Public utilities

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Naturally there has been a lot of talk about the development of nationalised utilities/energy companies and the recent case studies of the challenges that Thames Water have faced have highlighted a concern in the provision of supply of utilities as well as how we deal with drainage / sewage Issues.

We have for too long failed to invest in the sufficient infrastructure that we need to service existing properties let alone the large developments that have popped up.

Hospipe restrictions are likely to become more commonplace as we see the impacts of climate change so is it time to start asking questions as an island should we look at technology such as the converting of sea water into usable water through desalination? Do we need to upgrade the pipework capacity to maintain sufficient supply of usable water as well as more super sewers and more / enlarged water treatment plants. 

How can we also generate more renewable energy through solar, wind, tidal or hydro electric sources? 

Can we do more to make solar tiles and batteries cheaper to manufacture and run? Taking this a step further how can we also get this into more social housing blocks allowing residents in social housing provider owned properties to benefit from the cost of the installations when the roofs are being replaced? should new build residential properties have as part of the planning consent  conditions to include energy saving measures?

Likewise, should commercial properties have adding plans? We will discuss this in the planning section.

We also need to think about businesses too in order to help them remain operational after a number of challenging years. can retrofitting of solar be introduced, are there other energy cost savings potentially available.

A number of buses are using hydrogen to support less downtime to recharge yet we need to look at the increasing of the amount of green hydrogen production in the U.K. to assist businesses including bus/coach operators and hgv owners