Take a look at the agenda for Utility Week Forum 2025!

 

The Forum is Utility Week's most strategic conference, curated by the journalists who understand the complexities and challenges facing the utilities sector. The programme featured speakers from NESO, Southern Water, Octopus Energy, United Utilities and more, and tackled the industry's biggest challenges.

By submitting interest for 2026, we'll let you know when tickets become available.

8:30 AM
Registration opens
 
 
9:25 AM
Welcome from the Conference Chair
 
James Wallin
STABILISING THE POLICY LANDSCAPE
9:30 AM
Leadership Lens: Keeping momentum in an ever-changing world

 

Gain insight from two leading visionaries from UK utilities as industry adapts to a new global climate and rewrites the regulatory script. Pose your questions to two CEOs to understand their direction of travel while promoting cross-sector collaboration, prioritising customer satisfaction and balancing environmental and financial commitments at this crucial time. Discussion points include:

  • Establishing the role of UK utilities in a new world order
  • Adapting to geopolitical shifts and tariffs
  • Redefining the public purpose of utilities 
  • Managing supply chain vulnerabilities 
  • Ensuring proactive continuous improvement to prevent crises 
  • Priorities amid price reviews
Phil Jones Lawrence Gosden
10:15 AM
What does the future hold for the water sector?

 

Utility Week’s Editor in Chief, James Wallin, poses questions to Water UK’s Regulation Director at this crucial time, to get exclusive insight into the Cunliffe report and what the future of regulation should look like. 

Challenges in the sector include innovation spending for AMP8, redeterminations, prioritising the consumer, the role of AI and digital tools, cross sector collaboration, and clarity on responsibilities. 

 

Jeevan Jones
10:50 AM
Regulatory spotlight: Ofgem’s vision for connections through strategic planning

 

Ofgem’s Deputy Director for Strategic Planning and Connections sits down with Utility Week’s Editor in Chief, James Wallin, to answer the hard-hitting questions keeping the energy industry awake at night. Have your say during audience Q&A and ensure you’re a part of the discussion to shape policies and frameworks for power and gas.  

Hear from Ofgem on grid constraints and delivering to meet demand, while breaking down barriers to innovation and increasing investment in renewables. 

 

Jack Presley Abbott
11:25 AM
Refreshments, networking and exhibition
 
 
FINANCIAL RISK AND INVESTMENT IN THE NEW AGE OF UTILITIES
12:00 PM
Utilities: The un-financeable sector?

 

  • Securing investment in a low-carbon economy
  • Communicating ESG value to financial markets
  • Raising capital to fund major projects and reservoir build in the UK while aligning with regulation

 

Chris Laybutt
12:20 PM
Getting the right level of returns

 

  • Attracting investment in a competitive market
  • Stability and predictability in regulation while building financial resilience
  • Ensuring a forward-looking perspective

 

Christopher Pickard
12:40 PM
Question and answer session
 
 
12:50 PM
Premium lunch, networking and exhibition
 
 

DAY 1 SPLITS INTO BREAKOUT SESSIONS. CHOOSE BETWEEN:

2:00 PM
On time and in budget: Can you have both?

 

  • Breaking past delivery delays, rising costs and siloed decision-making
  • Facilitating collaboration across the sector while safeguarding affordability, sustainability and transparency
  • Creating certainty through in-depth design and planning processes
Cheryl Steventon
2:15 PM
Turning energy network innovation into deployable projects

 

  • Fostering system resilience through digitalisation
  • Deploying new technology to enable more low carbon generation
  • Embracing a whole systems approach to a customer-centric grid

 

Jodie Giles
2:30 PM
Questions and answer session
 
 
2:35 PM
Breaking down blockers to unlock project delivery progress
  • Understanding new delivery models, and the shift towards an Enterprise based approach    

  • Exploring impacts of increased sector investment on deliverability, and relationships with supply chain   

  • Tackling the skills and workforce gap to achieve the required ramp-up in outputs  

  • Embracing digital innovation from design to delivery  

  • Managing risk and uncertainty, alongside increasing customer scrutiny 

Alex Purvis Rob Mustard Steve Giddings
2:55 PM
Storm the stage: Mobilising the supply chain - What are the main barriers preventing earlier engagement with the supply chain in infrastructure projects?

 

An interactive session hosted by Ardent where we pass the mic to delegates to share their views on supply chain collaboration, accelerating project delivery and infrastructure development in the utilities sector. Are water, gas and energy companies, policymakers and the full supply chain united in their efforts? What do we need clarity on? How can we strike the balance between decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation? 

