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INTERVIEW M easuring the impact of innovation is never easy, but it's something that UK Power Networks take very seriously. Delivering value to customers is a key measurable of the innovation team and with so many projects live at any one time it is easy to see the benefits that are being brought about. Speaking to me at UKPN's head office in London, Cameron said: "We've got about 30 people doing around 50 live projects at any one time. The portfolio flexes as new pro - jects come in and out. The value of that is The pace of change across the UK's gas, power and heat networks continues to advance. At the heart of this change lies collaboration and innovation. With this in mind editor Alec Peachey spoke to UK Power Networks head of innovation Ian Cameron about the work the network operator is doing. NETWORK / 24 / JUNE 2019 around £65 million flowing in the portfolio at any one time." Of the 30 people in the innovation team, just four are electrical engineers. According to Cameron this reflects the changing nature of the sector. "I've got chemical engineers, data scien - tists. What I do is I take a problem from the asset teams and give it to a diverse bunch of people, and they come up with a bunch of solutions. I call it reverse learning. "One example is transformers – a really passive asset. We asked how do we get more out of these assets. We employed a data sci - entist to take a look. We only knew the heat at the top of the transformer because we've got a probe at the top. What we're really worried about is the winding on the inside that gets hot. He said can't you do a correla - tion calculation. I said what does that mean in terms of value? "We decided to measure eight sites with probes at the top. We gathered a lot of data, looked at the load, and created an algorithm that proves there's a correlation between the top of the tank oil temperature and the winding. He said you can push that transformer harder if it's a bit cooler. I would never have got that discussion going without that type of human in my team." Cameron, who has been head of innova - tion since late 2016, explains the mandate he was given by chief executive Basil Scar- sella when he took over. "When I took over my mandate was to create pace, bring value, deliver impact and take credit. Those are the ultimate things that we are trying to achieve." So how does the company measure the impact of innovation? "First off you aim to deliver the most value to customers," states Cameron. "Well how do you measure that? That's E6 in your environmental table. There's a regulatory table where you provide evidence of the savings. We've saved £149 million in the first three years of ED1. What does business impact look like? That's the measurement Innovation delivered