Weekend press round-up: UK plans to bring forward ban on fossil fuel vehicles to 2030

In our latest review of sector coverage across the national newspapers, there is speculation that Boris Johnson is poised to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles. There is also coverage of a controversial code modification by SSEN that would give networks emergency powers to use a household’s smart meter to switch off their supply. Meanwhile, new figures have revealed that water companies pumped raw sewage into rivers nearly 300,000 times last year.

UK plans to bring forward ban on fossil fuel vehicles to 2030

The UK is poised to bring forward its ban on new fossil fuel vehicles from 2040 to 2030 to help speed up the rollout of electric vehicles across British roads.

Boris Johnson is expected to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles this autumn with the announcement, one of a string of new clean energy policies to help trigger a green economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The government had hoped to set out the plans as early as this week, according to sources in the energy and transport industries, but the announcement will be delayed until later this year as it focuses on tackling the rising number of coronavirus cases.

The government has previously consulted on plans to bring forward the deadline on sales of new polluting vehicles from 2040 to 2035. It is now expected to take a more ambitious stance following assurances that the UK’s infrastructure will be ready to cope with the shift to electric cars.

The decision to end the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 would put the UK ahead of France, which has a 2040 ban in the pipeline, and in line with Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. Norway will bring in a ban in 2025.

The plan, which is backed by the government’s official advisers at the Committee on Climate Change, is likely to emerge alongside the national plans to become a carbon-neutral economy by the middle of the century.

Kwasi Kwarteng MP, the minister for clean energy, confirmed last week that the long-awaited energy white paper, which will underpin the government’s legally binding target to create a net-zero carbon economy by 2050, would be published this autumn after several delays.

It is tentatively scheduled for November and is expected to follow the advice set out by the Committee on Climate Change, including support for the UK’s nascent clean hydrogen industry to help cut carbon emissions from homes and heavy industry.

It may also include support for small, modular nuclear reactors, which have found favour with the prime minister’s chief aide, Dominic Cummings, according to industry sources.

Matthew Pennycook, the shadow climate change minister, repeated Labour’s pre-election call for a 2030 ban on petrol car sales last week, saying it was “an ambitious but achievable date” which would “give a new lease of life to the UK car industry, whilst combating climate breakdown and cleaning up the air that dangerously pollutes so many of our towns and cities”.

Graeme Cooper, the director in charge of National Grid’s electric vehicle project, told the Guardian that fears over the UK electricity grid’s ability to cope with a boom in electric vehicle charging were unfounded. He said the grid operator was “confident that a faster transition is possible” and that it is “suitably robust” to cope with a rise in electricity demand.

The National Grid estimates that electrifying all road transport, aside from heavy goods vehicles, would require less than a third more energy than Great Britain’s current demand of around 3,000 terawatt hours “which the grid could easily cope with”, according to Cooper.

At peak electricity demand periods – such as the early evening – the grid may see demand for electricity climb by 10% if drivers “switched to electric vehicles overnight”, he said. “However, some targeted investment will be needed to ensure there are appropriate places where drivers can access sufficient high power charging away from home.”

The Guardian

Water companies pumped raw sewage into UK rivers nearly 300,000 times last year

Water companies pumped raw sewage into our rivers nearly 300,000 times last year.

Data from the Environment Agency, which is responsible for English rivers, reveals the “spills” have soared by more than 2,200 per cent in four years.

Discharge of untreated waste – which includes excrement, condoms and toilet paper – is permitted in “exceptional circumstances” such as torrential rain.

But river watchdogs say the scale of sewage releases shows it has become a “routine” part of water management.

They are demanding urgent action, insisting: “We want water companies to clean up their mess.”

The discharges are from sewage treatment works, storm drains and overflows at pumping stations. There were 292,864 in 2019, up from 12,637 in 2016.

The Environment Agency issues permits to all nine water firms to release waste from sewer overflows so water does not back up and flood homes.

The companies claim the huge increase in reported incidents is down to improved monitoring equipment.

But environmental groups say the system is “a licence to pollute”.

Anneka France, of the Rivers Trust, said: “We can accept that upgrading our sewer system isn’t going to be easy but a lot of urgent action needs to be taken.

“Many sewage overflows are operating when they shouldn’t. They should only operate in extreme conditions but quite a lot are in periods of dry weather.

“If they are operating correctly, the raw sewage will be diluted with all the rainwater sloshing through the drains.

“If it cannot be diluted, the sewage is quite harmful to the environment and for anyone using the river for recreation.

“This poses a big threat to our rivers and our water security. Rivers provide our drinking water and are important for health and wellbeing.”

The privatised water firms have come under growing pressure over fatcat pay and dividend bonanzas for shareholders – often overseas investors – as householders’ bills remain high.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has set up a taskforce to reduce sewage discharges.

Christine McGourty of industry body Water UK said: “Companies have a vital role in protecting homes and businesses from flooding.

“Combined sewer overflows play an important part. Though there’s cur­­rently no simple, effective alternative to overflows, firms are using natural innovative solutions to help keep rainwater out of the sewer.”

It is the second time in a week that environmental concerns have been raised over our rivers.

The Environment Agency reported chemicals from household products were found in every river in England.

In 2016, 97 per cent of rivers were judged to have good chemical status – although tests used are now tougher.

