Utility Week’s Post

Some interesting points in here: my two questions would be: 1) If Government intervention is the only way that Thames Water can survive, why are the directors not facing wrongful trading charges if that does happen, as technically it's failed and the only solution being a government bailout? 2) When will people wake up that fully decarbonising the grid by 2030 is impossible? The grid infrastructure will simply not be there, I heard of a 32MW BESS site being told just last week that their initial connection date of no sooner than 2029 was being pushed back to 2037, and it's not even gone into NGESO PP yet. This is all down to under investment in NGESO over decades - mark my words there's going to be a call to take NGESO into state ownership - then we'll see that the bill to bring it up to standard for Zero Carbon will be £100Bn or even £200Bn, and we (the taxpayer) will have to pick up the tab.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledges to revitalise UK housing with significant reforms, including reinstating mandatory local housing targets and lifting restrictions on onshore wind farms. Reeves outlined plans to overhaul the National Planning Policy Framework and ease constraints on less desirable areas of the green belt, led by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. Local Authorities will be instructed to review green belt boundaries, prioritising former industrial brownfield sites and so-called grey belt land - these announcements are a huge opportunity for developers to “get Britain building again.” https://lnkd.in/esPu2S27 #HousingReform #UKGovernment #RealEstateDevelopment #PlanningPolicy

EDITOR'S COMMENT: Thames Water has cast a shadow over the privatised utility sector as public lobbying from the various interests involved in the saga escalates up to the time Ofwat has to decide the latest five-year pricing increase next month. The strength of the sector until now has been the regulated asset base (RAB) model, which allowed utilities to raise cheap debt within an investment-grade environment. But you could say that has been a weakness in the sector too. https://lseg.group/4aLYz0s

Top stories today 📰 Weekend press: Ministers urged to publish Thames Water bailout plan https://buff.ly/3wENJtY In our latest review of sector coverage in the national media, the government has been urged to publish details of their contingency plans for Thames Water as fears mount that the supplier could collapse. Meanwhile, Octopus Energy sets out a timeline for migrating all Shell Energy customers on to its platforms and chancellor Jeremy Hunt is told to slash taxes holding back electric vehicle uptake. ❓ Ofgem does not know who provides its gas and electricity https://buff.ly/48G12HZ Ofgem has admitted that it does not know which energy providers supply its three main offices in London, Cardiff and Glasgow. That is despite the regulator paying significantly more for its energy than the majority of other publicly-funded bodies, following a 164% annual increase in its electricity costs. Ofgem made the revelation in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Utility Week. 💧 Thames calls for crackdown on illegal water connections https://buff.ly/48yZ7F3 Thames Water is lobbying for greater fines for people and organisations which take water without permission. The company pursues hundreds of illegal uses of standpipes and misconnections each year in which offenders use thousands of litres daily without authorisation. Thames’ illegal connections manager Claire Rumens told Utility Week that she wants to see greater penalties for those who illegally use standpipes.

Top stories today (£) 📰 Weekend press: Thames lobbied Whitehall to press Ofwat on allowing higher bills https://buff.ly/4gc0EWG Sector coverage in national media over the weekend included the revelation that Thames Water lobbied the government to intervene with the regulator to allow it to charge far higher bills. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the Viking wind farm in the Shetlands has been paid around £2.5 million in curtailment fees and former energy secretary Claire Coutinho says her successor Ed Miliband is “betraying families”. ⏸️ Central networks plan will be delayed https://buff.ly/4dLFb4W The government and Ofgem have confirmed that the publication of a Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) will be delayed. It was originally slated for publication in 2024/25, however it has been confirmed that the deadline will be pushed back until 31 December 2027 after industry figures raised concerns about the timeline. 💷 ‘Ofgem has the power to reduce standing charge burden’ https://buff.ly/4dIqcJ6 Ofgem should use its regulatory powers to reduce the burden of standing charges on consumers, an industry boss has suggested. Utilita Energy chief executive Bill Bullen contested the view that the onus should be on suppliers to reduce charges themselves. He was speaking to Utility Week following the publication of the responses to the energy regulator’s call for input on standing charges in which it noted there are specific licence provisions that give suppliers flexibility to offer low or no standing charge tariffs under the price cap, yet few choose to do so. 💧 Environment Agency abstraction ambition threatens supply https://buff.ly/4cOtSaT Anglian Water Services has been forced to ask for derogations from tough new limits on water abstraction to maintain public water supplies. The company said it has submitted “a number” of overriding public interest cases to the Environment Agency (EA) to prevent its time-limited abstraction licences being capped at a lower level than it forecasted in its Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) 2019.

