As the water industry ramp up to deliver the biggest AMP, ensuring major projects look beyond cost is critical. The way the water industry designs, builds, maintains and procures assets must change giving weight to lower carbon options, social value, nature and whole life cost. How can the water industry deliver genuine social value in AMP8 and beyond? 

Discussion points: 

• How can the industry create standards to better quantify social and environmental values when procuring projects?How can asset owners better work with the supply chain to encourage innovation and new ways of working? 
• How can the industry take learnings from the Construction Value Tool Kit and similar initiatives to change the way the sector perceives value? 

 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here 
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Paul Hickey, Managing Director - RAPID

The water sector faces increasing pressures from climate change, infrastructure challenges, and regulatory demands. With £3bn earmarked for nature-based solutions (NbS) in AMP8, a critical skills gap limits effective implementation at scale. The CWA, CIWEM, The Rivers Trust and 25+ partners are developing a collaborative programme addressing NbS literacy and career pathways to overcome these challenges. 

Join this session to explore: 

• What skills gaps prevent wider NbS adoption across planning, design, implementation, and maintenance? 
• How can we create inclusive career pathways to attract diverse talent into NbS roles? 
• What approaches can accelerate knowledge transfer across the sector? 
• What immediate actions can build capability for effective NbS delivery? 
• How can we better communicate NbS value to key stakeholders? 

 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here.
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Gabriela Dotro, Chair - Constructed Wetland Association

Paul Shaffer, Director of Projects - CIWEM

As the utilities industry faces an identity crisis in conjunction with a looming skills gap attracting new talent and skillset new models of operating require has never been a bigger challenge. How can energy and water take a united approach to transform public perception through the power of social media? 

Discussion points:  

• How is social media helping or hindering the industry’s image? 

• How can utilities maximise the reach and opportunity of social media to transform public perception and attract talent? 

• How can the industry lead the change on public engagement? 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here 
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Louise Wapshare, Chief Executive - Smartest Energy Business and Director, WUN

 

Data is critical for UK utilities as it underpins everything from operational efficiency to regulatory compliance and customer service. Utilities companies must come together to improve data sharing to unlock innovation, empower customers and support decarbonisation objectives. Data sharing, however, comes with challenges including commercial sensitivities, privacy risk, and standards and interoperability. Join this session to collaboratively overcome these challenges with your peers and drive tangible change.  

Discussion points:  

• What will it take to make data sharing as easy as using a smart phone while also making it secure, robust and legally compliant?   

• What people are working on and where achievements and progress has been made  

• What areas are causing the most headaches and what change is needed to make progress faster? 

• How can we best balance speed of progress with collaboration to ensure data sharing infrastructures can easily inter-operate if and as needed? 

• Which organisations are currently supporting the linking up of DSI initiatives across sectors? 

 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here. 
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Sarah Hayes, Chair - Digital Twin Hub Data Sharing Working Group

Melissa Tallack, Open Data Lead - Northumbrian Water

Energy customers are increasingly aware of the opportunity to play an active part in the energy system. This consumer flexibility - how they use, store, and trade energy - is still in its early stages. Over the coming years an array of tariffs, rewards, and incentives will be on offer to those willing and able to participate. However, the assets and technology required often come with a hefty price tag. In order to access the widest range of flexibility, and enable the most customer to benefit from participation, are we doing enough to make it accessible to all customers including the most vulnerable? 

Discussion points:

• What are the barriers to customers learning about and participating in flexibility? 
• What policy, commercial, and technology solutions can help reach the widest range of customers
• What specific actions are needed to ensure vulnerable customers can participate and are not left behind? 

 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here.
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Russ Morgan, Commercial Innovations Director - Ohme

With new targets to hit around decarbonisation, transmission and distribution system operators need to work together to build a more decenralised and flexible energy system which will enable Clean Power 2030 and beyond. Integrating renewable energy to the grid, coordinating planning and investment and improving digitalisation and standardisation is critical to improving network visibility and unlocking efficiencies in achieving net zero.  

 

Discussion points:  

• How can network and system operators better coordinate planning and operations?   
• How can we achieve whole system optimisation by increasing access of DERs to both T-D markets
• How can we better leverage digitalisation and standardisation to drive network visibility and operational decisions?   
• What can be done to better share data and forecasting to drive whole system planning and operations?  

 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here.
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator

Tim Manandhar, DSO Solutions Manager - UK Power Networks

Understanding all stakeholder views when planning the future energy system is crucial to ensure local areas get the energy infrastructure required to meet local and national net zero ambitions. It is essential to consider the perspectives of all stakeholders when planning the future energy system. This approach ensures that local areas receive the necessary energy infrastructure to meet both local and national goals. 

Join NESO in this interactive session to discuss the importance of bottom-up planning. During this collaborative workshop, we are seeking valuable input from a range of stakeholders, such as local communities, industry experts, and policymakers. By participating, your insights will directly influence NESO's new RESP role.  

This is a unique opportunity to have your say and to help ensure that the energy system is not only efficient and resilient but also tailored to the specific needs of local areas. 

Join us and be part of the conversation that will drive the future of energy planning. 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here 
These are drop-in facilitated workshops please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Bridget Hartley, Head of Regional Energy Strategic Planning - NESO

The energy transition requires not just technological advancements but also active customer engagement. Utilities must find ways to bring customers on board, ensuring they understand, support, and participate in the changes needed for a more sustainable and flexible energy system. This workshop will explore strategies to build trust, communicate effectively, and incentivise customer involvement in the energy transition. 

Discussion points:  

• What are the biggest barriers preventing customers from engaging with the energy transition, and how can utilities overcome them? 
• How can energy companies better communicate the benefits of new technologies (e.g., smart meters, flexible tariffs, demand-side response) to build trust and participation? 
• What role should financial incentives, regulation, and community-led initiatives play in driving customer adoption of sustainable energy behaviours? 

 

Attendance is open to Utility Week members. Check if you're a member here. 
These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time. 

Facilitator
Matthew Cole, Chief Executive - Fuel Bank Foundation

In the energy sector, venture-backed startups are developing new technologies that will be essential for boosting capacity and building resilience in the face of a changing climate. However, the now-cliched Silicon Valley approach to innovation – ‘move fast and break things’ – doesn’t work in the context of the critical infrastructure we rely on for our daily lives. You can’t move fast and break the grid. So how can established industry players best co-operate with startups to ensure that first-of-a-kind technologies are deployed efficiently and safely in time to meet our climate targets? 

Discussion points:   

• What is the best model for partnering with startups on pilot projects and operational testing? 
• What are the benefits of investing in startups through corporate venture capital?  
• How can we get the most out of the different organisational cultures of startups and large organisations?  
• How can key industry players support innovative companies beyond money and contracts? 

These are drop-in, facilitated workshops. Please come prepared to join in and share your views and experiences. To secure your place please arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of the session start time.

Facilitator
Matthew Hempstead, Commissioning Editor - Springwise