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praphit · 5 years ago

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Another Year, Another Recap - “Have a Coke and a smile... :)”

So, we're getting to the end, people. We're about to finish off another year. Personally, this year has been immensely better than the last.

I didn't even want to stay up and do any celebrating at the end of 2018. I just wanted to go to bed and be done with that bleepin year. This year has been a hell of a lot better. I hope that all of you can say something similar, but if not, there's always going to bed early, and putting your hope in the next year.

This past Christmas (and all Christmas', really) I spent time doing a lot of hating on Christmas music; it's a valued tradition of mine. I am, however, always surprised to find a few songs each year that don't bother me all that much. This year, one of them was John Legend's "Baby, It's cold outside" ft Kelly Clarkson

- a rewritten, sans rapey vibe rendition to boot its 1940's something predecessor.

In this version (at least how I interpret it), both people wanted some action that night. John says all of the right stuff ("I'll call you a car", "maybe you SHOULD go"), creating a safe environment, and most importantly, not coming off as sleazy and rapey. He's also protecting himself with this recording:) But, let's be clear... he wants some, and he wants it bad! While Kelly, also wants some, but doesn't want to come off as being a hoe. Nobody wants to be labeled a hoe. So, she says all of the right things as well ("My dad and brother are waiting for me", "I've gotta visit my sick grandma", "Gotta get home to the KIDS") But, at the end of the night, they both make a decision to sing to one another "Baby, It's cold outside, so let's stay in and BLEEP." That's how you do it! No guilt! No #METOO! No wife and kids around. All is well:) Divorces are still rising, and more older people (as well as old as bleep people) are on dating apps than ever before. Consider this song a Christmas gift from John & Kelly to you.

Sexiest man alive in 2019 btw

Congrats. Classic coming-up-out-of-the-water sexy.

There has been some good music in 2019. Good stuff happening. Also some sad and weird stuff happening in music - all things balance out, I suppose.

GOOD:

Lizzo

I am here for all things Lizzo.

SAD & WEIRD:

Maroon 5's Super Bowl performance. It wasn't even really M5's fault; they simply did what they always do. It was more a poor choice by the NFL. A boring and awkward performance. There was a time when all anybody wanted was a shirtless Adam Levine- both women AND men. Even times when he wasn't performing, he would show up places, some random person would announce to everyone "Don't worry, Adam WILL be taking off his shirt tonight." Talk about ME TOO. It was so bad that the old, white, slaveowners of the NFL hired Jay-Z (one of the blackest icons we have) to come and save them. We'll see how that turns out.

GOOD & WEIRD:

Tyler, The Creator - "IGOR"

One of my fav projects of the year. Tyler, the Creator is an odd dude - I mean this as a compliment. I love how Hip-Hop has evolved. There's a lot more room nowadays to be yourself, no matter how outsiders might deem your behavior as weird (sometimes, others NOT saying this as a compliment). I love his creativity, and hope he continues to inspire other artists (especially in hip-hop) to be creative. Heeeee also says stuff like this "I like girls, but I have sex with their brothers." But, also uses the word "gay" as an insult. Who knows?? There's a lot to unpack there.

SAD:

In other news, Camila Cabello might be a racist. Y'all can look it up if you'd like, but some posts of hers resurfaced. I'm a fan of hers, and checked out the posts for myself, thinking "People are prob just overreacting" - they're not, it's bad. She has apologized, saying the whole "I'm older and wiser now" thing. The prob with that is she's only 22.

GOOD & BAD, I GUESS:

ADELE

It's always good to see Adele out and about. These holiday pics show that's she's still alive (I get concerned, cuz she tends to disappear for a while) and apparently a lot thinner. This of course stirs men to say men type things, women to go on the attack, and all genuine compliments towards her to get lost. The good news is, Adele seems to be getting pretty chummy with Santa, and everyone knows that St. Nick is a heartbreaker. Adele should be spurned and back in the studio writing amazing tunes soon enough.

WEIRD:

Kanye

These pics say it all.

... that being said, I love his new music (which is how I stamp all of my conversations about Ye).

GOOD:

Billie Eilish!

Now (like many), one of my fav artists.

BAD:

She just turned 18, so of course, us men being ourselves again say things like "She's 18 now. You know what that means." Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what that means. Nothing says crossing-over into womanhood quite like being objectified.

Speaking of 2019 pervs - R.KELLY!

We can throw MJ and... what the hell, I'll just throw Spacey in there as well (his documentary is coming soon enough, I'm sure).

We were all enthralled by these two docuseries. It's interesting how different races respond to MJ. Both see him as... you know, but most black people are still listening to his music. White people on the other hand are ready to riot every time someone plays one of his songs... except around Halloween - gotta have "Thriller".

We love depressing television.

There was "Chernobyl" as well as "When they see us"

Movies too -

"Joker"

I love this movie, but it's about a homicidal clown, struggling with mental illness.

"Us"

I love this movie, but it's about classism and marginalization.

