bar for agreeing to a derogation request." The announcement was welcomed by energy supplier Bulb, which said the regulator was "closing the so-called green loophole". Ofgem said the default tariff cap "extends protection to all consumers who do not engage in the market frequently". Anyone wishing to respond to or participate in the consultation process has until 25 June to reply to Ofgem. AC Homeserve on a high Home assistance specialists Home- Serve boosted its financial results with energy firm signings. 25% Pre-tax profit jumped by 25 per cent in the past year, boosted by contract wins with Eon and Octopus Energy. £123.3m Pre-tax profit for 2018, compared with £98.3 million in 2017. £899.7m Revenue for the past 12 months, compared with £787 million in 2017. 2m Number of deals that came through Eon and Octopus Energy. £660m Amount of dam- age caused each year in the UK by the escape of water, according to Homeserve. "The convergence of new technologies with AI, big data, and the IoT promises a new energy future" Rob Saunders, interim challenge director at Prospering from the Energy Revolution, as the government announced a new research consortium to develop local energy projects, as part of a £102 million programme.

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