22 – 23 June 2022 | Business Design Centre | London
Future of Utilities Summit is the UK’s premier energy & water summit
For anyone serious about transforming the utilities landscape, Future of Utilities Summit is the most anticipated event of the season. Now in it’s 32nd year, by uniting the energy and water sector, it’s where the ordinary is challenged, collaboration is championed and innovation comes to life. Be part of the conversation and take on the greatest challenges together.
“Future of Utilities Summit is always a highlight of the calendar: interesting, insightful speakers and great debate. Highly recommend.”
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer, E.ON UK
Speakers
For the latest speaker announcements, follow us on LinkedIn.
Keith Anderson
Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Power
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer, E.ON UK
Basil Scarsella
Chief Executive Officer, UK Power Networks
Susan Davy
Chief Executive Officer, Pennon Group
Douglas Millican
Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Water
Heidi Mottram CBE
Chief Executive Officer, Northumbrian Water
Katy Taylor
Chief Customer Officer, Southern Water
Nikki Flanders
Managing Director, UK&I, SSE Energy Solutions
“A thought-provoking and engaging conference with great input from all of the important players.”
Basil Scarsella
Chief Executive Officer, UK Power Networks
Plenty of networking
Dedicated networking breaks, exclusive hospitality opportunities, and new for 2022: intimate workshopping sessions to help you connect and reconnect with key business contacts.
Shaped by senior leaders
2022’s got 12 hours of content sessions curated by our high-caliber advisory board of senior utilities leaders – find out what’s troubling board-level executives first-hand.
Impactful, interactive formats
With keynotes, interivews, panels, case studies and fireside chats; key takeaways at Future of Utilities Summit will be frequent, engaging, and digestible.
Inspirational speakers
Learn from the industry’s most senior innovators with C-Suite executives from OVO, National Grid, and Northumbrian Water taking prominent keynotes throughout a packed agenda of 100+ leaders.
Hot Topics
Electric Vehicles
Develop your winning strategies for succeeding in the emerging EV ecosystem by hearing how to develop exciting new products and slick customer messaging.
Energy Crisis
It’s time to rebuild an energy market that works for everyone, take stock of momentous change and navigate sector recovery in the long and short term.
Net Zero
From preparing the network for rising demand, developing new products and bringing the customer on the journey, hear how to level-up your roadmap to 2050.
Network Digitalisation
Hear how to embed smart innovation across the network and take a more predictive approach to asset maintenance and adapt operations to suit this hyper digitalised future.
Heat
From the future of heat pumps and ensuring the right solution for the right home, to getting costs down across the supply chain, come together to develop the road map for green heat.
Customer
From times of crisis to everyday needs, it’s a pivotal time for the sector to foster resilient CX strategies. Whether it’s supporting vulnerable customers, adding value to every touch point or serving the business market, there’s something for every CX professional.
“If we are to be leaders in innovation, we must be unafraid of collaboration, sharing knowledge and being challenged. This conference prompts and provokes these opportunities.
With 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.”
Heidi Mottram
CEO, Northumbrian Water
Who Attends
“Future of Utilities events are always must-dos. With excellent speakers and great debates, they’re a key part of my calendar”
Greg Jackson
CEO, Octopus Energy
Agenda at a glance
Buy your tickets
Tickets include: 2 day conference pass, lunch & refreshments and 2 drinks receptions
Group Discount – 15%
When you buy 3 or more tickets
Energy & Water Companies*
save €695 Early Bird Until 10 June
€1,095.00 + VAT
Full Price €1,790.00 + VAT
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save €200 Early Bird Until 10 June
€1,495.00 + VAT
Full Price €1,695.00 + VAT
Sponsorship Opportunities
Thought Leadership
Taking part in a fireside chat, fielding a pundit or participating in a panel discussion alongside industry leaders are just some of the thought-leadership opportunities for you to showcase your insight and expertise.
Branding awareness
You want to ensure your brand is front of mind with senior players in the utilities world. Using multiple channels across Future of Utilities, we have the megaphone to tell your story and increase visibility of your brand.