Key themes include:  

  • How can utilities better share demand forecasts or future needs without overcommitting or exposing themselves to risk? 

  • What does effective collaborative planning between utilities and the supply chain look like in practice? How can we enable the supply chain to gear up for proactive delivery and anticipatory investment? 

  • What steps can be taken now to build a more resilient supply chain ecosystem for the next 5–10 years? 

  • Are current procurement models enabling or hindering early supply chain involvement? 

  • How do we break silos between client organisations, delivery partners, and regulators? 

  • Scale vs resource: What role can digital twins, offsite construction, or modular design play?  

  • What would a truly circular or zero-waste supply chain look like for utilities? 

Helen Boyle
3:30 PM
Refreshments, networking and exhibition
 
 
2:00 PM
Delivering flexibility with consumers in mind

 

  • Ensuring energy networks can deliver flex to help all customer profiles
  • Enabling the true value of flexibility to be realised

 

Dr Alex Buckman
2:15 PM
Ask or tell? Finding the right level of customer choice to minimise consumer impacts

 

  • Should we mandate smart meters?
  • How can we strike the right balance for customer involvement in major projects across AMP8 and AMP9?

 

 

Mike Keil
2:30 PM
Winning customer trust with Agentic Video Intelligence
  • Creating a total experience solution to improve NPS
     
  • Delighting customers with speed and reducing cost to serve
     
  • Driving new revenue and upsell opportunities 
Hattie Lister
2:45 PM
Question and answer session
 
 
2:55 PM
Ideation session: What would consumer experience be in a decarbonised and digitalised system?

 

  • How can we encourage customers to embrace a green energy system in the same way as the mobile phone revolution?  

  • In what way can we improve consumers' perception of value for money from their suppliers? How much of an impact will the Community Benefits Bill have here? 

  • Are consumers involved enough to input into utilities digitalisation strategies? 

  • To what extent are we maximising customer data? 

  • Are current channels effective when communicating safety information to consumers, including social media and campaigns?  

 
3:30 PM
Refreshments, networking and exhibition
 
 
ACCELERATING NET ZERO
3:55 PM
Power to the people: Accelerating home-grown renewable energy

 

  • A chance to give your opinion in an interactive polling session through sli.do to shape the pathway to achieving net zero. 

 

James Wallin
4:00 PM
Panel discussion: Economic growth vs Net Zero

 

  • How can we design out carbon in AMP8, AMP9 and RIIO-4 to meet environmental goals? 

  • To what extent are we maximising innovation funding to improve biodiversity?  

  • How can we ensure that decisions taken in the interests of economic growth today can also be compatible with Net Zero by 2050? 

  • How can we increase community engagement in the planning process? Do we understand consumer wants relating to the environment?  

  • How can we adapt assets to suit a more volatile range of circumstances while managing cost? To what extent can we ease pressures on materials through developing a more circular economy? 

  • What is the future of wind and solar? 

  • What role does the gas network play in delivering economic growth today? Can it still have a role to play in doing this, as the energy system changes with decarbonisation? 

  • What should the sectors’ next steps be? Is the government’s mission to become a Clean Energy Superpower compatible with the plan to make Britain an AI Superpower?  

 

James Earl Rachel Fletcher Dhara Vyas Lisa Gahan
4:40 PM
Chair’s closing remarks and close of Utility Week Forum Day 1
 
 
4:45 PM
Networking drinks reception

Join us for a relaxed drinks reception following the first day of the conference. This is a great opportunity to unwind, network with fellow attendees, and continue the day's conversations over refreshments.  

 
8:15 AM
Registration, networking and exhibition
 
8:55 AM
Welcome from the Conference Chair

 

  • Chairs rundown: James shares his key moments from Day 1  
James Wallin
CHARTING THE COURSE: STRATEGIC PLANNING AMID STRUCTURAL SHIFTS
9:05 AM
Keynote: From red tape to green light: Will planning reform speed up UK infrastructure delivery?

 

  • Evaluating the level of inclusion of communities and nature during planning
  • Climate change vs nature – who wins?
  • Balancing speed, cost-efficiency and public acceptance of the GGU
  • Keeping local authorities and landowners on board amid extensive infrastructure build 

 

Rosie Pearson
9:20 AM
Question and answer session
 
 
9:30 AM
Regional holistic planning and delivery: A cross-sector perspective

 

  • Regional planning as the critical link between national ambition and local delivery 

  • The role of shared data, governance and cross-sector coordination in accelerating delivery and unlocking new value 

  • Managing new regional pressures and emerging demands – from heat networks to data-centre growth 

  • Harnessing whole systems, adaptive planning and AI to support shared regional decisions and facilitate true collaboration 

 

Michael Avant-Smith Sam Fox Heather Sheffield
9:50 AM
Panel Discussion: Clarity or Confusion? Aligning Local and National Plans
  • To what extent is price cap volatility impacting risk management strategies on long-term business models? 
  • To what extent should policymakers incentivise for anticipatory investment in RIIO-4 in industrial decarbonisation, housing growth and clean heat zones? 