"Endgame"

It's largely about grief.

It's the best movie of the year, as far as I'm concerned!

It should win all awards!

ALL OF THEM!

Best Horror

Best Comedy

Best Romance

Remember when he sent the message to his wife? Cute, right?

Personally, I think he and Nebula were banging in each other.

... I think that story is going to come out some day. C’mon... they were up in space, alone... they both thought they were going to die. She was like “OMG, I’ve always wanted to bang Robert Downey Jr.

He was like “I don’t blame you.”

But, afterwards, he was like

- you know? He felt all bad, because he’d never get to do that again (that was the last of his energy). Annnnd also because he cheated. Which led to that cute recording for his wife. SEE, it’s all connected!

Best actor in Josh Brolin (Thanos) - the range of emotions (satisfaction, terror, humility, revenge, arrogance, beatin ass, defeat) Leo and Brad Pitt ain't have to do all of that!

Best Actress... hmm.. idk about this one. Many say J.Lo deserves an Oscar for her performance in "Hustlers" - a movie made for strippers, by strippers.

Exotic dancers are making a comeback! Maybe one day, stripping will be going in the same direction marijuana is - just something people do. No more shame! You can actually make a decent living at it - ain't that right, Stormy?

And who can forget this J.Lo quote "This city, this whole country, is a strip club. You've got people tossing the money. and people doing the dance."

There have also been plenty of things in 2019 that I have not understood:

1) Hatin on Greta

Greta - trying hard to do what she believes will make this world a better place for us all.

Certain people - "Shut that bitch up! She's crazy!"

2) Hatin on Megan Rapinoe

MP - leading a soccer team to a World Cup victory, being outspoken for women's rights and gay rights, having awesome purple hair, and trying to be the best leader and athlete she can be.

Certain people - "Shut that bitch up! She's Crazy! Equal pay my ass!"

3) Popeyes Chicken Sandwich

- the gov't test for a new crack epidemic. Sadly, I never got to partake.

4) Allison Mack

- This whole story began being unveiled in 2018, but continued through this year. I still don’t understand how this story has not gotten more attention. Some of y’all don’t even know what I’m talking about.... google it, and be horrified.

5) BTS (and K-pop in general)

-I love them, but... our country's K-Pop fetish has gotten kinda out of hand. All kinds of artists are trying to share the spotlight with them. Next, we're going to see them team up with Kendrick Lamar.

6) TikTok - I just don't get it. What’s the difference?

7) Cancel Culture

To me all cancel culture is silenced by Trump being our president. Where was all of this righteous indignation when we voted him into office? You might say "I didn't vote for him." Yeah, but, WE did - Idk what that says about us, but it's prob not good.

It doesn't even really work - Louis CK is currently selling out venues for an unapologetic tour. I'm not even saying that it SHOULD work (in SOME cases). I'm simply saying that it doesn't work (in most cases). But, perhaps the fear of it working is enough. Or perhaps we should think through how we spend our anger.

BUT, enough of that! It's time to pass out this year's PRAPHIE AWARD!

Here are the noms:

Jordan Peele

Pedro the turtle

(no need for context, just know he’s awesome)

Baby Yoda

(btw - studies show that if you have access to "The Mandalorian" and you AREN'T watching it, you're an asshole. This is not ME talking, this is science)

Megan Rapinoe (who I’ve already mentioned)

Flying Elbow Guy (Again, this requires no context. It’s Flying Elbow Guy! There is a baseball player who’s name I can’t remember. He took on a whole team, and... you know what - that’s too much exposition. It’s Flying Elbow Guy!

Keanu Reeves

Annnnnnnd! It’s...

...

KEANU!

This year:

Of course JW, Toy Story 4, Cyberpunk 2077, “Always be my Maybe”, plus we found out that he’s down for The Matrix 4, John Wick 4, and Bill & Ted. CRAZY!

Also my BAMF of the year (see previous post)!

We love Keanu Reeves so much, that he's allowed to murder as many people as he wants (as John Wick).

We'll get mad if an actor who's not handicapped is playing someone who is, we'll get mad about whitewashing (as we should), we'll get mad if things are too sexualized, we GOT MAD at "Joker" for predicted violence. But, Keanu can murder all he wants:)

(See the scene above? - that was a McDonald’s before he showed up)

He found love as well. Women are loving that he chose someone closer to his age. Honestly, Idk why it matters. I'd still love this man, even if he were dating 22 year old, racist ass Camila Cabello.

But, he's viewed by some as the perfect man. I disagree. I don’t think that he’s merely the perfect man, but the perfect human.

His career and popularity paths are unique. No one would call him a... GOOD actor, but look at him! And he seems like a genuinely, awesomely, good person. And whatever "good person" means to you, he's at the top! We should all (men and women) be a lil more like Keanu in 2020.

