Smart utilities

Octopus deal sees Shell Recharge join EV network

Octopus Energy has penned a deal with Shell- backed electric vehicle (EV) solutions company NewMotion which will see the latter’s chargepoints join its Electric Juice network (EJN). NewMotion has access to more than 3,200 chargepoints over 17 different networks across the UK. In total, it allows access to more than 200,000 chargepoints across Europe.

March sees highest ever demand for plug-in vehicles

More plug-in vehicles were registered in March than ever before, the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show. Pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles took a combined market share of 14 per cent, up from just over 7 per cent per cent last year as the number of models available to customers increased from 72 to 116. Meanwhile, Octopus Electric Vehicles has announced the launch of a new leasing service which offers a salary sacrifice scheme to employees.

Fighting an invisible enemy: consumer debt and utilities

Northern Powergrid upgrades remote monitoring and control system

Webinar: Transforming CX in utilities – personalisation at speed 

0 to 60: Speed of change to accelerate in asset planning and fieldwork

New energy models could unlock extra £21bn a year by 2050

A new report exploring what net zero could mean for the energy sector has identified five core business models to harness £21 billion it believes is set to be unlocked annually by 2050. The Utility 2050 project, a partnership of energy professionals, financiers and academics, concludes there needs to be a “deeper rethink” of the business models that make up the energy market and the regulation which supports them.

Labour calls for fresh measures to spark EV revolution

Consumer markets are unprepared for net zero

Bulb to install 30,000 free smart thermostats

Building customer relationships is all about establishing trust

A window to innovation

Last month Anglian expanded its Shop Window project, which aims to use the town of Newmarket as a live testbed for innovative solutions to the problems the water sector is facing now, and for the future. Utility Week chats to the driving forces behind the project.

UKPN opens connections portal for green technology installers

WPD launches ‘industry’s first’ open access data portal

On the Move: Ex-Tonik boss to head up Ovo Drive

Ovo Energy has launched a new dedicated electric vehicle (EV) division and has appointed the co-founder of former disruptor brand Tonik Energy as its managing director. Utility Week takes a look at this and other appointments from across the sector.

Octopus installs GB’s 7 millionth SMETS2 smart meter

No going back: the pandemic year that shook up utility customer services

The pandemic ushered in a huge change in utility customer services culture at a pace which could not have been predicted. The new Insight Report from Utility Week uncovers the short-term tactics that companies deployed and considers how these can be honed into longer-term strategies to improve customers’ experience and company efficiency.

Utility Week Live Summit launched

EDF trials new self-service testing solution for nuclear workforce

EDF has trialed a new self-service app to support the testing of its workforce for Covid-19, ensuring critical work can continue at its nuclear sites during outages. The company says the testing has enabled it to continue with its statutory outage programme without interruption and without any disruption to service.

The future of serving customers