Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1141870
DECARBONISATION NETWORK / 30 / JULY/AUGUST 2019 make sure the power gener- ated and delivered to us always matches the amount we use. IG: None of us can achieve decarbonisation on our own. We will need to work together, forming partnerships with a ra of different organisations. These will vary from regional administrations, our supply chains, other gas and electricity networks and national and local adopt low carbon technologies more quickly, which we can provide. AR: Ensuring that the regulato- ry regime and political environ- ment incentivises investment and innovation will be critical in delivering the UK's ambitious climate change targets. SSEN continues to advocate construc- tively and robustly for a regula- tory framework that strikes the Ensuring the future energy system is clean and green David Smith, chief executive of the Energy Networks Association (ENA), discusses the energy networks role in driving decarbonisation forward. Britain's energy networks have a fantastic track record of delivering for the public: the cost of running the networks has fallen nearly 20 per cent since 1990, power cuts are at record lows and on average gas customers can expect an unplanned outage only once every 140 years. At the same time, electricity grids across the country have played a leading role in delivering record levels of renewable energy, working with gas grids to help propel Britain forward on its mission to power past coal. None of this would be possible without the stable regulatory climate that has delivered sustained investment in our energy networks. That investment is not only essential to delivering the infrastructure and innovation we need to deliver the low carbon transition and clean growth, but to do so in the fairest and lowest cost way for the country. A joint, industry-wide approach is essential to delivering this transition. The Energy Networks Association (ENA) has been leading in this respect through the Open Networks Project, which is laying the foundations for Britain's smart grid, along with the Gas Decarbonisation Pathways Project, which sets out our industry's plans for decarbonising Britain's gas grid. Both these projects form part of a wider transformation of the energy sector that is already underway. As new demands get placed on the networks, such as a significant increase of electric and hydrogen vehicles, it is vital that the networks operate within a regulatory framework that is able to respond and allow them to make the vital investment needed to keep the lights on and heat peoples' homes as efficiently and safely as possible. The RIIO2 price controls and the decisions made on them by the regulator will have a major influence on our future energy system and the wider economy that it serves. RIIO2 should not therefore be considered in isolation but in this wider context and explicitly recognised as part of a wider strategy for meeting Britain's climate change targets. The rise in importance of climate change to the British public shows that the country's interests go beyond short-term costs. It is important that Ofgem understands and reflects that when it comes to making decisions about the RIIO2 price control. In order to achieve the decarbonisation of the economy it is vital we have the right framework in place to avoid slowing progress or losing opportunities. There is a clear need to ensure that levels of private sector investment in our networks continue to remain sufficient for the network companies to play the fullest role in delivering the government's policies to secure net zero. The current proposals for RIIO2 as outlined by Ofgem, if implemented, could have a negative impact on their ability to support and facilitate the Government's initiatives and objectives for clean growth and the wider economy. This is a result of a disconnect between regulation and wider strategic context and Ofgem's almost exclusive focus on short-term reductions to consumer bills and reducing networks returns significantly below 'fair' levels. The aim must be the regulatory 'sweet spot' that strikes the right balance between attracting necessary levels of investment and ensuring that the public pay a fair amount for the energy networks. The risk is that the result of the proposed approach will be felt for decades with the costs borne by future consumers far outweighing any short-term benefit to current bill-payers, which itself is questionable and uncertain. Our system of network regulation, and the RIIO1 price control in particular, have made Britain a superpower of renewable energy. Labour's plans for state ownership will turn back the clock on the progress being made and jeopardise the very transformation to our networks that has made them the most innovative in the world. The end result would be that progress towards deeper decarbonisation would stall just at the point when it needs to accelerate. The companies responsible for grids have delivered huge levels of investment that have led to record levels of clean energy, lower costs and fewer power cuts than ever before. At the same time, the safety for staff at network companies has improved exponentially. Under state ownership the energy networks were more expensive, less reliable and less safe for staff. To go back to those days at a time when priorities include clean growth, keeping costs low and delivering Britain's Internet of Energy would, at best, be retrograde and, at worst, be simply irresponsible. Innovation in new technologies and systems like electric vehicles, smart hybrid heating systems and the hydrogen economy have made today the most exciting time for the energy networks. In the coming months and years it will be important to make sure that we have a regulatory and policy framework that takes into account the risk associated with the pace of technological changes, delivers the policy and climate objectives outlined by government and the Committee on Climate Change and most importantly that delivers for the public. policy-makers. AL: Ultimately, our role is to keep our customers' power flow- ing safely at the lowest possible cost, and improving network performance, all whilst decar- bonising and decentralising the energy system - this is a bit like competing in a race whilst overhauling the engine - but still winning. HB: As the network operator in the North West, we are ideally placed to lead decarbonisation across the region but there are a number of challenges. The regu- lator needs to create a positive, enabling policy environment for us to work within and be able to invest appropriately to underpin the low carbon transition. Our stakeholders are telling us that they need expert advice and a trusted partner to help them