Let's all be as lovable as we can, so we may all get away with as much as we can:)

With each new year, I challenge myself with a slogan to live by. In 2020, it's going to be this -

From Eddie Murphy’s “Raw”- Richard Pryor’s advice to Eddie, concerning Bill Cosby

Telling certain people in my way "To have a Coke and a smile, and shut the bleep up." Sometimes, I might need to be the one to do this, rather than say it - we'll see.

Here was the runner-up slogan (his response)

Magical.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Enjoy yourselves. Be less of an asshole. And be safe... enough to at least make it TO 2020.

Much love!

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joe-verwatch · 7 years ago

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Memoirs of a Mercy Main

CHAPTER 7: RETRIBUTION

“Heroes never die... for a price.”

I'd spent the last few months playing single player games, or more accurately, figuring out how to play online multiplayer games alone. The enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto Online for PS4 had replaced Overwatch as my present addiction, and I had even gone so far as to join a crew on Reddit to ensure that I could play the game without the interference of other players. I was quickly consumed by the need to grind away at exciting crimes creatively made tedious by the developers at Rockstar. It killed time, and was far more relaxing than getting pounced on by Winstons or given countless fidget-spinner suppositories by Genji. It was also lonely.

As likable as I've been told I am by those whom have tolerated my existence the longest, I don't make friends easily. Unless approached by others I will make no effort to engage people in conversation, either in person or in fictional worlds such as San Andreas. Throughout my life my best friends have always been the ones that discovered me on accident. That hadn't happened in quite some time. Without an abundance of affordable recreational options in the vicinity of my home town it was unlikely I would be able, or willing, to venture into the real world to expose myself to opportunities for lasting friendships my best option was the internet.

I'd grown complacent in my criminal ways in Grand Theft Auto. I didn't talk to anyone because there had been nothing to necessitate the interaction beyond, “I'm sorry, Boss. I thought I was meant to fly the military cargo plane full of knock off purses and televisions,” or, “Please stop bombing me in your military aircraft. My scientists need this tank in order to research tiger stripes.” Most of the people in the friendly crew I'd registered with seemed keen on keeping largely to themselves, so I began playing Overwatch with slightly more regularity than I had, specifically to re-learn the art of communication. Since the pool of players who use voice chat in the standard Quick Play and Arcade modes can be pretty slim, I opted for the Competitive route.

Games were hit and miss as usual. When my teams lost they lost hard. When my teams won we won by the skin of our teeth in overtime. It's hard to tell how much I'm contributing at any given time considering my specialties are healing and providing barriers as tanks, so I'm rarely in the kill feed that everyone gauges their own self-worth off of. No one votes for the player with the most objective time when MVP nominees appear at the end of a match, and only occasionally does the healer get votes if their team mates are the empathetic sort who understand how much work it is to be baby-sitter-in-chief.

While I tried to measure my personal victories by how many games I enjoyed playing rather than by wins and losses, the two were not mutually exclusive. That was not to say that wins and losses impacted my enjoyment, but that my enjoyment impacted my wins and losses. As expected, the games with tired, grouchy, or arrogant team mates went poorly, and the games where people were playing for fun went well. With each match players came and went. While the competition itself was fulfilling and contained some of the best matches I'd ever had the pleasure of participating in, it was still a lot of work, and a lot of stress. Too much to risk playing further.

Both my wife and I had grandparents in and out of the hospital. The constant reminder of looming mortality lead to further developments in a long period of insomnia and depression. Death and I have always had an unhealthy relationship. Years of excessive flight or flight response triggers have rendered me critically opposed to living life to the fullest if it means bringing me even an inch closer to my inevitable demise, ironically leaving me prone to levels of despair and grief that my doctor has warned me repeatedly will cause heart problems to manifest much earlier than they aught to. The game I was playing as an outlet in order to reach out to the world to let it know that I was here, and that I was bored and lonely, was not succeeding in giving me the connection I sought. Worse still, in the back of my mind I knew that playing in my condition would lead to further problems. The only thing worse than being criticized for not bringing your A-game when you were was being criticized for not bringing your A-game when you knew damn well you were struggling to keep up a Z. I needed something to change. I needed a break.

Thankfully, one year after my official foray into the realm of Overwatch, the “Uprising” event returned. This time called “Overwatch Archives,” it contained a new story called “Retribution” in addition to the “Uprising” campaign that had lured me into the game to begin with. In it the secret shadow organization within Overwatch, questionably called Blackwatch, seeks vengeance for their fallen comrades in an international kerfuffle that eventually results in the fall of Overwatch. It features three attackers, one support, waves of AI controlled enemies, and no objectives other than kill or be killed.

It was a breath of fresh air.

For nostalgia sake I leapt into Uprising head on and felt right at home. After a year of playing, not only was I more competent, but I was also being matched up with team mates who had also been playing the game for as long as I had, if not longer. Rather than a rag-tag band of level 5 players who didn't even know what button got them out of a crouching position, we were a force to be reckoned with. Retribution was no different. Players whom had honed their skills in countless deathmatches needn't worry about the level of teamwork demanded of standard or even Uprising modes.

