2019 AGENDA
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
In a world where technology, data and digital are changing the way utilities interact with customers, how can utilities truly embrace and adopt new and innovative approaches? This seminar will explore new and emerging technologies which are shaping and enhancing customer experience, and meeting growing customer expectations.
Chair: Nicola Eaton Sawford, director of everything, Customer Whisperers
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Customer Solutions Theatre85 mins
- Customer Solutions
What does a fair energy market look like? This session will address questions around market access, transparency, market power, new technologies, pricing strategies and the ability to innovate, rather than just who pays what price for energy. It will ask, how can we transition to a culture of fairness and trust whilst continuing the drive to a low carbon, secure energy system?
Chair: Sharon Darcy, director, Sustainability First
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Innovation Theatre90 mins
- Innovation Zone
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 session three 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, operations director, EIC
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Keynote Theatre75 mins
- Keynote
What does a utility fit for the 21st century look like? This session will address questions around how the utilities are changing and adopting new business models in order to ensure their survival and set the foundations for them to flourish. It will ask how utilities can transition from their 19th century roots and institutionalised in the old way of thinking, to a more dynamic and flexible business.
Chair: Jane Gray, content director, Utility Week
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Streetworks Theatre15 mins
- Streetworks
A keynote speech by Clive Bairsto looking back at where infrastructure delivery has been effective and how future infrastructure delivery can be improved. This will set out the role of street works in delivering vital works and the proactive role the industry can play with stakeholders and policy makers to bring tangible benefits to consumers and the economy and the policy frameworks needed to achieve this.
Chair: Clive Bairsto, chief executive of Street Works UK
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Network Theatre75 mins
- Networks
As the UK’s power networks get to grips with a very different future, they are looking at how the DSO business model will work in practice. The Energy Networks Association is leading the Open Networks Project to explore implications of the DSO model, while the Future Power System Architecture project is looking even further ahead. This session will explore the latest thinking from both projects, and ask what it means for network leaders today.
Chair: Farina Farrier, ENA and chair, Open Networks Project
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Streetworks Theatre75 mins
- Streetworks
As demands on the industry grows, companies must consider new and innovative solutions to continue to deliver effective works. This session will consider the challenges to delivering innovation and share case studies from companies and teams which have risen to the challenge.
Chair: Clive Bairsto, chief executive, Street Works UK
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
Following one of the hottest summers on record, how can water companies prepare for future water shortages? This session will explore resilience and investment strategies and long-term behavioural change approaches when preparing for drought and water stress.
Chair: Paul Hickey, deputy director – water resources, Environment Agency
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Customer Solutions Theatre75 mins
- Customer Solutions
Fuel poverty is a fact of life for 2.5 million households across England. Too many people are forced to make unacceptable choices between ‘heating or eating’. The latest phase of the government’s £6bn domestic energy efficiency scheme ECO is being upgraded to refocus on ‘affordable warmth’, targeted at households that officially qualify as fuel poor. In this context how can energy suppliers help the most vulnerable of customers out of fuel poverty?
Chair: Denise Chevin, acting content director, Utility Week
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Innovation Theatre90 mins
- Innovation Zone
- Gas Innovation Showcase
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, head of gas, ENA
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Keynote Theatre75 mins
- Keynote
Key to any business transition is the adoption of new ways of thinking and operating. This session will examine the potential of some key technologies, such as machine learning and AI, as well as assessing the impact they have already made on the utilities. Rounding this off will be an outside-in case study on how a large, traditional business can evolve rapidly, cementing its place at the centre of a much bigger market as a result.
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Network Theatre75 mins
- Networks
With the UK widely thought to be approaching the tipping point for the mass take up of electric vehicles, the energy networks are poised for the once-in-a-generation rollout of new infrastructure to support charging, with all the investment and innovation that will entail. Meanwhile, new solutions for low-carbon transport are emerging from the gas sector, as well. This session will explore the latest thinking on the decarbonisation of transport and ask, are networks ready?
Chair: Alec Peachey, editor, Network
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Streetworks Theatre30 mins
- Streetworks
Street Manager has the potential to shape the industry and how it works for years to come. This session will update attendees on progress made to date and be an opportunity to question the team at the heart of developing and delivering the project.