Lead generations
We get industry leaders, you form lasting connections with those who have genuine buying power. From 1-2-1 meetings via a VIP concierge, to bespoke roundtables, the opportunities are endless.
Sponsors
Agenda in full
Day 1
Wednesday, 22 June 2022
22 Jun
Day 2
Thursday, 23 June 2022
23 Jun
Session one | Navigating a climate of change: uniting utilities on the road to Net Zero
Keynote address
Protecting, supporting and empowering customers in the new energy future
- Learning the lessons of the energy crisis: how does the market need to change?
- Onboarding SOLR customers: strategies for smoothing out the experience and selling the E.ON proposition
- Engaging customers on the route to Net Zero: how and why now?
- Leveraging products and services to best empower customers: how is this best done and how could it transform the supplier-customer relationship?
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
E.ON UK
Keynote address
Powering a low-carbon world: smart steps for ensuring whole-system resilience
- From the effects of extreme weather to the growth in EVs: where will pressures be felt most keenly in the coming years and where should be change be targeted first?
- Creating a dynamic and adaptive digital operating model: how can operators design a system with future growth in mind?
- Keeping customers and employees are the heart of transformation planning: why is this essential and how is this best achieved?
Basil Scarsella
Chief Executive Officer
UK Power Networks
Keynote address
Accelerating efficient transformation with operational agility
- Innovation and digitisation with proactive customer servicing
- How businesses can improve their digital customer experience
- How observability can improve your end-to-end process management
Ian Tupman
EMEA Solution Director
Dynatrace
Keynote address
Energising the Net Zero path for water: fostering efficiencies across the business
- Stepping up in the face of climate emergency: what factors are driving the need for action and where do opportunities lie?
- Becoming efficient consumers of energy: where can water companies cut carbon output in their processes and what technologies hold the most potential?
- Towards an operationally greener industry: strategies to foster an innovative culture of sustainability throughout the business
Heidi Mottram CBE
Chief Executive Officer
Northumbrian Water
Leaders’ Forum
From disaster response to delivering Net Zero: building a collaborative future for utilities
- Covid, sewer overflows, gas prices: how have recent events brought collaboration front of mind for utilities?
- How will the path to Net Zero require utilities to work more collaboratively with each other, the customer, and community groups?
- What more needs to be done to ensure no customer gets left behind on this journey?
- Enabling transformation on a monumental scale: how can utilities take a whole-system approach to digitisation?
- Aligning water resource management and the future generational mix: priorities for maximising the value of large-scale, long-term investment in infrastructure
- What role could better collaboration between energy and water play in disaster response and coping with the effects of climate change?
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
E.ON UK
Basil Scarsella
Chief Executive Officer
UK Power Networks
Session two
Ensuring resilience and reliability: CX in times of crisis and high pressure
Keynote address
From times of crisis to every day needs: fostering resilience across CX strategies
- Responding to large scale disruption: how have energy suppliers had to adapt their operations to address the recent energy crisis?
- How can providers ensure basic customer needs aren’t neglected whilst effectively managing crisis issues?
- Embedding resilience: how can companies ensure investment in technology and people to help prepare for future challenges and bring value to the customer?
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin
Chief Product Officer
Octopus Energy
Keynote address
Leveraging the brand to build back trust and inspire loyalty
- Who you are, what you do, and what you stand for: engaging customers with their water providers through the power of effective marketing
- Considered and sincere: identifying the right steps to rebuild public trust around pollution issues
- Building a brand that will last: how can water companies drive a positive message to their customers?
Katy Taylor
Chief Customer Officer
Southern Water
Panel discussion
From scaling up at speed to maintaining essential services: fostering resilience across CX strategies
- From the energy crisis to scrutiny over storm overflows: what lessons have suppliers learned from recent events?
- Repairing customer trust: where were utilities hit the hardest and how can businesses make amends?
- Evolving communication strategies: how can suppliers enhance their digital platforms to ensure seamless experiences in all circumstances?