What was more was the fact that this was the first time I had been able to play the campaign with friends. My real life best friend, the best man from my wedding, was playing Uprising for the first time and caught on quick. My former Competitive partner also returned from retirement to participate in the cooperative event. It may have been the first time I'd played a full afternoon with him without hearing a peep of negativity. Predictable enemies who staggered when shot rather than rush us down, and attacked indiscriminately instead of focusing on one particular player, fell before us in droves. There was no stress. No angst. No grief. Just a blissful mayhem that wasn't even completely there in the Halloween “Junkenstein's Revenge” event.

When all was said and done, I had more fun playing Overwatch on April 10th, 2018 than I had in any given month playing the same game. Overwatch had been many things for me in the last year: a sport, an addiction, an outlet, a source of marital strife, a community, a place of grief, and a place of triumph. Blizzard had diligently attempted to improve the game's many flaws regarding the playerbase by introducing a report system and an “avoid as player” function. Brigitte, the latest hero added to the game, was an aggressive brawler that passively healed while doing damage. That meant aggressive players who wished to rack up kills with the new character could still fulfill her intended support functions without specifically concentrating on it.

Despite the changes, it's still Overwatch: an online competitive team-based shooter. As great as it is, as closely as the developers watch and listen to the community around it in order to improve upon it, it can never be more than that. What makes Overwatch so special, for better or worse, are the people who play it. The communities built around it. Overwatch may bring out the absolute worst and best in people, but it cannot change the people who play it. That's up to them.

The return of the Archives event proved to me that I don't need adversity or challenges to make life worth living. I have plenty of those. I can work on personal improvement every day for the rest of my life and still be right where I started since life will always find new ways to sucker punch me. What's more, I should not allow my self-worth should to be determined by others, as their experiences, views, and priorities will always be different from my own. At this point in my life all I need are people to enjoy it with. People I can support and are willing to show support in return, in game and out. To everyone else I offer a few simple words of advice that will make their gaming experience far more enjoyable:

Play Nice. Play Fair.

(… and nerf Bastion.) First - Previous

#Mercy Main Memoirs #Overwatch #Blizzard #gaming #video games #Overwatch Archives #Overwatch Uprising #Overwatch Retribution #I need healing #Mercy Main #Support Main #Mercy Main Problems #Seriously bastion's weak point needs to take triple damage in turret formation

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crazyscotsmanthe1st · 4 years ago

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2020 in Pictures

I was wondering how to look back on this bizarre and eventful year and try to make sense of it all. Then it ocurred to me that I’ve taken quite a few photos that have more or less documented the twists and turns, ups and downs and challenges throughout 2020. So by selecting a few and putting them together, perhaps that will help to tell the story. Here goes.

11th January - As the year began, my mind was occupied with political matters as I attended a march for independence in rain-soaked Glasgow with Colin and Alice, and also bumped into Philip from work. That evening, I met my old school friend Richard for some pints in Glasgow. Good times.

31st January - Continuing on the political theme, I joined a demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament against the UK’s formal withrawal from the EU, which Scotland had voted against.

10th February - We were gradually becoming aware of a thing called “coronavirus” which was rumbling away in China. At that time we had no reason to believe it would become a bigger thing than swineflu, birdflu, SARS or any of the other big germ scares that the media had gotten wound up about in the past. Martin “Decades” found a surgical mask from somewhere, and combined it with a bottle of Corona for a bit of fun.

17th March - As cases began to appear in the UK, Boris Johnson “advised” people not to go to the pub. This was our response. This photo caused a lot of aggro from some people, and one of my Facebook posts at the time caused so much drama I was forced to take it down. But I am defiant - by telling people not to go to pubs but allowing them to stay open, the government was putting them in an impossible position where many faced going out of business. I do not regret continuing to support them, and ultimately forcing the government to do the right thing. Those who were judgemental enough to fall out with me over this were, in the words of the song Caledonia, “the friends I needed losing”.

30th March - Furloughed from work, pubs closed and in the middle of moving house. Upheaval and uncertainty everywhere. I took this double rainbow as a symbol of hope.

2nd April - With the country in lockdown, I wandered up to the Old Town for my permitted daily walk. Wandering up the streets I knew so well and normally weaved tales about on an almost daily basis, and seeing them so eerily quiet and deserted, was a strange and emotional experience. It inspired me to write the poem, The Empty Mile, which can be found in an earlier blog.

28th April - Having no work commitments, in fact no commitments of any kind, my body clock inevitably went completely skewed and I found myself wandering the town in the middle of the night and early morning. On this wander I took in the boarded up pubs of the Grassmarket and the shadow of the Castle looming over the Vennel, before climbing Calton Hill to take in the sunrise.

23rd May - With pubs closed, social interactions were limited to online group chats, like this one where we all decided to wear shades.

17th & 24th June - My small hours wanderings continued with a 5am visit to a deserted Portobello beach, and Newhaven at dusk.

