Utility Week

insula on." She insists this should be the response to some of the founda on issues around the affordability of energy as well as benefi ng the decarbonisa on jigsaw before the future, smart systems that o en grab the headlines. FUTURE TECH Other new technologies an cipated to facilitate transi on across all u li es include data analy cs, smart grid technology, water metering, water reuse, blockchain, robo cs and low carbon heat. Across all of the technologies surveyed, the average pping point for mass take-up is expected to be 2027. There are already some exci ng examples of innova on and adop on of new technologies across the sector), but there is a risk that many of these developments are happening in silos. Is there enough joined-up thinking and sharing of ideas across the whole industry that will help deliver the energy landscape of the future? Independent consultant John Sco fears the industry is currently on the wrong track. "There are some good things happening, but underneath it I just fear that not yet do we have the right things happening," he laments. "My worry is that we'll end up in a world where the network companies will start to get bad press and will be blamed as the dinosaurs of the old energy world that can't keep up. "In today's priva sed world there is no party responsible for taking ownership of joining everything up. The onus falls on policymakers to decide how to do that." While there has been some good work coming out projects like the Future Power System Architecture (FPSA) programme – a collabora on between the Energy Systems Catapult and The Ins tu on of Engineering and Technology established to inves gate the func onali es Britain's power system will need to meet future requirements – Sco is concerned that this research unavoidably leads back into the structure of today's industry and its current codes and governance. "The current rule book, the grid codes, the distribu on codes and the commi ees and panels that sit around those bodies are all designed for yesterday's world," he explains. "They can't possibly handle the kind of things we're talking about, the future energy challenges." But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon with Ofgem's RIIO2 update, launched in December 2018. The RIIO2 sector-specific methodology document proposes a series of changes to how network innova ons will be financed and supported. The regulator has proposed a reformed innova on s mulus that will "fund solu ons to the largest research and development challenges facing networks, and is a lot more joined-up with government, with a bigger role for third party innovators". While this is an interes ng development from the regulator, a ques on mark remains over whether these latest price control proposals go far enough to reflect the financial risks faced by investors and the pace of change across the energy network. Nadine Buddoo is a U lity Week correspondent This is an abridged version of the research. For a full copy of this report and to find out more about U lity Week Live, visit: h ps://www.u lityweeklive.co.uk/ C A S E S T U D Y EON'S FUTURE ENERGY HOME Eon is working with UK property developer Berkeley Homes to pilot the Future Energy Home – a trial of the integra on of the latest smart home technologies at Berkeley's Kidbrooke Village development in London. "The project is the first of its kind to demonstrate innova ve energy devices – integrated solar, ba eries, EV charging, smart thermostats, building management systems – working seamlessly through a single, tablet-based dashboard," says Eon UK's director of poli cal and regulatory affairs, Sara Vaughan. Through use of the home energy dashboard, homeowners can access a detailed view of their energy flow across the whole building. The scheme aims to give consumers prac cal control over their energy use. Residents can generate and store electricity in a ba ery to make use of in-built renewable sources such as self-generated green energy to charge electric vehicles, and to relieve pressure on the power grid at mes of high demand. The ba ery is fed by mains power and solar glazing. P R E S E N T S IN ASSOCIATION WITH 28 | 25TH - 31ST JANUARY 2019 | UTILITY WEEK

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