- Empowering the agent in times of customer crisis: making the most of every touch point to enable quality information and personalised conversations
- How do approaches to vulnerable customers need to be scaled up to meet exacerbated needs?
- Keeping on top of the data: how can businesses effectively manage their data to optimise customer service?
- Building future proof CX strategies: how can the utilities industry embed the customer at the heart of transformation and change?
Katy Taylor
Chief Customer Officer
Southern Water
Dhara Vyas
Deputy Director
Energy UK
Smart, efficient, resilient: digitalising networks to deliver a greener future
Panel discussion
Navigating the digital revolution: leveraging data and AI to take new approaches to asset health
- How can businesses maximise the opportunities offered by AI and other new technologies?
- Doing the right thing with the data: how can companies inject new insights into action across the network?
- Delivering Net Zero and coping with environmental emergencies: how can better data support a smart and resilient network?
- Cyber security on the network: what measures are being taken to ensure that data is secure and what could go wrong if not?
- How can organisations champion a new kind of culture where data is valued by all?
- Paying for transformation: how will advances in technology factor into future asset investment and planning
- Maintaining a digitalised network: how will workforce requirements evolve and how will day to day operations need to adapt?
- A smart and resilient future: are autonomous, self-regulating networks an achievable reality for utilities?
Barry Hatton
Director of Asset Management
UK Power Networks
Case study
Harnessing the power of data and digitalisation: putting a digital twin into action
Carolina Tortora
Head of Innovation Strategy, System Operator
National Grid ESO
Mapping out the future of energy retail
Fireside chat
Taking stock of momentous change: what, how and where now?
- What are the factors behind the crisis and how can they be addressed?
- Can the energy price cap be put on a sustainable basis and if so, how?
- Whether switched by SOLR or not: where have customers most felt the impact?
- How can the sector better ensure it is currently protecting the short- and long-term interests of customers?
- Identifying the biggest lessons learned for suppliers, the regulator and the sector as a whole
- Anticipating changes to market design: what new conditions may be more conducive to competition, profitability and consumer protection
- Looking to possible new entrants to the market: what type of business model might succeed?
Keith Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
Scottish Power
Paul Spence
Director of Strategy & Corporate Affairs
EDF
Panel discussion
Navigating sector recovery in the short and long term: what is the future of energy retail?
- What is the biggest lesson existing suppliers should take away from the crisis?
- Supporting suppliers through recovery: what further help might be needed and how will help be delivered?
- How can the sector better support customers and ensure the costs of recovery are fairly distributed?
- From energy prices to renewable-only tariffs: what changes might this bring to the future of switching?
- What implications could these lessons have on the development of the business model for suppliers?
- How might business models be further impacted by industry change as part of the Net Zero journey?
- Tackling the profitability question and looking towards the costs of delivering Net Zero
- What needs to change to build back investor confidence in the sector?
- From distributed generation to platforms and apps: how might other trends shape the evolution of the role of the supplier?
Natasha Hobday
Group Policy and Regulation Director
Shell Energy Retail
Jose Davila
Director of Strategy, Regulation & Transformation
E.ON UK
George Day
Senior Advisor: Net Zero Policy
Energy Systems Catapult
Session three
Rethinking the supplier-customer relationship
Panel discussion
From commodity provider to service provider: tapping into new areas of opportunity
- Reflecting on trends in CX, the journey to Net Zero and the needs for the service provider transition
- Becoming a purpose-led business: how are customers expecting more from brands and how can utilities deliver this?
- How can utilities balance customer needs and ROI when developing new products and services?
- What developments are needed for utilities to best become a more trusted partner for customers in the transition?
- Ensuring no customer gets left behind on the green transition: where do the biggest challenges lie?
- What developments in customer operations and technology will be required in the early stages of this journey?
- Anticipating the changing customer-supplier relationship: what new demands might this bring across the business?
Russell Lane
Head of Customer Experience
Utilita Energy
Jo Mayes
Director of Customer Services
Business Stream
Case study
Putting the customer voice at the heart of business transformation
Louise Beardmore
Chief Executive Officer designate
United Utilities
Preparing for a boom in demand: next steps for grid flexibility
Panel discussion
Towards a more granular understanding of consumption and available supply
- Reviewing current visibility on supply and demand: where are the most pressing points of friction?