6th July - Finally pubs with beer gardens were allowed to re-open. I enjoyed my first draught pint for over 3 months outside Botecco on Bristo Place.

7th July - But I was still waiting forlornly for my usual haunt, the “mother ship” herself, the eternal Banshee Labyrinth to open its doors again.

10th July - Back in uniform for my return to the bus tours. Felt good to finally be back at work. I was relieved to find my uniform still fit, and I was able to remember my tour!

27th August - Then the ghost tours started back up again as well. Obviously some things were different, but life was beginning to feel a little normal again.

11th September - Probably my happiest day of the year. Banshee Labyrinth opened its doors again, and I was the first customer to cross the threshold. A great night was had by all, even spread out at our socially distanced tables. The staff were excellent at making sure everyone was happy and safe. Better table service than most restaurants.

9th October - With cases beginning to rise again, Nicola Sturgeon decided to blame hospitality and ordered pubs to close. Various pubs in Edinburgh emptied their ice buckets outside the Scottish Parliament in protest, and I went along to show support. It was around this time I started to lose faith in the SNP, and eventually I left the party.

31st October - Halloween “Bat’s Blood” cocktail - brandy, wine and lemonade. Usually the ghost tours would give it to customers as an extra treat, but we were unable to this year because of restrictions. So I made my own instead.

12th December - Much excitement on the bus tours as Santa turned up to do some special tours for the kids. Sadly Kerr always seemed to miss him.

29th December - Furloughed from both jobs again, with the country back in lockdown and Edinburgh dusted by the first snow of winter, I stopped during one of my wanders to enjoy a takeaway pint from the Jolly Judge.

So there we are, the year in pictures. After a political start, I raged against the coming storm, then endured the bleak days of lockdown, then enjoyed a summer of hope as things started to get back to normal, but then the darkness returned. I make no predictions about 2021 - I know better than that - but I don’t want to be sitting a year from now trying to make sense of it with old photos. I want to be with my friends in the pub. That’s all I ever wanted - can’t you tell?

Anyway, a very Happy New Year to you when it comes, dear reader.

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energysolutions · 7 years ago

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Speech: Greg Clark lecture to the Institute of Energy Economics has been published on Energy Solutions News

New Post has been published on http://www.energybrokers.co.uk/news/beis/speech-greg-clark-lecture-to-the-institute-of-energy-economics

Speech: Greg Clark lecture to the Institute of Energy Economics

Introduction

So Charles, thank you very much indeed and thank you for staying despite the extensive introduction from Charles. I am sure Charles explained that we have had a series of votes on the Finance Bill and we have just finished so I am here with you and looking forward to questions and the discussion.

But can I say to Charles what a pleasure and privilege it is to be here under Charles’ chairmanship. As I am sure Charles said to you, when I was hotfooting it over Parliament Square, Charles and I worked on energy policy extensively in opposition and I can see many familiar faces in the room who we got to know and were advised by then.

I think that the conclusions and the analysis that we drew during that time – looking forward to a low carbon economy and putting Britain on a path to a prosperous low carbon future in which we could benefit industrially as well as economically from the changes that were in prospect – what we were on to there has stood the test of time and I was very grateful for Charles’ advice and support throughout all of it.

Now, this is billed as a lecture. I am not one that believes in lecturing an audience as distinguished as this rather the other way round.

I think rather than telling you how things should be this is a particular point in the development of our policy not least after Dieter Helm’s review published a few days ago just in time for Halloween I know that much of the industry was debating whether this was a trick or a treat.

But the discussion is being launched inviting your thoughts and reflections on what Dieter has had to say and I will say a bit more about that in a second.

But it seems to me that the energy challenge that is facing us is an important one and one replete with opportunities; it is an opportunity for those of us serving in public life to look at how we can make life easier for businesses, and for consumers today and in the future. And energy is one of these areas where I think we can make a very big difference.

So I want to talk today about Government’s role in responding to what is a very rapid pace of change in the energy sector and if you just think about what has happened in the last 12 months…

For the first time in 135 years the UK did not use coal to generate electricity in a 24-hour period…

And against many predictions, the price of offshore wind has almost halved in our most recent auction, achieving a price that most people did not expect to see even a few years ago until the 2030s…

Large-scale, low cost batteries started outbidding some more conventional generation in our capacity auction. And the list of innovations goes on across the energy sector:

Proliferation of new models of electric vehicles;

Cost transformations that we have seen for oil and gas operators in the North Sea, a very crucial sector that continues to be vital to our industrial future;

Smart technologies to help people save money in their homes.

Much of this entrepreneurship and innovation we rightly celebrated in last month’s Clean Growth Strategy.

And so no one can doubt this is a time of extraordinary change in the energy market.

And during a time of change, Government’s job is to make sure that the possibilities and technological transformation in particular is made available for people across the economy.

Energy and Industrial Strategy

And that should mean lower bills for consumers; families who want to heat their homes for less, businesses large and small who want to reduce their energy bills.