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
Digital thinking in the design and build of assets has advanced in the water sector through the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), but the digital approach to real-time, easily updated shared information has yet to permeate into asset management and day-to-day operations. How can utilities bring about this next level of BIM and how can contractors and the supply chain help them to do so?
Chair: Robin Hackett, deputy editor, WWT
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Customer Solutions Theatre75 mins
- Customer Solutions
Energy retailers are preparing for the mass take up of electric vehicles with the roll out of new tariffs and storage solutions. But when will the tipping point come? And how can the industry prepare for the adoption of EVs and the central role they will play in the energy transition? This session will explore what EVs mean for customers and their relationship with energy and energy suppliers.
Chair: Jonathan Murray, policy and operations director, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership
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Keynote Theatre75 mins
- Keynote
When the energy companies were privatised in the early 90s, the drive to increase the number of suppliers in recent years, as well as the opening up of the non-domestic water market to retail competition, the aim was to improve customer service and to slash costs. However, energy companies are fighting a tide of negative perception and increasing complaints, whilst the water retailers are still finding their feet. As a result, Utility Week is asking: Has competition failed customer service?
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Innovation Theatre60 mins
- Innovation Zone
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 7 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: Stuart Moss, european managing director, Isle
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Network Theatre75 mins
- Gas Innovation Showcase
- Networks
As an industry we have committed to minimise the risks associated with operating the gas network for our stakeholders and society. Our shared aim is to ensure the provision of a safe network in compliance with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards and improve asset knowledge. In addition, cyber and information security are increasingly crucial issues as we move towards a smart energy future with more connectivity. These changes mean that the way we protect our networks must change too.
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: Richard Hynes-Cooper, head of innovation, Northern Gas Networks
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Streetworks Theatre60 mins
- Streetworks
The UK’s road network remains crucial for commuters. In this context, delivering effective maintenance and reinstatement works will continue to be high on the agenda of policy makers, local authorities and the street works sector. This panel session will discuss the effectiveness of the current system and what changes should be adopted to ensure high quality reinstatements are delivered first time around.
Chair: Alison Williams, streetworks policy & compliance manager, Openreach
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
The UK water industry is encountering a period of profound change. There are opportunities to embrace, from exploiting digital capability to accelerating innovation, and challenges to address, from rising customer expectations to creating a resilient future. What are the trends which will shape the future of our industry, will we see a transformational change, and what will the water company of the future look like?
Chair: Professor Tony Conway, director, Water Industry Forum
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Innovation Theatre60 mins
- Innovation Zone
“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: Stuart Moss, european MD, Isle
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Customer Solutions Theatre75 mins
- Customer Solutions
The long anticipated price cap came into effect on 1st January 2019 – a historic market intervention, initially capping typical standard variable tariffs for dual-fuel customers at £1,137. How have energy companies fared and how have customers responded in the first six months – what have been the impacts, challenges and unintended consequences; what has it done for customer engagement and switching; and has it tackled the market issues it was created to address?
Chair: Suzanne Heneghan, acting editor, Utility Week
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75 mins
- Keynote
With the utilities eager to change themselves and the way they work, clarity is required about what they are transitioning to. Is the historical way of thinking of just being a commodity provider being replaced with that of a service provider? And what do the social responsibilities for these companies look like in the coming decades? This session examines what the future of customer service, and therefore of the utilities, looks like for the rest of this century.
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Network Theatre75 mins
- Networks
The UK government has a 2050 target to reduce carbon emissions by 80% on 1990 levels. Heating and cooling homes accounts for half of all energy consumption and a third of carbon emissions, with 80% of homes using natural gas for heating. This session will explore the latest thinking and alternative approaches for low carbon heat, asking what are the alternatives and technologies, what might they cost, what standards and business models will be viable, and how will these be integrated and delivered at scale to deliver a heat transition?
Chair: Dr Keith MacLean, managing director, Providence Policy
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Streetworks Theatre60 mins
- Streetworks
As lane rental schemes are developed through 2019, policymakers and industry must identify when they and how schemes will be most effective. This session will explore when lane rental schemes can be beneficial for local communities and how to ensure they are effectively managed.
