Change is essential. Without it, businesses will die. This session will give an outside-in example of an industrial revolution that is underway, and then look at how utilities need to adopt and utilise the latest technological think to successfully make the jump to becoming a digital business.

The effective handling and resolution of complaints to the satisfaction of customers is a key component of a well-functioning market and a priority for the energy sector. However reported levels of satisfaction remain low. How can industry drive up standards and improve satisfaction? Is the current complaints journey fit for purpose? What can we learn from other industries?

Chair: TBC

The Isle Innovation Competition will feature exciting and innovative technologies from within the Innovation Pavilion. This high-octane competition will see these companies pitch for 5 minutes in front of a panel of distinguished industry judges. The winner will receive an award along with the accolade of having been the most innovative technology at the Innovation Pavilion.

 

Chair: Ben Tam, UK MD, Isle             

The gas network is at the heart of Great Britain’s energy system. It plays a vital role in transporting energy to consumers securely and cost-effectively. It’s also flexible and can adapt to support the decarbonisation of heat, transport and energy towards 2050 and beyond. So, as the nation’s energy mix changes, what does the future hold for gas? How will technology, policy and customer demands evolve, and what does that mean for network innovation? 

This session will feature some of the key projects underway within the Gas Networks, with a follow-on Q&A and an opportunity to meet the speakers at the Gas Innovation Showcase Stand, Stand F2.

Chair introduction: Matt Hindle

There is growing momentum in the water and wastewater industry for project design which incorporates modular, standardised asset components. This allows for off-site assembly while minimising build time, saving money and reducing health and safety risk, customer disruption, and uncertainty. However this type of ‘factory thinking’ requires water companies, their contractors and the supply chain to work together on product standardisation. What can be done to make this a reality?

 

Chair: James Brockett, Editor, WWT

There is growing momentum in the water and wastewater industry for project design which incorporates modular, standardised asset components. This allows for off-site assembly while minimising build time, saving money and reducing health and safety risk, customer disruption, and uncertainty. However this type of 'factory thinking’ requires water companies, their contractors and the supply chain to work together on product standardisation. What can be done to make this a reality?

Chair: James Brockett, group technical editor, Faversham House

Further details to follow

“If the challenge exists, so must the solution”.

This session will see innovative technologies talk in more detail about challenges within the water sector and the solutions they can bring to the table. Each TechTalk will feature a different problem, innovative technology and speaker so you’re bound to walk away with more knowledge and understanding after the session.  

 

Chair: Ben Tam, UK MD, Isle

5 – 10 minute presentations with opportunities for questions.

As the industry conducts more work and has greater level of assets and information to consider, companies need new and improved ways of managing their assets. This session will set out new techniques which can help the industry and give attendees the opportunity to question presenters in detail.

With the explosion of digital data, 21st century businesses need to be able to use it to their, and their customers’ benefit. Old businesses will change; new digital businesses will emerge; and the internet of things, and connected homes and cities are being developed to exploit this data to its fullest. This is the smart revolution.

With the changing nature of generation and consumption, flexibility in the energy network has become a 'must have’ solution. But how what will it take to make it happen, and how can the industry create new business models and foster the innovation required to deliver transition? This session will explore the growing role of storage and demand-side response in facilitating flexibility.

Chair: John Scott, Director, Chiltern Power

Does the current regulatory structure present any barriers to innovation? How do structures need to evolve to take into account changes in technology and business models? Who should be regulated and by whom? How do we ensure customers remain protected and have access to effective redress where necessary?

 

Chair: Suzanne Heneghan, Acting Editor, Utility Week

With the need for the UK to build more houses, regulators are keen to ensure water companies are doing their part in supporting new developments - hence the new measure of developer experience (D-MeX) introduced as part of PR19. This session will explore how water companies can provide a better service to developers, and how the regulator will measure it.

 

Chair: James Brockett, Group Technical Director, WWT

The gas distribution network is complex and has a 200-year history. The Iron Mains Risk Reduction Programme began in 2002 and has accelerated work to replace old mains with polyethylene plastic (PE). It is a huge task.  However, under current plans, parts of the network will remain metallic after this programme finishes in 2032. We need repair technologies that can solve issues with legacy metallic pipe on the distribution and transmission networks. Alongside this, the technology used must also be able to repair new plastic in an efficient and cost-effective way, causing as little disruption as possible.

This session will feature some of the key projects underway within the Gas Networks, with a follow-on Q&A and an opportunity to meet the speakers at the Gas Innovation Showcase Stand, Stand F2

The gas distribution network is complex and has a 200-year history. The Iron Mains Risk Reduction Programme began in 2002 and has accelerated work to replace old mains with polyethylene plastic (PE). It is a huge task.  However, under current plans, parts of the network will remain metallic after this programme finishes in 2032. We need repair technologies that can solve issues with legacy metallic pipe on the distribution and transmission networks. Alongside this, the technology we use must also be able to repair new plastic in an efficient and cost-effective way, causing as little disruption as possible.