It means taking the opportunity to enhance our energy security, particularly in our electricity market, through a smarter, much more responsive system.

It means continuing to reduce our carbon emissions and to make sure that this transformation benefits our wider economy.

It seems to me that by investing in innovation and encouraging further the creativity that has long characterised the energy sector in this country, we can create new businesses and provide good jobs.

And high value industries will help to improve people’s earning power right across the country.

Now these are goals for the long-term; and we are thinking not just about the next few years but about the next twenty years as a strategic view of energy should.

So we need a long-term plan to work towards those goals.

And that is why the place of energy and clean growth is so important in our Industrial Strategy. We published a green paper earlier in the year and very shortly we will be responding to the consultation with a white paper in which again the role of energy will be absolutely pivotal in the proposals that we set out because the pipes and the wires, the power stations and the heating systems are obviously a crucial part of our economic infrastructure as a country.

But beyond that, the challenges and opportunities for our energy sector match many of those for our wider Industrial Strategy: building on those strengths that we have in this country by creating new jobs in the energy sector with a challenge to make sure that we equip ourselves with a skilled workforce able to discharge some of the tasks and duties that will be required.

And to make sure that this sector alongside our other areas of national strength continues to be and is even more in the future a hotbed of innovation and ideas, and with public engagement by government crucial to that.

Now some people were surprised when Theresa May made an Industrial Strategy so central to the economic agenda of the country.

But in my view every country has an industrial strategy, whether they are called one or not. Think back to the early 1980s: the assessment that was made of the challenges and the weaknesses of the British economy.

And so to be explicit and to be deliberate about an industrial strategy to consider what are the challenges of the future?

How well we are equipped to meet them? And what we need do to best to prepare to get the most out of them? It seems to me is an essential function of government, not an option.

So it seems we should set out our plans for each. But a strategy is not a strategy if it is a short-term set of measures, if it is an ephemeral set of policy directions.

It seems to me that if you are to have a strategy it needs to be there for the long term and in a context of public policy and public life that has elections every 5 years, and sometimes more frequently.

It seems to be all the more important that you embed the longevity of a strategy by making sure that it is done in a way that commands support right across the economy and right across the county and political divides.

And so the approach that we have taken in our consultation on the industrial strategy has been a very extensive consultation with the aim to produce – as we will in our white paper – a document, but more than that an approach.

I think it will endure because it captures the challenges that we face for the future and sets out an approach to them that if it does not enjoy total consensus on everything it does then at least there will be I think a substantial respect for the policies and steps that we are taking.

And of course nowhere is this more important than in energy where questions as diverse but substantial as how the consumer welfare is protected?

What is the role of technologies like nuclear power?

The future of the gas grid?

How we make use of our experience in the North Sea in terms of future exploration but also our expertise in decommissioning and in services around the world?

These are big challenges and opportunities that I intend to make absolutely central to our strategy. So let me say something about the Government’s role in energy markets.

This was of course one of the key questions in Dieter’s Cost of Energy review, which we published – all 242 pages of it – last week.

Anyone who knows Dieter Helm – I suspect everyone in this room knows – that Dieter is completely independently minded, is rigorous in his approach and is unflinching in his analysis, and I commissioned him precisely on that basis.

The work that he has done during the summer resulting in his publication last week is a tremendous commitment of his brain power, his experience and his conversations with many people in this room.

And I am very grateful for what is a comprehensive and radical piece of work just as we – certainly I – hoped and expected.

I wanted him to ask awkward questions and to challenge the status quo.

And the reason for that and the reason that I commissioned the review and the reason that I commissioned Dieter to do it was to start with a formidable set of evidence and prescriptions, a debate about the future of our energy, and in particular our electricity sector in the light of the radical and exciting changes in technology I described earlier.

Now our intention in responding to Dieter’s report and the context of our industrial strategy is to lay out – as we are doing through the strategy as a whole – a clear set of policies and institutions that we intend to endure.

So when faced with that challenge, as Dieter’s review points out, we have to ask ourselves a set of questions:

How can we reduce complexity in our energy markets and what is the role for Government?

How can we harness the potential of distributed energy and smarter energy systems?

What will the role of system operators be in the future?

What is the future of our energy networks and how we regulate them?

And what do we do about the rise of zero marginal cost technologies?

These are significant challenges and thorny questions but they could not be a more exciting set, it seems to me, of challenges and opportunities to move from a world in which energy was a precious resource that was strictly rationed in to the prospect of a world in which energy is abundant and available for a much wider set of uses across the economy.

Now I am sure that many people – I dare say everyone – in this room will have strong views about whether Dieter was right in his contributions or whether a different approach should be taken; whether his vision of the future of the power market was right or whether there was a different approach that should be taken.

We are keen to hear those views and so I am going to launch, in the next few days, a call for evidence in response to Dieter’s arguments and I would hope that this society and its members will contribute.

