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A report on the recent Energy Live conference which looked at the future of energy within the UK over coming years

By Naomi Jordan, Grantham Institute

On Thursday 1^st November the Energy Live Conference took place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.  The aim of this conference was to bring together business leaders, politicians, energy managers, industry and students to look at the future of energy within the UK over coming years.  Throughout the conference the audience were encouraged to ask questions of those in the spotlight, with lengthy Q&A sessions following short periods for the speakers to introduce themselves and their views. 

The conference began with an introduction by the editor of Energy Live News, before swiftly moving into the first panel discussion with executives from some of the largest power companies in the UK, focussed on public trust.  Results published from a public poll in 2010 listed energy companies as less trusted than politicians and estate agents.  In an attempt to improve their image, the energy companies plan to increase public engagement and transparency, whilst listening to their customers and building a two-way relationship – not an easy thing to do in a large company.

The keynote address was given by the current Energy Secretary, Ed Davey MP.  In a short speech, Mr Davey recognised some of the challenges facing the UK energy industry in the coming years, including the projected increase in demand, the need for investment, and the retirement of old energy production plants, as well as commending the industry on helping return the UK to economic growth.  Questions put to Mr Davey included the need for stability and certainty in policy to allow for long-term investment, public education on the controls on energy prices, the building of trust between the government and industry, and the need to balance environmental care with the economy.  These were all answered honestly, openly and in full, concluding that the advantage of a coalition government was the opportunity to create political consensus across all parties, resulting in greater policy stability, and fostering debating which creates a better policy outcome.

The following four short sessions were lead by directors and executives from four different companies: Angela Knight, Energy UK; Bill Easton and James Close, Ernst & Young; Basil Scarsella, UK Power Networks; Debra Bailey, Nationwide.  Angela Knight focussed on the future investment for the UK energy industry, highlighting the UK-wide effect of investment into the sector, as well as the need for foreign investment, and the impact EU policy has within the UK.  Bill Easton noted the “adverse demographic” within the energy industry, with many people nearing the age for retirement, whilst the industry not appearing to be a good place to work, as well as the presence of a substantial skills gap for students.   James Close focussed on the importance companies were now placing on energy, with it being viewed as a strategic boardroom issue.  Basil Scarsella observed that energy policy within in the UK is as stable and consistent as in other areas of the World, as well as describing the challenges the grid will face as heating and vehicles move towards electricity.  Debra Bailey described her success at Nationwide in improving energy efficiency within the company.  So far this has been done by offering online communication to the public to save printing, as well as raising staff awareness and creating a feeling of duty and belonging to the effort through a mixture of training, talking to the staff, and listening to their efficiency ideas.

The session following lunch focused on the skills gap for students wanting to enter the industry, and the uneven gender balance within the sector, although more women work in renewables than the more traditional energy sectors.

The final session, a panel discussion with directors from a selection of large companies including Marks & Spenser, Asda, Walmart and Argos, focussed on energy efficiency and sustainability within large companies.  The difficulties often present in getting sustainability discussed in the boardroom were noted, with the offer of short term profitability not being a strong enough incentive.  Instead ideas such as “legacy” and “competitive advantage” should be suggested in relation to energy saving measures.  The presence of such a large skills gap for students was a worry, and the need to work with universities to address this was emphasised.  The necessity to simplify the current bureaucratic paperwork-heavy system for energy efficiency, which is currently preventing companies from moving towards savings, was also brought up, along with the requirement for government to provide a level playing field in order for companies to be able to change.

Volker Beckers from npower concluded the day’s conference, summarising how hard it is to gain trust as a large company, the need for the government, the regulator and the industry to work together for the interest of the customer, and for each to ensure that the other parties are doing the best job possible.  He noted how the policies under which we are currently operating were written during an economic boom period, but even so, since the recession, the industry has created 54,000 jobs across the UK, has produced £8 billion growth in the UK in the last few years, and has doubled investment in the last couple of years to £40 billion.  His closing remarks recalled the famous Monty Python line “What have the Romans ever done for us?” reminding the audience that the energy sector is the life blood of modern society, and although it does not always get everything right, the UK would be a very different place without it.