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NETWORK / 8 / DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019 LCNI REVIEW Learning is key David Smith, chief executive of the Energy Networks Association (ENA), talks to Network editor Alec Peachey about this year's Low Carbon Networks Innovation (LCNI) Conference and gives his views on the sector. T his year's LCNI Conference took place in Telford and attracted more than 1,000 delegates. The event, which was in its eighth year, has become a key fixture in the energy networks calendar and provides an opportunity to explore key learnings from electricity and gas network innovation projects. This learning, Smith says, is absolutely vital. "LCNI really has become the go-to conference to learn," he remarked. This year's event attracted an interna - tional audience with a big contingent com- ing over from the US. "We get lots of requests for informa- tion about what we're doing in the UK," continues Smith. "We were able to say why don't you come and receive the learning, make the contacts, create a shared environ- ment and learn from it. What we found is people were saying they could take it back to the US. "Lots of people are saying that LCNI is a brilliant step to get to meet people but also to understand some of the learning that we've got that they can apply back home. Maybe not all in the same way, but in dif- ferent ways. I think it's a really good selling point for UK plc." One of the key trends to come out of the 2018 event was a focus on a 'whole systems' approach – where gas and electricity net - David Smith, chief executive of the Energy Networks Association.