A non-STEM affinity with Greg Clark
The news of Greg Clark’s appointment as Secretary of State for the newly-created Ministry of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, must be welcomed.
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A new world order
It has been well reported in the past six-months that the energy system in the UK is undergoing a great deal of change. System regulator Ofgem and the UK government are driving this change in response to evidence presented in 2016 with regards to a greater need for whole system co-ordination, flexibility and visibility.
A new way to model Value of Lost Load
Power cuts affect different types of customers in different ways, but currently this isn’t always reflected in the decision-making process of distribution companies. Electricity North West believes that investment decisions should include a customer dimension that reflects divergent customer needs, to deliver greater customer and societal benefit. The company has also consulted its customers and stakeholders, who endorse this view.
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A multipronged plan for heat
Heat is an issue. It represents almost half of UK energy use and a third of UK carbon emissions. The UK won’t meet its carbon-reduction targets set out in the Climate Change Act – or fulfil its commitments made in the Paris Agreement – without a long-term plan to move to low-carbon heating.
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A mountain to climb
Energy suppliers have chosen to take a cautious approach to smart meter installations. So far only 4 million of the required 53 million meters have been installed, according to the consumer campaign Smart Energy GB. But suppliers have good reason to be hesitant. Ongoing concerns about the adoption of SMETS 1 meters on to the Data Communications Company (DCC) system has resulted in many waiting for the DCC network to launch before ramping up installation rates to the necessary levels.
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A modern approach to network automation
Substation technology is continually evolving and improving. It’s changing to accommodate the complex challenges that have arisen from (and are driving) decarbonised, digitised and decentralised power distribution systems. Increasingly, this means that modern electrical distribution technology is imbued with new digital features.
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A material difference
As the name implies, self-healing materials are those that will repair themselves if damaged, much like how a cut will clot, heal over and eventually fade. It can be imagined that these materials would be of great use in network assets that are difficult or impossible to access, and for those assets that are vital to network function.
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A magazine is born – welcome to Network!
A short quarter of a century ago, momentous changes in the structure and regulation of UK utilities spurred the launch of a tenacious industry journal – Utility Week. It was introduced as a resource to help executives, investors and regulators understand and anticipate the effects of privatisation and it has endured as a voice for and mirror to the industry through good times and bad.
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A level playing field
There has been much written in the trade press recently about whether (or not) distribution network operators (DNOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) should own storage, as well as their requirement for flexibility to help create ‘the smart grid’ – a system fit for the new power landscape.
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A leap forward in heat trust
Customers living on heat networks across the UK will now be able to compare their annual heating and hot water costs with alternative heating systems using Heat Trust’s Heat Cost Calculator.
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