It is not just your written responses that are important though they are, we want to make sure that we understand and discuss and debate your views and recommendations.

Retail

I just wanted to say something in this context about an important part of the industry that has been garnering a lot of attention recently which is the retail side of the market.

It was evident from the election campaign that almost every political party in the country reflected the view of constituents up and down the country that there is a concern in the current working of energy markets for consumers in the retail sector, at least in the short term.

Our work to cut costs and drive investment will be taking forward our existing commitments for further Contracts for Difference and Capacity Market auctions.

We remain committed to nurturing the kind of low carbon economy that we set out in the Clean Growth Strategy. But in particular, a commitment to keeping bills low means ensuring the retail market is fit for purpose.

Since privatisation, as many people in this room know, this market has displayed some of the strengths and also some of the weaknesses that markets can produce.

On the “up” side, we have a hugely competitive business-to-business market with razor thin margins and a growing number of sophisticated intermediaries who can and do help optimise how businesses use their energy.

For example, today, a hospital might use its own backup combined heat and power generation to sell energy back to the grid at times of higher prices.

Another “best-of-the-market” example comes in the competitive section of the domestic sector.

The CMA found that about one in three customers is an active participant in the competitive segment of the market.

It is full of new dynamic firms bringing innovation, better service and a different offer to customers.

It has also developed a supporting and innovative array of switching sites and collective switch providers who work out better ways for consumers to save money.

And so at its best, the competitive parts of energy supply are comparable with some of the best in the world.

Unfortunately, at the moment, the gap between the best and the worst in domestic retail is too large.

This is a theme that we find in many parts of the economy today, a kind of emerging polarisation, with the savviest and those consumers who suppliers can identify a repeated pattern of behaviour that makes them prone to switch getting good service, good prices and feeling that the future opening up for them is bright and competitive.

While others whose behaviour can be discerned by their suppliers to be irresponsive to prices who increasingly know behaviour of consumers often better than those consumers know their own behaviour.

They can and do use that information to provide a service and a set of prices that is not the equal of what is available in the competitive side of the market.

And as a result, in my view, too many customers, often more vulnerable, are punished for their loyalty, as the CMA in its report made clear.

They found that as a result, an average of £1.4 billion a year was being paid over recent years more than competitors would pay in what the CMA described as a truly competitive market.

As you know the CMA proposed robust action to protect customers on prepayment meters.

But in my view, just like the minority report of the enquiry, the CMA’s remedies did not go far enough.

This view again was confirmed by some of the price rises on the standard variable tariffs that we have seen over the last 12 months that even Ofgem at the time had cause to question and criticise.

I also judged that the degree of harm identified by the CMA, given the time it will take for the market to transform, and the uncertain impact of the CMA’s remedies, required an earlier response.

As you know this was the view of one of the panel members, Martin Cave.

But I think it was also a more basic and philosophical difference in that a well-functioning market and I think consumers look to policy-makers to ensure that the market serves all customers.

I do not think it is compatible with a positive view of the market in which consumers are forced to enter a suspicious, defensive relationship with their suppliers, the requiring to be ever-attentive to the risk of being overcharged, and where a loyalty that some consumers want to place in their suppliers is rewarded with much higher bills than if they did not take that approach.

And so I think that as government and regulators we should be working to ensure that markets emerge that do enjoy the confidence of customers and where companies care for their long-term reputations and where it is possible for consumers to place their trust in their suppliers confident that trust will not be abused.

We are entering, as I said earlier, an exciting new world across the energy sector but in particular it seems to me in the domestic energy sector where decentralised energy production… where the potential use of electric vehicles as storage on the system can take us.

But in order to take most households on this journey, people will need to feel that they are in the hands of trusted and trustworthy organisations and to achieve this objective is going to take a mixture of rapid reaction by Ofgem… … publication of our draft bill to impose a temporary wider price cap on SVTs is there to address that…

and, I would hope, more voluntary and unilateral measures from the energy companies themselves.

Ofgem as everyone knows is an independent regulator and has the legal powers that are required to cap prices in consumers’ interests.

The quickest way in my view to get that price protection in place is for Ofgem to use these powers.

So, I welcome the Ofgem board’s decision to consult on extending the CMA price cap to more of the most vulnerable households this winter: a further million this winter and a further two million next winter is an appropriate use of those powers.

In all, between the pre-payment meter cap and Ofgem’s proposed extension of it, five million households will be shielded from paying excessive prices to stay warm this winter over and above what was intended, what was made the case on publication of the CMA’s report.

But it is well known and I have said in public that I believe Ofgem could and should have gone further within their powers, but I respect their independence and I welcome the quick solution that they have put in place and are taking for the most hard-up households.

But my view is that the limited cap is not in itself sufficient to eradicate the detriment that was identified in the CMA report.

Therefore we published draft legislation that will require Ofgem to design and set a price cap for all customers on standard variable tariffs and default tariffs that will be in place until 2020, with the option to extend it to 2023.

