[ Report: ECA Electrical Industry Conference 2011 ]


Energy issues and opportunities n


Paul Reeve, the ECA’s head of Environment, delivered a thought-


provoking presentation on energy issues and the opportunities this will generate for members. He highlighted some pressing issues facing the UK – including a potential energy crisis – and focused on financial drivers that are encouraging businesses to adopt more energy efficient technologies. He outlined the drivers for energy


efficiency and carbon reduction in the built environment, including government targets for greenhouse gas reduction – down 34 per cent by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2025. He also warned about the danger, on


existing trends, of an energy crisis by 2016, which, he said, had to be addressed as a priority. This meant upping the generating capacity or reducing energy demand – something which could be achieved through energy efficiency measures, by using the sort of services electrical contractors provide. The continuing rise in the cost of energy was another fundamental problem underlying the issues of demand and supply. This scenario of rising energy costs


presented a huge opportunity for electrical contractors. ‘We do not need – from the point of view of selling to our customers – to talk too much about carbon’, Reeve said. ‘The


majority of them, at the financial director level and at the business level, are not interested in carbon at all. They want to talk to you about how they can reduce the cost of their energy services. It’s a money equation; if we sort out the money, the carbon will sort itself out.’ There is an immense opportunity for


energy efficiency, Reeve asserted, and it’s getting bigger and bigger. As a sell to businesses, energy efficiency is attractive because it’s easy to measure return on investment, and payback times are relatively short. ‘Customers will follow the money,’ Reeve said. The commercial arguments are very powerful, and this is something electrical contractors should employ with customers. On the domestic side, saving money


is the motivation for modifying consumer energy behaviour. The advantage for electrical contractors is their potential position as an independent advisor to consumers as well as a solution provider, helping to address doubts that are a barrier to taking up technology. ‘We as an industry… need to be able to sell this stuff to the domestic consumer,’ Reeve said. ‘It’s a real opportunity for us.’ ‘Things are happening, and they’re


happening fast. There’s a lot of change and we have really got to be at the front of that change,’ Reeve said. ‘The world’s not going


After the presentations were over each day, delegates to the conference were able to relax, and enjoy the surroundings and the local hospitality. Evening entertainment at the conference included an enjoyable welcome barbecue, sponsored by Prysmian Cables & Systems Ltd and the traditional gala dinner, a black tie event sponsored by the ECA, Osram and Electrium.


to wait for us. This opportunity is going to be available to those who take it… We’ve got to make sure that it’s us.’ While members are switched on to the


renwables opportunities, Reeve said, he believed they are not so switched on to the energy efficiency opportunities. ‘Energy efficiency will always be with us – it’s a sustainable business opportunity,’ he told delegates. He also commented on the Green Deal, and how it was important for the industry to be there to take advantage of this, and challenge anyone trying to enter industry. Reeve also highlighted the future


importance of developments in ICT and the increasing domestic use of intelligent data- based controls for energy consumption and how IT was the way forward for switched-on electrical contractors.


Enjoy the ride


Rounding off the conference in style, delegates were treated to a highly entertaining motivational presentation from Ellis Watson, a serial entrepreneur whose most recent role was as CEO at Syco Entertainment, the joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony. He delivered a selection of useful insights


gained from his experiences in business to inspire the audience to achieve more from their own companies and reinvent their businesses. He stressed the need for passion in business and the determination to follow through changes to improve it. ‘Drive it like you stole it,’ he urged the audience ‘As long as the wheels don’t fall off, and you don’t bet the farm on it, there’s no harm in doing it,’ Watson said. He warned business owners to push


themselves out of the comfort zone. ‘It very rarely goes wrong,’ he insisted. He also entertained the audience with sharp one-liners and a string of amusing anecdotes from his varied and successful career – from mail room lad at News International through his role as MD of Mirror Group to his time licensing Who Wants to be a Millionaire? worldwide as head of Caleador.


The ECA Electrical


Industry Conference 2012 will be held in Paphos, Cyprus from 19-26 May 2012. See www.eca.co.uk/conference2012 for more details.


RADIATORS


The Centaur Cheltenham, 13th September | Wembley Stadium London, 15th September | International Centre Harrogate, 20th September PARTNERS:


| SECC Glasgow, 22nd September


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