The UK’s leading energy & water summit
15 – 16 September 2021
“This event is always a highlight of the calendar: interesting, insightful speakers and great debate. Highly recommended.”
CEO, E.ON UK
Future of Utilities Summit is the event providing an unrivalled opportunity for the utilities industry to connect, share ideas and transform its future, with a line up of leading figures discussing all the critical issues facing the industry.
2020 Speakers
Matthew Timms
Chief Digital and Technology Officer, E.ON
Philippe Commaret
Managing Director, Customers, EDF
Jessica Tan
Managing Director of Smart Home, OVO Energy
Maureen Paul
Chief Economic Advisor, Ofgem
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer, E.ON UK
Frank Mitchell
Chief Executive Officer, SP Energy Networks
Tony McCandless
Chief Information Officer, Thames Water
Basil Scarsella
Chief Executive Officer, UK Power Networks
“With the strong audience engagement and networking added in, the conversations started here could be the beginning of the next major innovation to benefit our customers and businesses.”
CEO, Northumbrian Water Group
2020 Agenda
Day 1
Tuesday, 1 December 2020
1 Dec
Day 2
Wednesday, 2 December 2020
2 Dec
Day 3
Thursday, 3 December 2020
3 Dec
Day 4
Friday, 4 December 2020
4 Dec
09.30 | Leaders' forum
Welcome address and opening remarks
Richard Postance
Head of Management Consulting
Accenture
Tony McCandless
Chief Information Officer
Thames Water
Keynote presentation + Q&A
Transformation of the energy world
Matthew Timms
Chief Digital and Technology Officer
E.ON
In conversation with + Q&A
Real-Time Energy: what does it mean for consumers and the grid to be truly data-enabled?
Marzia Zafar
Head of Customer Strategy & Policy
Kaluza
Jessica Tan
Managing Director of Smart Home
OVO Energy
Keynote presentation + Q&A
Adapting business strategies to decentralisation, customer centricity, and digitalisation
Learn how EDF Energy has adjusted its business strategy to enable it to react quickly and flexibly so that it is strongly positioned to meet the needs of its customers now and in the future.
Philippe Commaret
Managing Director, Customers
EDF
Panel discussion
Opportunities and threats throughout disruption: strategic goals for 2021 and beyond
- Meeting the challenge of disruption: approaches for ongoing success
- How has the coronavirus changed timelines for change?
- How will technological advances transform utilities companies over the next five years?
- How can the industry ensure that the transformation benefits all customers, especially the vulnerable?
- Developing stronger collaboration: working towards a common aim
- How can companies ensure that technological changes are appropriate for all customers?
- Overcoming uncertainty to deliver outstanding outcomes
- Funding a disrupted future: how can utilities retain their investability?
- To what extent are industry frameworks currently fit-for-purpose?
Philippe Commaret
Managing Director, Customers
EDF
Douglas Whitfield
Operations Director
South East Water
Varun Kapur
Vice President & Head of Manufacturing & Utilities – UK & Ireland
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Clementine Cowton
Director Of External Affairs
Octopus Energy
Coffee break + networking
12.35 | Engaging the customer of the future | Achieving fully-digital networks
Blue Channel: Engaging the customer of the future
Panel discussion
Building an effective digital strategy to reshape and regrow
- Creating a brand that speaks to its audience
- Streamlining onboarding processes to reduce friction and improve brand loyalty
- Is digital always better? Ensuring new propositions cater for all customers
- How do relationships with third parties like PCWs impact strategies for change?
- Overcoming internal barriers to change
- Understanding the power of customer feedback and insights
Lisa Chiba
Customer Services Expert
Colin Beaney
Global industry Director, Energy, Utilities & Resources
IFS
In conversation with
Strategies for supporting all customers: physically, mentally and financially
Russell Lane
Head of Customer Experience
Utilita
Panel discussion
Streamlining business models for success: developing a roadmap for execution
- How are customer demands changing?
- Understanding the importance of branding in attracting new customers
- Standing out from the crowd: strategies for differentiation on commodity products
- Which technologies are best placed to lead the transformation?
