Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1111696
ROUNDTABLE R ising energy demand, electric vehicle (EV) uptake and the increasing uptake of distrib- uted generation – there are a myriad of issues affecting the future of asset management. All these topics and more were considered during a discussion entitled 'The future for network asset management'. When considering different approaches to asset management, one delegate said one of the things their company was looking at is more of a strategic approach. "We're looking at more critical parts of the network, not necessarily from just a systems point of view but looking at other consequences as well, such as safety and environment and really thinking about targeting where you want to understand more about your assets. Not just a blanket approach across the whole network." One delegate suggested a key driver of asset management is to ask the question: "Is it easier to refurbish something, to extend it or to improve it to operate it or is it easier to retrofit something?" That, they said, drives some of the deci - sions made in asset management. The importance of forecasting was discussed, with one delegate suggesting having the optionality to cover a period of uncertainty until a company "knows better" would be a good idea. Energy regulator Ofgem's role in setting the framework for asset management in RIIO2 was another key topic of conversation during the aŒernoon. Delegates were asked to consider how they see the regulatory model changing and in what ways this would in turn drive changes to asset management. Specifically, they considered what the best way of incentivising improvements was during RIIO2. One said monetising the risk and work - ing out how much it will cost to maintain the asset base is a good incentive. "We are now doing as an industry a lot more refurbishment, a lot more preventative maintenance, extending the life of our as - sets. That might very well be the right thing going forward, but it might be that actually we have swung too far the other way. "The whole idea of having the ability to monetise risk is that we can hopefully measure how effective that sort of approach is going forward," they added. Optimising where money is spent was further discussed in relation to telecoms assets, many of which become obsolete quickly as a result of the continuing digiti - sation of the sector. "That obsolescence is really important to think about, particularly in the whole sen- sor environment, putting sensors on assets, you really need to weigh up how much life you think's leŒ in that larger asset, if you're putting sensors on it and you are going to rip out that asset in a couple of years' time, is it really valuable to put them on there?," one attendee asked. "That whole thing about technology and IT, it's much more fast-paced now you've got to factor that into your ED2 settlements," another suggested. Extreme events Last year saw the infamous Beast from the East hit the UK, enough to cause a headache for any network provider. This prompted discussion of climate change and the impact extreme weather events will have on asset infrastructure. One delegate in particular expressed concern that network resilience has fallen in recent years. "It's now a few years since 2015, the last major floods, and I have seen network resilience drop down the agenda. "What happens if we get the extreme events? All the predictions are that they will be more frequent going forwards." For the third part of the aŒernoon's dis - cussion, delegates were asked to consider original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and innovators and their importance when it comes to changing approaches to asset management. One delegate said there is "certainly an opportunity" in the skills and resource base to facilitate change. They said network operators and utility companies need to target people at the "grass roots" to attract people who are both competent engineers and who have an analytical skill set. "It's a journey to get there and it needs forward planning and investment", they added. There was a further suggestion of target - ing universities and sponsoring gradu- ate programmes to achieve the skill set required. Another agreed that "bringing through the next generation" was key and said their company too also did a lot of work with NETWORK / 32 / MAY 2019 Reclaiming and recognising asset management In an ever-changing energy system landscape, the ability to manage assets is often high up on the agenda for utility companies. During a roundtable event - organised by Network in association with Siemens - key figures from the industry met to discuss asset management. Adam John reports.