EV project recognised by Ofgem

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has been awarded a discretionary reward of £300,000 from Ofgem's Low Carbon Networks Fund for its My Electric Avenue project.

2nd October 2018 by Networks

The energy regulator said it was of ‘huge benefit to GB electricity customers’ and added that its findings had ‘helped give the Government confidence to push ahead with the wide scale electrification of transport’, evidenced by the recently launched Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018.

The three-year long project, led by partner EA Technology, artificially created ‘clusters’ of electric vehicle (EV) users to help understand the impact this extra demand may have on low voltage electricity networks, predicting what may need to happen in the future as more people transition to electric forms of transport. It also trialled demand-side response (DSR) technology to help manage charging and mitigate the risk of network overload.

Learnings from the project and SSEN’s subsequent Smart EV initiative have helped develop Government legislation to mandate that all EV chargers in Britain are smart, enabling distribution network operators (DNOs) to safeguard, maintain and develop smarter networks to cope with the increase in EVs in the future.

In its award summary, Ofgem commented on the ‘notable achievement’, highlighting significant and sustained engagement efforts by the project team in reducing any adverse network impacts of widescale EV rollout.

Stewart Reid, SSEN’s head of DSO and innovation, said: “As our industry rapidly transforms in the move to a smarter, more flexible energy system, understanding and managing the impact of EVs and other low carbon technologies is an increasingly important aspect of how we operate our electricity networks.

“We’re delighted the My Electric Avenue project has been recognised for its exceptional performance in influencing and informing UK legislation to ensure the transition to EVs is as smooth as possible as the country moves forward to achieve its low carbon transport ambitions.

“We continue to work with our industry partners through our Smart EV project, to make sure this fully supported transition takes place with minimal disruption to customers, avoiding unnecessary and costly network reinforcement through smart technology interventions.”

Robert Davis, CEO of EA Technology, added: “This was a complex and challenging project which was truly ground breaking by being the first to bring together stakeholders from the entire EV supply chain, producing learnings which have been instrumental in progressing the electrification of transport in GB.

“The project has provided learning which will ensure the industry is well prepared to deal with the challenges ahead as the widespread rollout of EVs continues, underpinning our low carbon transition.”