Event: Utility Week House of Commons Reception

A reception hosted by Utility Week gave the utility industry a chance to raise its voice in the House of Commons.

On 15 September Utility Week hosted a reception at the House of Commons in Association with the Energy Networks Association (ENA). The event was designed to bring the challenges facing UK utilities into focus for policymakers and industry leaders, as well as providing an unparalleled networking opportunity.

More than 100 executives and policymakers attended the event, where speeches were delivered by energy secretary Amber Rudd, Environment and Climate Change Committee chair Angus MacNeil and ENA chairman Basil Scarsella (also chief executive of UK Power Networks).

While these presentations were dominated by talk of challenge and change, they also praised the energy networks for their historical achievements in improving service, safety and reliability in gas and electricity supplies across the UK.

MacNeil, the hosting MP for the reception, said it was essential that policymakers remember the achievements of the past 20 years as they develop frameworks and incentives for the continued decarbonisation and transformation of the UK energy system “because when we look at what we’ve achieved over that period, we see a reduction in prices, absolutely in line with the minister of state’s [Rudd’s] objectives”.

Rudd herself lauded the networks as “the unsung heroes of energy security” in her speech and said she looked forward to working more closely with the UK’s energy networks in the future to achieve shared innovation objectives. She also explicitly acknowledged the role of gas in a low-carbon society, something of a blind spot in energy policy conversations of recent years.

In response to a question from Utility Week about the effects of cuts in subsidies on investor confidence, she insisted that “we have investor confidence” and added that changes to the subsidy regime were necessary to “get a grip on spending”.

“We have overspent on the Levy Control Framework due to successful renewable deployment,” she said. “We will hit our carbon targets, but this is a way of making sure it is done at the lowest cost to consumers.”

The reception was an important scene-setter for an upcoming programme of activity being spearheaded by Utility Week at the major party conferences. As part of our Utility Week Lobby agenda, the brand has organised three party fringe events – again in association with ENA – and has prepared a utility policy document in association with Bain & Company (see Lobby, p12). Together, these initiatives are designed to give direction and momentum to policymaking, which is in the interests of both industry and consumers.

Speakers’ perspective:

“With gas and the national gas grid – it will remain important for many decades to come. I’m excited by the possibilities, at the innovations in the gas networks, the projects which are already ongoing.”

Amber Rudd, energy secretary, Department of Energy and Climate Change

“There’s a lot to be proud of when we look back, but importantly we also need to look forward. When we look forward, there are ­massive challenges that face the industry, and face the networks.”

Basil Scarsella, chief executive UKPN and chairman, Energy Networks Association

“There is still no certainty from Decc after the announcements in June as to what is going to happen next and investors will still wonder what the next step is. It’s a surprise the Tory government is risking private investment.”

Angus MacNeil, chair, Environment and Climate Change Committee