This session will feature some of the key projects underway within the Gas Networks, with a follow-on Q&A and an opportunity to meet the speakers at the Gas Innovation Showcase Stand, Stand F2

The government has placed the low-carbon economy at the heart of the UK’s industrial strategy. This need to cut carbon is driven by the need to limit the potentially disastrous impacts of climate change, not only on our country, but globally. A key plank in this strategy is cutting the emissions coming from the transport sector, an area which up until recently has been a carbon laggard. However, attitudes are rapidly shifting gear, and green solutions are springing up and there are aims for ambitious adoption. This session will ask "will the low carbon transport transition be hamstrung by the energy system?”

With the 2020 deadline just months away, how has the smart meter rollout performed? How many smart meters have actually been installed, and what comes after the rollout? This session will look forward, asking how smart meters are changing customer behaviour, and exploring whether retailers are getting the maximum benefit from the information now available to them?

 

Chair: Denise Chevin, Acting Content Director, Utility Week

The digitisation of networks and assets is making huge volumes of data available to operators which, with the help of analytics, could enable transformations in efficiency, performance and cost reductions. Digital twins are creating opportunities for infrastructure providers to better understand their assets - and discussions have started about the creation of a UK wide digital twin, updated in real time. What could this mean for new and existing assets? And with greater collaboration and shared open data, what are the opportunities and challenges ahead?

Chair: Alec Peachey, Editor, Network

With the Scottish government introducing a new Bill on transport in Scotland, the street works industry faces new policies to adapt to and requirements to meet. This panel session will include a discussion on the new components of the Bill and how industry can engage with changes to deliver better works.

Chair: Street Works UK

Ofwat has laid down the gauntlet to water companies, demanding they cut leakage by at least 15% in the next regulatory period. Environment secretary Michael Gove has gone even further, demand reductions of 50% by 2050. Allied to this is a greater focus on water efficiency measures, seeking to drive down customer consumption per capita by clamping down on water wastage and customer-side leakage. This session will examine how technology and data can help meet these challenging targets, and ask, what has been achieved so far?

 

Chair: Dene Marshallsay, Director, Artesia Consulting 

The Big Energy Pitch 2019 will see SMEs pitching their latest innovations and technologies to an expert panel of judges from the industry.  

In keeping with the overarching theme of Utility Week, the focus will be on innovative solutions that can facilitate the transition into a smarter, more flexible energy system. The judges will be looking for technologies that benefit industry, consumers and the environment by accelerating decentralisation, decarbonisation and digitalisation.

In each one-hour session 3 SMEs will present their innovations to an expert judging panel who will carefully consider each pitch and quiz the candidates.  The audience and judging panel will then vote for the winning innovation.

 

Chair: Matthieu Michel, Head of Delivery, Energy Innovation Centre

          Denise Massey, Managing Director, Energy Innovation Centre

 

 

With low carbon change being driven on a number of fronts, the utilisation of new and different fuel and power sources, and keeping carbon emissions tumbling, is vital.

Plus, they all present a variety of different challenges and opportunities. For example, will electric vehicles – both battery and potentially hydrogen based – offer a ‘mobile energy grid’ allowing the system operator another tool to balance the grid? What impact will hydrogen have on the existing gas networks? And will gas get another lease of life powering HGVs? This session delves further into the energy transition to examine these questions further.

Customers’ relationship with the energy they consume is changing. The old top-down models of distribution are disappearing, and many customers are taking a more active role in generating and storing their own energy. Community energy companies and models are on the rise. What does this mean for the UK’s energy market, and how do traditional retailers need to adapt in response?

 

Chair: Denise Chevin, Acting Content Director, Utility Week

Following the 'Beast from the East’ there has been unprecedented focus on water companies’ ability to deal with the impact of extreme weather. How can they improve their handling of bursts and interruptions to supply and better prepare for extreme weather conditions? Where should resilience strategies and investment be focused and what role will smart technology play?

 

Chair: Karen Light, Director of Client Solutions, WRc 

Ofgem wants companies to put stakeholder needs at the heart of their business, so that companies’ plans align with consumer needs in a rapidly changing world. RIIO-2 will be underpinned by stakeholder engagement, but what does this mean in practice, and what will engagement models look like?

Chair: Maxine Frerk, Director, Grid Edge Policy and Chair, SGN's Customer Engagement Group

With the level and scale of works being conducted, effective communication with consumers and businesses has never been more important. This workshop will see operatives in the industry explain the communication challenges and solutions they have deployed to keep people informed.

Chair: Street Works UK 

Improving our environmental performance is more important than ever. We must think both locally and globally as we manage the impact of the gas network on the  environment. There any many issues to consider – ranging from gas leakage and venting during field operations, to dealing with contamination during decommisioning and how we remediate legacy gas industry sites. Sustainability is fundamental to the future of the gas network and reducing environmental impact and costs.

This session will feature some of the key projects underway within the Gas Networks, with a follow-on Q&A and an opportunity to meet the speakers at the Gas Innovation Showcase Stand, Stand F2