- How can customer feedback be integrated, understood and acted upon?
- What’s the role of employee engagement in new customer strategies?
- How will this disruption impact revenues and gross margins in the future?
Juliet Davenport
Chief Executive Officer
Good Energy
Martin Arcari
Programme Manager
Pure Planet
Red Channel: Achieving fully-digital networks
Panel discussion
Reinventing operating models to win in the digital world
- Assessing the benefits of automating design functions to make efficiency gains
- Where do the greatest benefits from automation lie?
- Striking the right balance between computerised and analogue approaches
- Overcoming obstacles to embracing industry change
Alastair Collier
Head of Engineering Services
National Grid
Paula Doyle
Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Cognite
Interview
Driving up accuracy and efficiency with data-driven operations
Joris Van Genechten
Product Director
Gorilla
Interview
Moving from managing assets to managing systems
- Leaving behind old ways of working: from assessing asset condition to asset risk
- How do we move towards considering system risk posed by an asset failure, while integrating resilience & load growth?
- Managing duplication & redundancy with risk management
- Augmenting industry approaches to consider diverse routes to desired outcomes
Dan Wilson
Asset Data Manager & NMS Data Lead
Electricity North West
Interview
Vegetation management
Actionable asset management: unlocking the potential of cloud-based analytics and AI
Craig West
Head of Weather Solutions EMEA
IBM
Panel discussion
Undertaking a digital revolution to deliver more for less
- Are we on the cusp of a new era of asset performance?
- To what extent has the coronavirus emphasised new areas for improvement?
- Embedding a digital strategy into the business transformation project
- Overcoming legacy structures and siloed information
- Unlocking hidden value from existing assets
- How can the current pace of change be upheld once the stimulus of the pandemic has reduced?
- Using technology to enhance resilience
- Making the most of the growth in available asset data
Neil Dewis
Director of Water Service Delivery
Yorkshire Water
Eric Brown
Chief Technology Officer
Energy Systems Catapult
Dan Wilson
Asset Data Manager & NMS Data Lead
Electricity North West
Graeme Wright
Chief Digital Officer, Manufacturing, Utilities & Services
Fujitsu
Coffee break + networking
09.30 | Delivering outstanding customer service | Transforming energy networks for RIIO-2
Blue Channel: Delivering outstanding customer service
Panel discussion
Building a loyal customer base: redesigning the relationship between businesses and their customers
- Understanding the value of creating a loyal customer
- Communicating the brand ethos with every interaction
- Identifying pain points to ensure that investments in customer service are effective
- Retaining control of brand messaging while working with outsourcing providers
- Organising customer experiences around customer journeys to transform interactions as a whole
Lissa Balmer
SME Customer Director
Wave Utilities
In conversation with
How to improve Customer Experience in uncertain times
Tom Jenkins
UK Sales Manager
Itineris
Kris Marlein
VP Integrated Utilities, Europe
Itineris
Richard Rouse
Industry Solution Specialist
Microsoft
Panel discussion
Creating next-gen customer experiences in utilities
- What does customer centricity really mean?
- Personalisation to drive a better customer experience
- What is the role of loyalty programmes in the energy market?
- To what extent will data drive customer journeys of the future
- Which channels will dominate the mix over the next five years?
- Serving passive consumers: approaches to serving the disinterested customer
- Automation for success: streamlining processes to deliver end value for customers
Mark Royle
Chief Executive Officer
Zebra Power
Eileen Brown
Customer Experience Director
Northern Gas Networks
Red Channel: Transforming energy networks for RIIO-2
Panel discussion
Revolutionising industry capability for the future: the pathway to 2030
- Responding to the changes in how networks are used
- How can companies give customers a stronger voice?
- Are companies doing enough to drive innovation and efficiency?