- What impact might more renewables in the generation mix have on priorities for developing grid flexibility?
- Identifying the most valuable data sets and overcoming the challenges of harnessing maximum value from that data
- Refining the way network operators capture, baseline and utilise data to inform decision making: next steps for lasting value
- Harnessing smart meter data: where does the value lie and what obstacles stand in the way?
- Better incorporation of customer data: creating an efficient platform for customers to interact with the business
- What developments in upskilling, training and recruitment will be needed to deliver this change?
- How can the sector take a whole-system approach to change along with other utilities and industries?
Steven Gough
DSO Technical Authority
SSEN
An era of adaption and mitigation for water networks
Keynote address
What does social responsibility mean? Adopting the right solutions for climate and customer
From tackling leakage with new technologies, to adopting nature-based solutions and becoming more energy efficient, adapting water networks is a priority in the face of net-zero and environmental emergencies. In this keynote, our speaker will share how their company is building a sustainable network that protects the environment and puts the customer at the heart of everything they do.
Dr Toby Willison
Chief Environment & Sustainability Officer
Southern Water
Panel discussion
Solutions for pollution: tackling storm overflows and building public trust
- A recipe for disaster: assessing the factors that have enabled large-scale pollution
- Meeting new requirements: how will the new measures in the Environment Act affect business operations?
- How can WASCs identify the right technologies for mitigation?
- Traditional versus nature-based infrastructure: what is the right balance of investment?
- Damaged public perceptions: how have water companies dealt with the public response over storm overflows?
- Regaining customer trust: how can water companies build back better for the customer?
- Adapting for long-term change: can water companies adapt to minimise pollution incidents for good?
Nick Mills
Head of Storm Overflow Taskforce
Southern Water
Helen Wakeham
Deputy Director of Water Quality, Groundwater and Contaminated Land
Environment Agency
Session four | Championing fairness and bringing about behaviour change: next steps for customer engagement
Keynote
Net Zero for one, Net Zero for all: enabling a just transition for the customer
- Engaging with a smarter, more digitalised system: what impact is change already having on customers and how might this evolve in the next five years?
- Assessing the cost burden on customers and utilities: how can the sector ensure cost distribution is fair and sustainable?
- From digital channels to behavioural insights: how can the sector most effectively communicate change?
Sharon Darcy
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability First
Keynote
Support, education and preparation: becoming a trusted partner to the customer on the journey to Net Zero
- Maximising the value of every touchpoint: helping the customer understand and prepare for change
- Leveraging the power of brand and marketing: how can these be deployed most effectively?
- Towards a more purpose-led sector: what needs to change and what opportunities could this bring?
Nikki Flanders
Managing Director, UK&I
SSE Energy Solutions
Panel discussion
Bringing about behaviour change: turning disengaged customers into efficient consumers
- Switching off devices and turning off the tap: how, where, and why are customer behaviour changes needed?
- Digging into Net Zero: what new products on the market have the potential to boost energy efficiency for consumers?
- From the home chef to industrial FOG producers: what does better engagement around FOG look like for water companies?
- Energising the passive consumer: what strategies can utility suppliers use to reach disengaged customers?
- Maximising existing relationships: how can utilities make the most of people who are already engaged?
- Engaging and learning from I&C customers: how can suppliers help these businesses play a bigger role in energy conservation and what lessons could this bring to retail supply?
- Tapping into the power of behavioural insights: how can they be best deployed to finetune customer engagement?
- What further opportunities to digital communications and platforms bring to customer engagement and how can utilities capitalise on these?
Nikki Flanders
Managing Director, UK&I
SSE Energy Solutions
Susan Davy
Chief Executive Officer
Pennon Group
Session five
Supercharging approaches to electrifying transport
Keynote
Keeping pace with the electric transport boom and boosting resilience in a renewable-first future
- Powering an electric future: what developments to infrastructure and customer touchpoints will be essential as EV adoption rates boom?
