Ministerial to-do list

With environment secretary Owen Paterson, energy minister Michael Fallon and climate change minister Greg Barker all shuffled out of their posts this week, the Conservatives’ utility top table will benefit from some fresh blood. Barker is a loss; committed and knowledgeable, he was well-respected by the industry. Fallon played a straight bat, though with his other briefs (business, and not forgetting Portsmouth), he wasn’t an overly attentive minister. The less said about OPatz the better. As the new Tory team gets ready for next year’s election, here are the top ten areas to tackle:

1.    The Green Deal. Reports that Barker simply had enough of being asked why it was failing are as yet unconfirmed. But a new minister has the opportunity to admit what we all know: it’s not working.

2.    The Energy Company Obligation. Eco will be harder to scrap. The trick is to find a way of getting energy efficiency back on the agenda without hitting customer bills.

3.    Smart meters. With the rollout due to start next year, and the advertising campaign finally underway, getting the detail signed off and the public ready is a top priority.

4.    Energy retail. No opportunity for policy here, thanks to the ongoing Competition and Markets Authority inquiry, but a judicious dialogue with the CMA will be called for over the next 18 months.

5.    Ofgem. There will be awkward conversations here as the regulator’s new administration attempts to dodge the Sword of Damocles hanging over its head.

6.    Europe. Voters, industry and regulators notwithstanding, the most important relationship for the new Team Energy is with our European cousins. If Hinkley Point C and the capacity market fail to gain state aid approval, it’s back to the drawing board.

7.    Meanwhile, over at Defra, the new secretary will be anxious to avoid her predecessor’s very public mistakes. Some well-placed funding for flood defences and – finally? – action on sustainable urban drainage systems seem advisable.

8.    The new regime will quickly need to get grips with the complex abstraction and upstream reforms needed by the water sector.

9.    Paterson’s replacement might like to heed the advice of the ICE and pick up the phone to the energy networks – the only sector to win praise last week for its readiness for climate change.

10.    Finally, the two teams will need to work together to realise the ambitions of George Osborne over at the Treasury on fracking.

No doubt Lib Dem energy secretary Ed Davey is looking on with a smile. The Westminster rumour mill reckons he’s sitting pretty ahead of Nick Clegg’s planned autumn reshuffle. Time will tell.