Absolutely! In Britain, the experiment in privatisation of utilities has comprehensively failed. Companies like Thames Water and British Gas represent the very worst aspects of the private sector, behaving like private equity — loading up the company with huge debt, making big payouts to investors while failing to invest in crumbling infrastructure, price-gouging struggling customers and, in the case of Thames Water, pouring sewage into our rivers (72 billion litres into the River Thames alone, since 2020). It‘s hard to imagine how the private sector could have shown itself less suitable or competent to run these essential services.

Welcome to see the likes of Which? Nationwide Building Society Citizens Advice and Energy UK pushing for consumer protection for green upgrades to homes. Over the next 25 years, we're going to upgrade the building fabric and heating systems of more than 25 million homes in the UK (and a few million non-domestic properties as well). We'll see millions of homes switch to electric heating. That's a lot of physical changes in homes with a significant risk for poor quality installations and inappropriate advice. People need confidence that companies installing measures such as insulation, heating appliances and solar panels are qualified and regulated. The PAS2030 and PAS2035 frameworks, which are currently limited in practice to government-funded retrofit schemes, could be a good starting point.

Review of consumer protections for green upgrades This week we joined Which?, Nationwide Building Society and Energy UK to call on the government to urgently review protections for consumers making green upgrades to their homes. In February, the Competition and Markets Authority recommended that the government take a more active role in improving the quality of protections afforded to consumers. A more robust protections framework can help to stamp out rogue traders, deliver consumer benefits and help unlock more private finance to upgrade homes by giving lenders confidence. Read more about it in this LinkedIn post. https://lnkd.in/e3iaQ-5g

The market for low carbon technologies is rapidly growing. The pace of innovation is accelerating and there is little regulatory protection for consumers. Additionally, information is often confusing or difficult to navigate, causing consumers to find it challenging to understand. We are at a stage in the development lifecycle where early adopters will pave the way for mass roll out of these solutions. Ultimately, we need all consumers to benefit from affordable and accessible installs if net zero is going to be delivered in a fair way (in just 308 months......). #netzero #innovation #lowcarbontechnologies #energytransition #sustainablefuture

Top stories today 💧 Thames says it will take 185 years to renew its network at current rates https://buff.ly/3XedkDF Thames Water has warned it will take 185 years to renew its aging network at current levels of investment as part of its plea to Ofwat for higher spending allowances. The firm claimed historical underfunding has compelled it to repair assets that should have been replaced. ❄️ Government has done ‘bare minimum’ to support vulnerable this winter https://buff.ly/3z3HelS Extending the Household Support Fund is the ‘bare minimum’ government needed to do this winter to help the vulnerable, campaigners have said. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, was speaking after ministers announced a £500 million extension to the fund over the next six months, which can be used by local authorities to help vulnerable residents with energy and water bills, food and other essential items. 🪁 UK onshore wind project pipeline soars https://buff.ly/3XsCmQN Onshore wind schemes will have to be delivered faster than ever to keep up with the rising project pipeline. That is according to RenewableUK, which has revealed that the onshore wind pipeline has grown by 4.2GW since last September – rising from 38.5GW to 42.7GW.