- Getting smarter on charging: how might peaks evolve as uptake increases and how could these be best managed?
- From business fleets and HGVS to busses and trains: how will mass electrification effect long-term capacity and planning?
Claire Miller
Director of Technology & Innovation
Octopus Electric Vehicles
Panel discussion
Preparing the customer, the business and the sector for the electric transport revolution
- Meeting policy with action: what industry developments have been most impactful so far and where should priorities lie to shape future change?
- What new products and services will energy companies need to develop to facilitate a smoother switch to EVs for their customers?
- Charge point installation: assessing the role of the energy sector in the fair design and delivery of this process
- Coping with more renewables in the mix: what challenges will this bring for the industry as EV ownership increases?
- Smoothing the rollout: how should suppliers be working with third party players to ease the journey for customers?
- Fair and equal access: how can the industry ensure no customer is left behind in the EV transition?
- From fleets to HGVs: what new challenges will the wider electrification of transport bring and how should the sector be preparing now?
- What further policy or regulatory support may the sector need to deliver this ambitious future?
Chris Jackson
Head of Fleet Partnerships, Centrica Business Solutions
Centrica
Daniel Lyons
Head of Investment and M&A, Electric Mobility
Shell Energy
Alex Thwaites
Head of Zero Carbon Living
OVO Energy
Smart and sustainable transformation for water: getting to 2030
Interview
Regulation in the race to Net Zero: planning and priorities for PR24
- Lessons from PR19: what are the key takeaways and what new factors are influencing the design of PR24?
- From the pandemic to pollution: how have recent events reshaped the way customer priorities must be addressed?
- Building a water industry fit for the future: investing in the long-term protection of the environment and network
- How might the regulatory framework need to adapt to support the industry in meeting its Net Zero target?
David Black
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Ofwat
Keynote
The future is green: championing innovation for a sustainable water industry
- Assessing the culture of innovation in the water industry: what’s currently working and what could be improved?
- Sustainable solutions: what emerging technologies hold the most potential to meet environmental goals?
- Reaching environmental goals together: how can further innovation be driven within industry and with third parties to reach Net Zero?
Douglas Millican
Chief Executive Officer
Scottish Water
Panel discussion
Smart, circular, and sustainable: ensuring future-proof transformation in the water industry
- Addressing the pain points: what challenges are water companies facing in their transformation journeys?
- From CX to operational efficiency: what benefits could further digitalisation bring?
- Nature vs technology: where does the potential lie in each for network transformation?
- Great for business, even better for the environment: what does a successful circular economy mean for the water industry?
- What level of customer engagement will be needed to get the sector to its 2030 target and how is this best achieved?
- Taking stock on the Ofwat Innovation Fund: what has worked well and where could improvements be made?
- Building the case for sustainable transformation: how are water companies preparing for PR24 and what are the priorities?
- Achieving a green and resilient future: can transformation keep up with the pace of climate change?
Richard Price
Chief Operating Officer
Bristol Water
Richard Eadie
Head of Corporate Strategy & Sustainability
Severn Trent
Session six
Implementing a delivery plan to decarbonise heat
Keynote
Reflecting on the Heat and Building Strategy: next steps for heat pumps
- A roadmap to green heat? Outlining the key priorities for heat pumps in the strategy
- What change will be needed to ensure an efficient refit strategy and what roles will different companies need to play?
- Identifying the right heating solution for the right home and ensuring a fair transition for different types of customer
- Getting costs down across the supply chain: how can the sector accelerate this process?
Tara Deshpande
Clean Heat Directorate
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Panel discussion
Developing a roadmap for clean heat
- Assessing the key takeaways of the Heat and Buildings Strategy
- Breaking big goals down into short term milestones: where should priorities lie for heat pumps?
- Maturing the market conditions for heat pumps: how can costs be lowered and the supply chain scaled up
- Anticipating a decision on hydrogen: how can gas networks maximise the value of investments made in the next 5 years?
- What developments in heat efficiency in homes is needed as part of this journey and who should be leading the way here?