- Overcoming uncertainty in future levels of demand
Marcus Stewart
Principal Advisor Energy Strategy and Policy
National Grid ESO
Andy Manning
Head of Transmission & Distribution
Centrica
Interview
Unlocking innovation & benefits for customers: reforming the code governance framework
Joanna Ferguson
Head of Market Services & Regulatory Compliance
Northern Gas Networks
Panel discussion
Navigating future scenarios to achieve ambitious industry-wide commitments
- Overcoming market uncertainty: outlining plausible future energy landscapes
- Utilising technology to take advantage of intelligent network analysis
- What is needed to transform gas networks for the future?
- Which technologies will help during the transition to the future?
- Delivering system transformation in the face of a reduced WACC
- How important is digital transformation in delivering industry-wide commitments?
- Engaging wider stakeholders in innovation projects: reflecting on past success
- How effective is the current framework in supporting industry ambitions?
Paul Bircham
Regulation and Communication Director
Electricity North West
Matthias Finger
Professor
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Chris Clarke
Energy Strategy Director
Wales & West Utilities
12.00 | Innovation Hub | Local energy in a transforming system
Blue Channel: Innovation Hub
Case study | Rebel Energy
Clean energy with a big heart
With 15 years’ experience on the trading floor at BP, Dan Bates is shaking up the status quo on what it means to be a utilities supplier. Hear his new vision for energy, hitting the market soon.
Dan Bates
Chief Executive Officer
Rebel Energy
In conversation with
Connecting with people to deliver great experiences: meaningful, personalised and omni-channel communications
- Understanding customer behaviour in real-time: how can automation help?
- What does a ‘meaningful’ interaction look like?
- How can utilities create highly personalised, relevant content?
- What strategies can be used to nudge consumers towards more cost-effective communication methods?
John Hoggard
Global Utilities Principal
Quadient
Adam Firbank
Journey Practice Lead Customer Communications
British Gas
Demo | Efficiency Solutions
Using technology to seamlessly eliminate wasted energy
By giving facilities managers and building occupants automated controls, real-time monitoring and deep data driven insights Measurable.Energy reduces workplace energy usage by at least 40%. Join this session to understand the technology behind the platform, and how efficiency solutions can be a differentiator in the utilities market of the future.
Dan Williams
Co-Founder
Measurable.Energy
Case study
Tackling leakage and demand reduction with digital twin innovation
Jeremy Heath
Innovation Manager
SES Water
In conversation with
Collaboration and cooperation: a new era for community engagement
Sophie Carre
Head of Corporate Partnerships
Trussell Trust
Kate Holme
Strategic Partnerships Director
WaterAid
Red Channel: Local energy in a transforming system
In conversation with
Taking stock as a sector: rethinking purpose and direction in the face of future decentralisation
- Assessing the role of the traditional networks in supporting positive change at a local level
- Working with community enterprises to deliver benefits to the wider energy system
- Building resident knowledge and trust: strategies for working in partnership with an active local community
Afsheen Kabir Rashid MBE
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Repowering London
Nadia Smith
Director and Project Manager
South East London Community Energy
Panel discussion
Changing the shape of the energy network: assessing roles during and after the transition
- What will the impact be of increased levels of embedded generation into the current system?
- What are the benefits of utilising engaged communities to help deliver the energy transition?
- Which strategies are most effective for engaging with communities?
- How can networks retain a critical role as decentralisation gathers pace?
- Using smart meters, tariff innovation and price signals to improve the wider ecosystem
- Adapting industry frameworks to support future transitions
- How does a community model impact the financeability of the energy system?
Leonie Cooper
Environment and Energy Lead for Labour
London Assembly
Miguel Matias
Chief Executive Officer
Self Energy
Coffee break + networking
14.00 | Assessing the future framework – a regulation and policy roadmap
In conversation with
Beyond 2025: envisioning a roadmap for industry frameworks
David Black
Chief Regulation Officer
Ofwat
Maureen Paul
Chief Economic Advisor
Ofgem
Steve Arthur
Director of Market Performance
MOSL
09.30 | Cutting-edge service offerings | Digitising network operations
Blue Channel: Cutting-edge service offerings
Panel discussion
New technology offerings for the utility of the future
- Blue sky thinking: what could offerings look like for the customer of 2050?
