Consumer watchdog energywatch has stepped into a row over red tape that is threatening to hold up regeneration work across the North and Midlands.
Confusion and administrative delays between electricity network company Power Systems and power providers in the Liverpool area have held up work on the Norris Green estate for months (HT 30 April, page 12).

The city council said demolition across the nine market renewal areas could suffer similar delays unless the problem was sorted out.

Now, Energywatch has called the power providers to a meeting on 13 May to try to sort out the confusion, which centres on cutting off power to homes set for demolition.

An Energywatch spokesman said it would encourage the firms to find a solution and, if successful, tell other councils how it was done. He said: "We will try to pull together some lessons to prevent this happening elsewhere. Some sort of peace deal needs to be brokered, and we hope to bring this matter to a swift conclusion."

If Energywatch cannot find an answer, it has the option to refer the problem to Ofgem, the power industry's regulator.

Source

Housing Today