Daily Mirror

Energy firms will be able to turn off your heating without notice with new smart meters

A new wave of smart meters will give energy suppliers the right to automatically switch off your supply if demand is too high.

Under a series of modifications being proposed, networks will be allowed to turn off a household’s heating or electricity without warning or compensation for those affected.

The plans, tabled by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), would give networks the right to decide when the grid is in a state of ’emergency’ which would allow them to switch off your supply.

It would give firms permission to temporarily turn off appliances with high usage, such as heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.

The proposals would be voluntary and any appliances would be switched off for a maximum of two hours per day.

However, it could mean your central heating is adjusted without warning – or your electric car stops charging without notice.

Ofgem currently says customers are entitled to compensation if their power supply is cut off, however if networks are given permission to do this, these consumer rights could be scrapped.

There is also a question mark over whether the smart meter devices will be compulsory.

The measures would only come into force in an emergency, such as where energy supply is under significant pressure and cannot meet demand.

SSEN stressed the measures would only be used with the full consent of the customer, which can be revoked at any time.

It would also only apply to heating systems with a heat pump and not those powered by gas.

But critics say suppliers should not have the powers to “turn off devices when it suits them”.

Clementine Cowton, director of external affairs at Octopus Energy Group, said: “Network companies are monopolies where every pound they make gets added to energy bills, and in return their only job is to deliver the power we need, when we need it.

“Some are now trying to twist the rules so they don’t even have to do this – they want to reach into our homes and turn stuff off when it suits them.

“Great British businesses have already created ultra cheap digital technology to avoid the need for this. Instead of using clockwork solutions in a digital world, companies like these should move into the 21st century or let someone else do the job for them.”

Ofgem has previously stated that appointing a flexibility provider – an energy provider that can flex energy supply up and down using existing smart meters and without these extra powers – should always be the first choice to solving these types of challenges.

A BEIS spokesperson said: “Network companies cannot remotely “turn off” smart meters, nor could they control the amount of energy supplied to homes without the express consent of consumers.

“Any proposals from network companies to do this would be rigorously challenged by Ofgem which serves to protect consumers.”

A statement from Ofgem said: “The process to consider this proposal is ongoing, and a decision is not expected before spring 2021.

“We will take the final decision on whether this proposal is approved, taking into account our statutory duties to protect current and future consumers.

“We would expect the proposer to provide further clarity on the governance arrangements that would apply, including the definition of an emergency situation and how consumer interests would be protected, before this modification is submitted to us for decision.”

Daily Mirror

Threat to 10,000 jobs if the Sizewell C does not go ahead, businesses and unions warn

Up to 10,000 UK jobs could be lost if the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk does not go ahead, businesses and trade unions have warned.

As many as a third of workers would be laid off at some firms in the nuclear industry supply chain, mostly in high-skilled construction and engineering roles, according to the Sizewell C Consortium.

Days ago Japanese group Hitachi pulled out of the Wylfa nuclear power plant on Anglesey, dealing another blow to the UK’s nuclear plans.

Sizewell C needs Government approval.

This is tricky because although it is being led by France’s EDF, Chinese state-backed nuclear group CGN owns a minority stake.

Tensions between London and Beijing have flared since the Government’s decision to exclude Huawei’s equipment from 5G networks.

Daily Mail

Scottish ministers urged to drop ‘disruptive’ BECCS biomass plans

Environmentalists have urged Scottish ministers to abandon pursuit of a controversial “green” energy plan that they argue is flawed and could undermine efforts to tackle climate change.

Friends of the Earth, the Woodland Trust and RSPB are raising “grave concerns” that Scotland is being placed in the vanguard of a biomass technology that “seriously disrupts” forest ecosystems and the communities and wildlife they support.

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) produces electricity by burning trees and locks away carbon emissions deep underground, preventing release of the greenhouse gas into the environment.

The UK committee on climate change has suggested Scotland could supply about a third of all UK biomass and would be an ideal location for the technology, which was first mooted in a 1998 book published by the UN’s University Press and has been backed by several scientists.

Now 17 environmentalists have signed a letter to Scottish climate change minister Roseanna Cunningham expressing “deep concern” that BECCS could form part of climate change strategy. An updated plan was due to be laid in parliament in April but was postponed because of the pandemic.

They insist the technology is unproven and warn that forest ecosystems that are logged may never recover. Pointing to the Drax Power Station in Yorkshire, the UK’s biggest biomass burner, they argue that it has failed “in sequestering any carbon so far” and that a shortage of wood in the UK means pellets made from forests in the US and Baltic states have to be imported.

“To rely on BECCS to reach net-negative emissions in the electricity sector, as has been suggested by the Scottish government, is simply not credible,” states the letter. “We therefore urge the Scottish government to avoid incorporating BECCS into its economic response to Covid-19 and upcoming climate change plan and energy strategy. Priority should instead be given to a just and green recovery, which supports forest protection and restoration, and investment into genuinely sustainable and renewable energy.”

Organisations that have added their voice to the letter, which is also addressed to Paul Wheelhouse, the energy minister, include Plantlife Scotland, the Butterfly Conservation Trust, and the Scottish Wild Land Group.

Sunday Times

Utility Week’s weekend press round-up is a curation of articles in the national newspapers relating to the energy and water sector. The views expressed are not those of Utility Week or Faversham House.