It requires Ofgem to find a design that addresses the harm without undermining the long term competitive nature of the market.

The cap is a temporary staging post while we – and the industry – move to a better deal for all households.

Now it seems to me that in setting that cap Ofgem will want and I know that they intend to make sure that the vigorous competition that exists in the competitive part of the market will continue and indeed this has happened since the imposition of the cap in the prepayment meter market.

As Ofgem pointed out in its State of the Market report just today, suppliers are still in that section of the market offering tariffs below the cap – the cheapest across the market was £70 below the prepayment meter cap in August.

As you know in Northern Ireland, where price controls are currently in place, the incumbent has lost 40% of its market share since 2010.

The other concern that some commentators have raised with price caps is that they can be set at a sufficiently low level that suppliers no longer want to supply.

I think that this can easily be avoided in the careful design of a cap. A well-designed cap needs to be responsive to the market but also to give consumers comfort that they are getting a fair deal. That their loyalty is not being exploited.

It seems to me that this is a role for sensible government and regulation – to be actively engaged in a market until it has settled into the equilibrium that everyone contributing to the CMA report the majority and the minority foresaw.

And so it is to Ofgem to design the right cap.

Dermot Nolan, the Ofgem CEO, has given a speech recently in which he considers various design ideas.

Dieter, of course, has developed his own ideas in the course of the Energy Review.

I welcome this – this is exactly why we wanted to publish a bill that could have the scrutiny that is required.

And it is important that energy companies themselves should wholeheartedly participate in this thinking.

And indeed, be trying to solve this problem unilaterally by getting their customers off these tariffs that have been identified by the CMA as being at the detriment to consumers.

Clean Growth

So we are taking action to protect consumers, but it is important not to lose sight of the medium-term changes that will be needed to respond rapidly to changing technologies.

And it is important to invest for the long term, too.

If we get our approach right – combining competition with particular interventions where needed; ensuring that markets are working for all consumers; making sure as Dieter suggests that we are alive to the possibilities, innovation and change that are replete in this country.

If we have an energy system where renewables, nuclear, gas and other technologies are working together to ensure security of supply.

If we have strength through diversity.

And if we target affordable bills for businesses and households, where we are helping people to stop wasting energy and improving the productivity of our businesses.

And where we champion very explicitly the prospects for clean growth – which is the last point I want to focus on this evening – where we are not just decarbonising our economy, but our businesses and innovators are capturing commercial opportunities of the low carbon transition.

That seems to me to be an area of promise for this country.

One estimate suggests that the UK’s low carbon economy could grow in the region of 11 per cent per year up to 2030…

… meaning that in just 13 years it could support as many as two million jobs…

… and export billions of pounds in low carbon goods and services each year.

So, by focusing on clean growth, we have big opportunities:

We can cut the cost of energy…

We can cut how much carbon we generate…

We can drive economic growth…

We can drive the creation of high value jobs across the UK…

And we can improve our quality of life.

This is precisely what our Clean Growth Strategy is all about – and it is great to see so many people here that were at the launch of the Clean Growth Strategy – it is about making a positive change to how we live.

For businesses, the largest pool of contributors to emissions, we will help them improve how they use their energy, aiming to improve their energy productivity by at least twenty per cent by 2030, saving businesses £6 billion a year…

…and we will make sure through our innovation approach that we support areas in which we have excellence and in which the UK has a commercial and technological opportunity.

One example of that is the work that we have been doing on battery technology and ultra-low emission vehicles. We have launched the Faraday challenge – designed to ensure that the UK is the place in the world where new battery technology especially in combination with the auto sector is not just developed but is commercialised.

Part of the Clean Growth Strategy of far-reaching goals and priorities, setting the scene for the long-term plans that will be relevant across government …

such as the upcoming 25 year plan from my colleagues at DEFRA…

…and the Department for Transport’s Road to Zero…

…and as I said the Industrial Strategy that will be published during the weeks ahead.

So the common denominator is clear: the model of clean growth, of innovation and industrial opportunity that this energy sector has needs to be at the heart of the thinking and the strategy for our whole economy.

Conclusion

To capture that prize we need a strategic approach.

Over the past year, we have been setting out some of the building blocks of that approach, we published the Smart Systems Plan, we published just a couple of weeks ago the Clean Growth Strategy, we set out the Faraday challenge for battery storage, the decision to restart our civil nuclear energy programme, the Helm Review of the Cost of Energy, and our Industrial Strategy Green Paper.

During the months ahead the conversation that we will have with everyone in this room will I hope put in place a set of institutions, policies and practices across the economy that will restore to this country the position of leadership in the future of energy that we have enjoyed at various times through our industrial history.

We have in this country the ingenuity, the expertise, the heritage but also the current practice to be able to make us I think one of the most important foundations of the economy of the future.

Thank you very much indeed for inviting me to come belatedly this evening I look forward to your initial questions and to the conversation that will I hope take place vigorously…

#BEIS

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