  • How will RESP bring together DNOs, council, developers and communities to achieve local development and environmental goals?  

  • How can we communicate planning on a local level and deliver meaningful local community impacts through LAEPs?  

  • How can we translate net zero targets to a local level?  

 

Rosie Pearson David Watson David Boyer Julian Leslie

DAY 2 SPLITS INTO BREAKOUT SESSIONS. CHOOSE BETWEEN:

11:10 AM
CEO Spotlight: Understanding Northumbrian Water's business strategies for PR29 and beyond

 

Pose your burning questions to the CEO of a leading water company, reflecting on the regulatory landscape and economic climate of the utilities industry, while looking ahead and exploring their strategies for PR29, AMP8 and AMP9.


 

Heidi Mottram
11:40 AM
Optimising catchment planning

 

  • Aligning biodiversity targets with River Basin Management Plans
  • Maximising wetlands for nature-based solutions (NBS)
  • Trusting in-house engineers to tackle problems relating to spills and CSOs

 

Nick Mills
12:05 PM
Question and answer session
 
 
11:10 AM
CEO Spotlight: Understanding National Gas's business strategies for as we approach RIIO-3

 

Pose your burning questions to the CEO of a leading energy company, reflecting on the regulatory landscape and economic climate of the utilities industry, while looking ahead and exploring their strategies for the next price control period.

 

Jon Butterworth
11:35 AM
Price Controls with purpose: Promoting efficient investment through the RIIO-ED3 framework

 

  • Designing economic regulation to align planning, performance, and consumer values 

 

Richard Druce
11:50 AM
How Demand Turn Up is the not-so-secret opportunity for flexibility

 

  • Optimising Grid Balancing during high generation 

  • Maximising renewable integration 

  • Facilitating diverse technologies including EVs, battery storage, combined heat and power systems (CHP) and more 

 

Michelle Fryzuk
12:05 PM
Question and answer session
 
 
12:15 PM
Premium lunch, networking and exhibition
 
TRANSFORMATION IN THE DIGITAL ERA
1:15 PM
"If we were designing our utilities from scratch today, what would we build?"

 

 

Matthew Griffin
1:30 PM
Innovating to enhance smart networks

 

  • Leveraging digital technologies and data to enhance efficiency and resilience through NESO’s Digitalisation Strategy and Action Plan (DSAP)
  • Increasing smart network efficiency to maximise data collection
  • Aligning customer needs with digitalisation rollout
Mayank Jha
1:45 PM
Complex collaboration for data driven decisions to empower engineering efficiency

 

  • Bridging the gap between innovation and implementation: When is less, more when it comes to electrification? 

  • When Sun Tzu is right about planning – and going the distance 

  • The system thinking mindset and why people are critical  

Sacha Meckler
2:00 PM
Questions and answer session
 
 
2:10 PM
Refreshments, networking and exhibition
 
SHAPING TOMORROW'S UTILITIES
2:35 PM
Future-proofing our most precious resource

 

  • Adapting to climate change on a local and regional level, while aligning with the national picture 

  • Bringing the public along on the water infrastructure development journey through increased transparency and communication 
Marcus Rink
2:55 PM
Hear from the Energy Geeks

 

Join a group of passionate energy experts as they discuss the industry’s latest challenges and identify actions that can be taken quickly and inexpensively to inspire industry change.  

Regularly featured in Utility Week’s editorial output, this group will discuss topics such as voltage management, digitalisation & smart meters, network losses, flexibility, and system integration, with bold recommendations to unlock efficiencies and reduce waste across the system, while exploring roles and responsibilities across the sector. 

Hear from the ‘Energy Geeks’ Eric Brown, Laura Sandys, Maxine Frerk, Roger Hey, Steven Steer and Alan Whitehead, as they provide an update on how the energy industry has progressed, a year on from their previous UWF appearance.  

 

Eric Brown Maxine Frerk Roger Hey Laura Sandys CBE Steven Steer Rich Hampshire
4:00 PM
Chair’s closing remarks and close of the 2025 Utility Week Forum