Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH JUNE 2018 | 7 Policy & Regulation This week Energy firms 'broke competition law' Ofgem alleges pair of companies agreed not to 'actively target' each other's customers Ofgem has alleged that energy suppliers Economy Energy and E (Gas and Electricity) – and consultants Dyball Associates – have breached competition law. The regulator has issued a statement of objections under the Competition Act 1998. It alleges Economy Energy, E (Gas and Electricity) and Dyball Asso- ciates had an agreement that prevented the two suppli- ers "actively targeting" each other's customers through face-to-face sales. Ofgem suggests the companies shared "commercially sensitive" information about their current customers, most of whom are prepayment customers. Dyball Associates, which provides soware and consultancy services to the UK electricity and gas mar- kets, is thought to have facilitated the arrangement by "designing, implementing and maintaining" soware systems that allowed customer lists to be shared. The regulator stressed that its findings were provi- sional. It said: "We will carefully consider any represen- tations from the companies before deciding whether the law has in fact been broken." Economy Energy said it took its compliance obliga- tions very seriously, and planned to "submit a robust defence" to the allegations". E (Gas and Electricity) and Dyball Associates had not responded to requests for comment at the time of going to press. The case originally opened in October 2016 and deci- sions to continue with it were made in December 2016 and April 2017. Ofgem issued a statement of objections to the three parties to the investigation on 29 May 2018. KP ELECTRICITY Go-ahead for largest Scottish PV scheme The Scottish government's Energy Consents Unit (ECU) has granted planning permission for Elgin Energy's 50MW solar PV project – the country's largest – on a former RAF airfield in Moray. About 200,000 solar PV modules will be deployed at the airfield, which was decommis- sioned in the 1970s. The project will generate enough electricity to meet the annual demand of 10,000 households in Scotland. The ECU handles projects generating 50MW or more in Scotland. In its letter to Elgin, it says the proposal is supported by national Scottish policies to promote solar PV development. Ronan Kilduff, managing director of Elgin Energy, said the company hoped to start develop- ing the project in the early 2020s. WATER Operator to focus on collaboration Collaboration with the wider industry will be a key focus of the market operator (MOSL) in the second year of the competi- tive water market. In MOSL's inaugural annual CEO market review, it reflects on the first 12 months of the business water retail market but also explores how it can address issues and drive improvements. MOSL's key areas for improvements include bill- ing and switching. The market operator plans to use inputs from its analysis of the central dataset, performance and mar- ket information and findings of the market audit, which will be finalised in the summer. ENERGY Details of merger probe revealed The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revealed more details about its continu- ing examination of the tie-up between the retail power units of SSE and Npower. The competition regulator has launched an in-depth inves- tigation into the tie-up between the companies, saying it may reduce competition and increase prices for some households. Now the CMA team conduct- ing the second phase of the investigation, who are entirely different from those who under- took the first phase, in line with protocol, have published their initial findings. It has now added it will con- sider the impact of the merger on the supply of gas and elec- tricity to customers in Britain, as well as any implications arising from plans for a larger asset swap between Innogy's parent company RWE and Eon, which also has a British retail energy business. Ofgem says firms shared customer information Political Agenda David Blackman "New nuclear wouldn't power a single light bulb" The UK hasn't built a single new nuclear power station since Sizewell B was commissioned in the mid-1990s. It is perhaps no coincidence that around this time the UK's nuclear power industry was privatised. Since then, the government steered clear of bankrolling nuclear power. This has reflected the Treasury's wider "private investment good, public invest- ment bad" mantra. The same orthodoxy has kept Hinkley C off the government's plant on the Isle of Anglesey. While this is not a firm commit- ment, Labour is right to describe this move to get back in the nuclear game as a big shi. To some extent, the move probably reflects the relative weakness of the Treasury, which can ill afford to pick a fight with the Business, Energy and Indus- trial Strategy department, its closest ally in the government's internal Brexit wrangles. But for the nuclear industry, going back to the future is no bad thing. balance sheet using a Byzantine financing arrangement that guaranteed EDF a strike price of £92.50/MWh for 35 years. But while the past decade has seen a mass of energy expended on nuclear policy, the actual new nuclear generation deliv- ered wouldn't power a single light bulb. And though the Hinkley deal may have kept government bor- rowing down, taxpayers will still end up paying through the nose for the project through their electricity bills. This week, the government said it would consider taking a direct stake in Hitachi-backed plans to build a new nuclear

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