On 14-15 October, leaders from UK utilities will converge on Birmingham to debate the business implications of the industry’s most pressing challenges at Utility Week Congress 2015.

If necessity is the mother of invention then we must be on the brink of a splurge of ingenious creations from UK utilities. A range of forces – from regulation to technology to climate change and demographic shifts – are coming to a head in and around the sector, which will necessitate big changes in business models, infrastructure and culture for utility companies.

In some cases, such as the national smart meter implementation programme and the opening of the non-domestic water market, these are changes that will need to be achieved with uncharacteristic agility.

Company executives therefore have serious questions to ask of themselves and their peers about their readiness to lead change – and their ability to do so within the sector’s regulatory frameworks. At Utility Week Congress, we will play host to a meeting of the utility sector’s foremost minds, and create an environment for constructive debate on these topics.

With an impressive line-up of influential individuals confirmed to participate, Utility Week Congress will provide a hub for education and the exchange of informed perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for utility companies today. Sessions over the two days will focus on different aspects of the business climate in turn, from market reform and changes in regulation through investment and investor confidence, customer expectations and trust, technology change and the rise of smart utility models.

With plenty of opportunity for debate and networking, attendees are guaranteed to meet with useful insights to take back to their businesses.

Visit: www.uw-congress.net

Speaker perspective

Tony Cocker, chief executive of Eon, will participate in a live interview with Utility Week’s editor in chief Ellen Bennett at Utility Week Congress. Ahead of this appearance, Cocker offers some thoughts on energy sector competition and the perceived homogeneity of suppliers:

“Research we conducted recently found that well over 50 per cent of British people felt that trust was the most important aspect to maintaining a relationship. This is a view we share because at Eon our goal is simple: we want to be our customers’ trusted energy partner.

“To really achieve this involves not just desire and focus but an unrelenting determination to make the necessary changes in order to deliver what our customers ask of us. For example, we’ve worked to transform all aspects of the service we provide to our customers, right from how people join us to how we ensure we sort out a problem should one occur.

“This process hasn’t been easy and it remains especially tricky in a sector where the impression is often that identikit companies offer all-too-similar products and services – an opinion which is not true. But we are achieving results in all aspects of our UK operations because we believe in the changes we are making.

“Through our words and our actions our customers can feel that we are listening to them, that we believe in doing the right things right and we are offering valuable help. This is how we will achieve our goal.”

Sacha Deshmukh is chief executive, Smart Energy GB, a company responsible for the smart metering public engagement campaign. With the challenges of this implementation programme looming large in 2016, Deshmukh will define his expectations for a customer-centric smart meter rollout for delegates at Utility Week Congress. Ahead of this presentation he comments:

“Over 1.6 million smart meters have already been installed in homes and microbusinesses across the country.

“The national rollout of smart meters will transform the way that British consumers buy and use their gas and electricity and will help build a more transparent and mutually beneficial relationship between energy suppliers and their customers.

“The Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into the energy market has identified smart meters as an essential part of improving consumers’ experience by bringing an end to estimated bills and, in future, making it easier to shop around for energy.

“In the longer term the rollout will help the industry to secure Britain’s future energy supply as well as improving customer service, via smart grids and time-of-use tariffs.”

Johanna Dow, chief executive of Business Stream has worked in Scotland’s competitive non-domestic water market since its first days. At Utility Week Congress she will outline what factors she believes make a market work for consumers. Ahead of this presentation she comments:

“The English non-domestic water sector has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new competitive market that will drive efficiencies and innovation.

“However, there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure that there’s a level playing field, workable margins, and standardisation.

“We need to make sure we look at the issues from the customer’s perspective, and learn the lessons from the successful creation of the Scottish market. This will be essential if the reforms are to be sufficiently bold to deliver the intended benefits.”

Five key points

Utility Week Congress 2015 takes place in a climate of:

1. Market reform: Both the water and energy sectors are heading into periods of significant market reform with new regulatory models emerging. These changes will affect approaches to customer engagement, competition and value creation. They will change the way utilities formulate their business plans.

2. Demand for infrastructure investment:  Ageing infrastructure and an urgent decarbonisation agenda demand significant investment from utilities. Yet at the same time, technology and policy uncertainty make for fragile investor confidence in the sector.

3. Growing customer expectation against a backdrop of mistrust: Customer engagement strategies are often littered with platitudes, but improving engagement and trust is vital for utilities under pressure to demonstrate transparency and realise the commercial benefits of delivering data-driven utility services.

4. Increasing connectivity and asset intelligence: Advances in remote monitoring and automation mean opportunities to create radically more efficient and intelligent utility infrastructures are now within reach. But do utilities have the skills, strategic intent and regulatory room for manoeuvre to grasp this potential?

5. Decentralising energy systems and the integration agenda: Smart grids and renewables have dominated visions of the future, but questions remain unanswered about the commercial mechanisms that will support a dynamic and decentralised energy market. Meanwhile, the potential of integrating electricity, heat, transport and water is unrealised.