- The connected home: smart technologies adapted to the energy transition
- Understanding how different customers interact with new products
- Overhauling the customer-utility relationship: how can new service offerings help?
Lars Falch
Former Chief Executive Officer
Powerpeers
Joao Fonseca
Product Manager, Ecosystems
EnBW
Rose Chard
Consumer Insight Manager
Energy Systems Catapult
Richard Hampshire
Vice President Consulting and Networks
CGI
In conversation with
Electric Vehicles: A Perfect Power Play for Utilities
Craig Gosling
Director
Publicis.Sapient
Natalia Peralta Silverstone
Head of Propositions
Octopus Electric Vehicles
Panel discussion
Creating a value proposition that resonates with the customer
- What role do new service offerings play in enhancing customer loyalty?
- Tailoring provisions to passive consumers: how can utilities provide convenience as a service?
- How can price comparison websites keep up with these developing propositions?
- Ensuring propositions are affordable for all while adding value
- How can companies maintain the focus on the consumer throughout the experimentation phase for new offerings?
- Learning from further afield: what can be learnt from success in other industries and abroad?
Alan Bates
Chief Executive Officer
Guernsey Electricity
Bryn Jones
Chief Technology Officer
Pure Planet
Florian Froemberg
Global Director SAP Customer Experience for Utilities
SAP
Red Channel: Digitising network operations
Panel discussion
Modernising the field force: using technology to unlock a reduction in costs
- How has the coronavirus impacted strategies for boosting field-force productivity?
- Balancing customer service quality and overall field force costs: can technology help?
- How can real-time intelligence generate greater efficiency?
- Making data accessible to the right people: where do the opportunities lie?
- Empowering field force operatives by extending back-office capabilities to support faster decision making
Jo Harrison
Environment, Planning and Innovation Director
United Utilities
Peter Batty
Chief Technology Officer
IQGeo
Panel discussion
Identifying strategies for reducing operational costs
- Which processes have the greatest potential to be streamlined over the next five years?
- What role will technology play in the networks of the future?
- Integrating systems to avoid the frustrations of fragmentation and duplication
- Assessing the advantages of outsourcing on outcomes and service cost
- How effective are mobile information systems in supporting technicians in the field?
- Automating scheduling to maximise the efficiency of maintenance
- To what extent are the initial investments in new projects justifiable?
James Harrison
Head of Asset Management
Yorkshire Water
Dave Ogden
Associate Director
Atkins
Coffee break + networking
11.45 | Serving the business market | The role of utilities in realising Net Zero
Blue Channel: Serving the business market
In conversation with
Understanding business customers: key lessons from the pandemic
Dayna Currie
Strategy Director
Love Energy Savings
Phil Foster
Chief Executive Officer
Love Energy Savings
Panel discussion
Gaining a competitive advantage in commercial supply markets: strategic priorities for 2021 and beyond
- Understanding what customers want to create a proposition that delivers more
- How can suppliers differentiate themselves in the I&C and non-household markets of the future?
- Approaches for servicing multi-site accounts
- What is the role of price comparison sites in business utilities quotes?
- Adding-value for SMEs: creating propositions for smaller volume tenders
- What is the appetite for bundling energy and water for commercial and non-household accounts?
- Building relationships with commercial units: strategies for nurturing your key account contact
Mark Loveday
I&C Operations Director
EDF Energy
Kathryn Dapre
Head of Energy & Sustainability
NHS
Red Channel: The role of utilities in realising Net Zero
Welcome back and opening remarks
Charlie Cook
Founder
Rightcharge
Alain Bollack
Vice President
Capgemini
In conversation with
Mapping a path to success: key milestones on the road to Net Zero
Keith Owen
Head of Systems Development and Energy Strategy
Northern Gas Networks
Scott Koehler
VP Strategy, Innovation & Marketing, Digital Grid
Schneider Electric
Q&A with pundits
These speakers will be joined by the pundits to continue the discussion and debrief the session
Alain Bollack
Vice President
Capgemini
Interview
Solving the puzzle of decarbonisation in the water sector
Maria Manidaki
Water Investment Planning Advisor
Mott MacDonald
Q&A with pundits
Maria will be joined by the pundits to continue the discussion and debrief the session
Alain Bollack
Vice President
Capgemini
Panel discussion
Rising to the challenge: taking responsibility for our part in the puzzle
- What is the role of utilities in tackling wider social and environmental challenges?
