Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 22ND - 28TH JUNE 2018 | 3 This week 4 | Seven days 6 | News feature Where has all the gas gone? 9 Policy & Regulation 9 | News EDF Energy fined for missing smart meter deadline 11 | Chief executive's view Ian McAulay, Southern Water 13 Finance & Investment 13 | News Pension fund boost for Swansea lagoon 14 Operations & Assets 14 | High viz Race Bank offshore windfarm, off the North Norfolk coast, is opened 18 | Awards How Northumbrian Gas Networks won Utility Week's Community Initiative of the Year Award 20 | Comment Matt Hindle, head of gas, Energy Networks Association 21 Customers 21 | News Suppliers rarely consider prepay alternatives 22 | Research A deep dive into switching data reveals a nuanced picture of market success 24| Analysis Can pricing structures help vulnerable customers? 28 | Market view Why utilities must embrace the opportunity of electric vehicles 30 Community 31 | Disconnector GAS 6| News feature Where has all the gas gone? 18 | Awards NGN's Community Initiative of the Year 20 | Comment Matt Hindle, head of gas, Energy Networks Association WATER 11 | Chief executive's view Ian McAulay, Southern Water 21 | News NI Water brings sewers up to date ELECTRICITY 9 | News More suppliers will have to offer WHD 9 | News Green light from for Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant 14 | High viz Race Bank offshore windfarm is opened 22 | Research Switching data reveals market performance 28 | Market view Utilities must embrace the EV opportunity ENERGY 13| News Macquarie green loans total £500m 21| News First Utility to hike prices by 5.9% 24| Analysis Can pricing structures help vulnerable customers? Goalposts move for water sector Water bosses' to-do lists this week must have more changes and crossings-out than England's World Cup team sheet. And, just as the national coach's game plan and priorities must constantly adapt in the face of adversity, so too it seems must theirs. In fact, our water utilities might be able to help him out with a thing or two on that score. They know all too well about striking a balance between years of planning, keeping their masters and pub- lic happy and ensuring long-term resilience. Juggling limited resources and competing demands is surely another similarity, as well as operating under intense media scrutiny pretty much all the time. So, just when they might have hoped to settle down to watch someone else under pressure this week – having likely ranked their key objectives for the foreseeable future as PR19 and Ofwat's reform agenda – the goalposts moved again. Within days, two more major missives hit their desks to revise those action lists – courtesy of the environment secretary and the regulator: 1. Show more commitment The first, Michael Gove's call for them to go further and help deliver £5 billion of investment so support the Environment Agency's Water Industry National Environment Programme by 2025, will have felt challenge enough. Companies had already planned to spend £25 bil- lion on environmental work by 2020 and have pumped in more than £2.5 billion to protect UK bathing waters. Finding the cash for addi- tional investment will be all the tougher under the next regulatory settlements, and water bosses will be anxiously seeking innovations and other means of delivering more for less. 2. Improve performance The second, this week's Beast from the East findings from Ofwat on customer service during winter storms that le thousands off-supply, will have given the four singled out to improve performance in three months – Thames Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water and South East Water – another epic challenge. Government and the regulator have made it clear to anyone still in doubt that this year needs to be a real game-changer for the water industry and those companies who must get their house in order. The role of England manager is oen dubbed "the impossible job"; this week some water company chief executives might know how that feels. Suzanne Heneghan, acting editor, suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Leader Suzanne Heneghan Knowledge worth keeping Subscribers to Utility Week can access premium content and exclusive research, available to read online or as downloadable documents. http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/

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