Utility Week

Community Ain't no fool like a fat fool Last week's G7 summit ended in rancour with US president Donald Trump refusing to sign a joint communiqué with other world leaders and launching a furious tirade against Canadian prime minis- ter Justin Trudeau, calling him "dishonest and weak". Trudeau's crime was to announce to the world's press he thought Trump's proposed tariffs against Canadian goods were "insulting", which turned out to be ironic in view of the pasting he got from Trump and the prez's attack dogs. They promptly toured the TV studios accusing the Canadian leader of "betrayal" and being a "backstabber". There were many theories doing the rounds as to why Trump went ballistic (Discon- nector hopes that doesn't turn out to be an unfortunate turn of phrase), but the most plausible was that Trudeau had the temerity to position himself next to Trump in the photo calls – and Trudeau was the taller man. That in itself is enough to get you thrown out of Air Force One, but it gets worse. Since Trudeau is a mere 6' 2", then Trump is not only clearly not 6' 3", but nearer 6' 1". And since he weighs nearly 17st, that revised height means he's also clinically obese. Wouldn't it be great if Trudeau had tweeted to Trump: "Yeah, well you're FAT. And so's your mum!" Going round the bend Not much happens in She- boygan, Wisconsin, one of those small towns where everyone knows everyone else. Or do they? At least one citizen was clearly a malcontent, because someone had been vandalis- ing public toilets in the town for two years by shoving so drinks bottles down the pan and blocking the waste. News of the crime spree came to light when the miscre- ant was finally caught and arrested. The main target of his ire was Deland Park com- munity centre, which had its ladies loo blocked 30 times in the past two years at a cost of $3,000. Disconnector would like to be able to report that the man was caught because of the tenacity and ingenuity of the Sheboygan police, but in truth they acted on a tip-off. Loose talk, eh? It's the bane of many a criminal caper, although quite how this chap came to be bragging to some mates that he stuffed water bottles down toilets by way of settling scores is difficult to imagine. A little more than I expected We've reported on numer- ous occasions on these pages instances of energy suppliers erroneously billing customers thousands of pounds, so in the interest of balance we should point out that Water Plus was taken to task earlier this month for presenting Owen Williams, who runs a kitchen showroom in Leicestershire, with a bill for £16,584 for three months' worth of water. According to the metered usage, his company had used 3.4 million litres of water, which is one-and-a-half Olym- pic-sized swimming pools, if you find that helpful. Mr Williams says his show- room has three employees and one toilet and his usual quar- terly bill is £70. At the time of going to press he was refusing to pay up. The cat says no It's World Cup time, and that can only mean one thing: the host nation gets to choose an animal to predict the outcome. The Russians have gone for Achilles the cat from St Peters- burg. We'll cut to the chase: he doesn't place England. 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; Acting 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; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house. com. t: 01342 332116; 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 2017 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 | 15TH - 21ST JUNE 2018 | 31 Adam Boorman @AdamBoorman Most interesting is that Ofgem is focusing on supplier competency and ability to function rather than financial resilience – big change from previous calls for this and a sign of how worried they are about unqualified suppliers causing issues long after they drop out the market. William Marchant @richonlyinname I think that's a fair reflection. My sense is they're more worried about behaviour once in the market than whether they get into it in the first place. Duncan Carter @Duncan_E_Carter New lead at @ofgem consumer and markets division. Mary Starks is former FCA… Could this be an indication of a possible future merger of Ofgem and the FCA? EnAppSys @enappsys Greg Clark announces at BEIS questions that 1,000 SMETS 2 smart meters have been installed in a "significant milestone" to some guffaws. Léonie Greene #FBPE @LeonieGreene Dr @RupaHuq says: "The minister talks a good talk but rooftop #solar is at a seven-year low". @claireperrymp says looking at subsidy free and "a good replacement for the FIT scheme". We're waiting! (And waiting). And we have clear proposals. Jonson Cox @OfwatChair Following @Ofwat's investigation, @ ThamesWater will give £65m to customers. The company failed on leakage and breached two legal obligations. I welcome Thames now doing the right thing for customers. Simon Evans @DrSimEvans It's kinda crazy after how far solar costs have already fallen, but BNEF says panel prices will fall another 34% *this year*. Jim Watson @watsonjim2 If it is rejected, [Swansea Bay tidal lagoon] would be a missed opportunity to demonstrate technology and learn lessons. As a first of a kind, it is likely to be very expensive, of course – but that's normal for early stage technologies. Top Tweets

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