- How important will efficiency solutions be in delivering a sustainable future?
- How can companies work in partnership with consumers to achieve success?
- Working together to electrify transport: driving forward the rate of change
- Which technologies are likely to be most effective in delivering the necessary changes?
- Minimising the cost and disruption caused by change: transmitting difficult decisions to the public
- What can be learnt from clean energy policies from abroad?
Rebecca Heaton
Head of Climate Change
Drax
Nick Eyre
Director, Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions
Environmental Change Institute
David Riley
Head of Carbon Neutrality
Anglian Water
Q&A with pundits
These speakers will be joined by the pundits to continue the discussion and debrief the session
Alain Bollack
Vice President
Capgemini
Coffee break + networking
09.30 | Tech spotlights | A revolution in water resource management
Blue Channel: Tech Spotlights
Tech spotlight | Pivot Power
Power driving change
Pivot Power is developing the world’s largest transmission-connected battery storage and electric vehicle charging network. Recently acquired by EDF, Pivot is pursuing a 40-asset, 2GW-strong portfolio of utility-scale energy storage projects including the deployment of a battery storage system at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
Matt Allen
Chief Executive Officer
Pivot Power
Interview | Salesforce Industries
Digital Delivery for Changing Customer Needs
Gavin Geekie
Regional Vice President, Energy & Utilities EMEA
Salesforce Industries
Richard Morgan
Technology Director - New Energy Platform
British Gas
Red Channel: A revolution in water resource management
In conversation with
Creating holistic strategies to water resource management
Mel Karam
Chief Executive Officer
Bristol Water
Panel discussion
Investing in resilience: undertaking a collaborative approach
- Overhauling strategies on the road to Net Zero: what is the role of water resource management?
- Is the current pace of change adequate and achievable?
- What is the role of technology in maintaining sustainable water supplies?
- Which technologies offer the most cost-effective solutions?
- To what extent can modelling improve overall sustainability?
- How can suppliers effectively support their customer base to ensure sustainable water supplies are maintained?
- Minimising disruption during large-scale mains replacement: can technology help?
- Balancing trade-offs while delivering Net Zero: assessing strategies to maintain affordability
- To what extent is the current framework conducive to securing the best value for customers?
John Russell
Senior Director
Ofwat
Sal Watson
Technical Excellence and Digital Lead
Mott MacDonald
Coffee break + networking
11.30 | Leaders' forum
Welcome address and opening remarks
Chris Thewlis
Chief Operating Officer
npower
Richard Postance
Head of Management Consulting
Accenture
Keynote presentation
Facilitating system change for the benefit of current and future generations alike
Frank Mitchell
Chief Executive Officer
SP Energy Networks
In conversation with
Understanding the role of technology in the ecosystem of the future
Ronald Starreveld
Chief Architect
Centrica
Panel discussion
All change: assessing evolving industry priorities for 2021 and beyond
- What is the role of industry leaders in tackling the public’s perceptions of the sector?
- Creating business plans with climate change responsibilities in mind
- Responding to a changing political framework
- What does the future hold for traditional utilities players?
- To what extent will advancements in data analytics transform the future of the industry forever?
- Which areas of the businesses have the greatest scope to be revolutionised by technology?
Basil Scarsella
Chief Executive Officer
UK Power Networks
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
E.ON UK
Tamsin Lishman
Asset Management Director
Northumbrian Water
Kapil Singhal
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Vyntelligence
Coffee break + networking
2020 Sponsors
Gold sponsors
Silver sponsors
Bronze sponsor
Charity partners
Media partners
Who attends