Chair: Alison Williams, streetworks policy & compliance manager, Openreach
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
Many water companies have set goals in their PR19 business plans to reduce pollution incidents, large and small, from their assets, while others are working to reduce background pollution from customer properties stemming from misconnections. How ambitious can water utilities be in this work, and what help do they need to succeed?
Chair: James Brockett, group technical editor, WWT
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Innovation Theatre45 mins
- Innovation Zone
- Gas Innovation Showcase
Britain’s gas network has been serving customers since the Victorian age, and continues to evolve to meet new reliability and maintenance challenges. For example, we must deal with the effects of ageing assets and examine the potential of new materials to transform the way we operate. As smart systems are increasingly adopted, how should our network management adapt to a digital future? And how can gas and electricity networks work more closely to improve reliability and maintenance?
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: Gulraj Chatha, Cadent
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Customer Solutions Theatre30 mins
- Customer Solutions
An idea originally born out of the first Utility Week Live Hack last year, the "Digital Doorbell" has come a long way from its initial concept. In this session, you’ll learn what happened once the hackathon was over, including a discussion from Microsoft and mobile technology company Apadmi about how they’ve progressed the product, with a demonstration and video of the prototype in action. Plus, you’ll take a look at its future, and see how this product could help thousands of vulnerable customers across the UK.
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75 mins
- Keynote
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 thinking to successfully make the jump to becoming a digital business.
Chair: Jane Grey, content director, Utility Week
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Innovation Theatre60 mins
- Innovation Zone
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 7 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 managing director, Isle
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Customer Solutions Theatre75 mins
- Customer Solutions
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: Audrey Gallacher, director of policy, Energy UK
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Network Theatre75 mins
- Gas Innovation Showcase
- Networks
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: Anthony Green, head of engineering and asset management, National Grid Gas Transmission
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Streetworks Theatre45 mins
- Streetworks
As the industry works to develop a new protocol for the assessment and classification of waste from utilities excavations, this session will be an opportunity to receive an update from the Street Works UK working group and how to engage in the work.
Chair: Clive Bairsto, chief executive, Streetworks UK
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
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, WWT
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30 minsFurther details to follow
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Innovation Theatre60 mins
- Innovation Zone
“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 managing director, Isle
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Streetworks Theatre75 mins
- Streetworks
As the industry conducts more work and has ever-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.
Chair: Clive Bairsto, chief excutive, Streetworks UK
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Keynote Theatre80 mins
- Keynote
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. -
Network Theatre80 mins
- Networks
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
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Customer Solutions Theatre75 mins
- Customer Solutions
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
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
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, editor, WWT
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Innovation Theatre60 mins
- Innovation Zone
- Gas Innovation Showcase
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
Chair: Lucy Mason, innovation manager, Wales & West Utilities
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Keynote Theatre75 mins
- Keynote
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.
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Network Theatre80 mins
- Networks
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
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Customer Solutions Theatre75 mins
- Customer Solutions
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
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Streetworks Theatre60 mins
- Streetworks
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: Nigel Myers, virgin media and director, Street Works UK
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
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
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Innovation Theatre90 mins
- Innovation Zone
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 session 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: Denise Massey, managing director, EIC
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Keynote Theatre75 mins
- Keynote
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.
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Network Theatre75 mins
- Networks
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
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Water Wholesale Theatre75 mins
- Water Wholesale
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
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Customer Solutions Theatre85 mins
- Customer Solutions
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
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Streetworks Theatre60 mins
- Streetworks
With the level and scale of works being conducted, it has never been more important to understand how works can be effectively managed to avoid congestion and disruption. This workshop will see operatives in the industry explore how works can be managed and communicated to ensure minimum disruption for road users and what steps companies should consider taking.
Chair: Clive Bairsto, chief executive, Street Works UK
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Innovation Theatre45 mins
- Innovation Zone
- Gas Innovation Showcase
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
Chair: Adam Madgett, HyDeploy 2 project manager, Northern Gas Networks