- Combating the challenges of bringing the customer on this journey: what engagement strategies will be needed?
- Tackling the cost problem: what further support might both the customer and the industry need to enact this change?
Marcus Shepheard
Senior Analyst - Residential Buildings
Climate Change Commitee
Workshop | From seamless identification to holistic: helping customers most in need of support
Workshop | Building a purposeful circular economy: taking deliberate action on networks and with partners
Case study
Turning waste into an energy source: Severn Trent’s sludge journey
Over 200,000 tonnes of sludge treated every year is used by Severn Trent’s Bioresources team to generate energy to power its sites or feed back into the grid. In 2019 alone, Severn Trent generated enough electricity to power the city the size of Gloucester from 100% renewables. The sludge is also supplied as a nutrient biofertilizer to farmers. Leah will share how Severn Trent are trialling new technologies to improve its treatment and energy generation capabilities, optimise its transport and recycling operation, and create a true circular economy.
Leah Fry
Head of Bioresources
Severn Trent
Session seven
Tackling water's green transition on a regional level
Panel discussion
From resource management to the effects of climate change: taking a collaborative approach to meeting future water needs
- What driving forces are shaping future water needs and how do they vary across the country?
- Collaboration between water rich and water scarce regions: what is being done well and what’s next for these projects?
- Adopting the right solutions: how might the balance of infrastructure and nature-based solutions need to differ on a regional basis?
- Aligning regional growth and future water needs: how can water companies collaborate more effectively with local authorities to achieve this?
- Anticipating a growth in hydrogen and nuclear: factoring future energy needs into water resource management
- From the Environment Agency and I&C customers: how can the sector better collaborate with third parties to combat water scarcity?
- Looking to PR24: how might collaborative development need to be better supported by the regulator?
Claire Yeates
Director
Waterscan
Supercharging the route to Net Zero inside the home
Case study
Smarter thinking for home energy efficiency: The Living Lab
Rebecca Sweeney
Business Lead - Living Lab
Energy Systems Catapult
Panel discussion
From smart meters and energy efficiency to storage solutions: preparing for the future of home energy management
- Energy management in the home of 2030: what might this look like and is the sector on the right track?
- How important will smart meters be in delivering this future and what more can be done to boost the number of meters on walls?
- Identifying energy inefficiencies: what developments in technology are needed and what advantages could this bring to sector and customer?
- Customer engagement with energy efficiency in the home: assessing the most effective strategies
- How can energy companies maximise the value of existing customer touchpoints to offer holistic advice and support for future updates to their home energy management?
- Facilitating home generation and storage: how could this provide energy companies with new opportunities?
- Looking towards widespread V2G: what further change could this bring?
Michael Kenefick
Senior Associate, Decentralised Energy
Bloomberg
Session eight | Building a utilities sector fit for 2030
Panel discussion
Developing a workforce that can deliver monumental industry change: a people-powered journey to 2030
- From the aging workforce to the great resignation: what factors have put pressure on the sector’s workforce in recent years?
- From digitalisation to green jobs: how will the journey to Net Zero impact demands on the workforce?
- From field techs to customer support operatives: how might roles need to develop to meet future needs across the business?
- Empowering and reskilling existing staff: providing support in a time of supercharged transformation
- Getting everyone on-board: engaging employees in the journey towards a more high-tech, innovative and data-driven future for the industry
- Bringing in new talent: how can utilities make the industry a more attractive option to job seekers?
- How can the sector improve its diversity and how could new talent and different perspectives drive further innovation?
Chris Norbury
Chief People Officer
E.ON UK
Julia Diggs
Director of People, Proposition & Culture
OVO Energy
Keynote
A whole systems revolution for energy systems: the toolkit for delivering Net Zero?
- Joining up resources, technologies and processes: defining a whole-systems approach and how it can accelerate future digitisation
- Designing an energy system can that scale up at speed and unlock more efficient innovation
- Towards a long-term zero carbon economy: how might policy, regulation and market design need to adapt to support this?
Philip New
Chief Executive Officer
Energy Systems Catapult