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UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH NOVEMBER 2019 | 9 Utility of the future: Regulation The five pillars of the Utility of the Future campaign: Climate change Regulation Business models and skills Consumers Technology continued overleaf The Utility of the Future is also the theme of Utility Week Live taking place at the NEC in Birmingham on 19-20 May 2020. Visit: www.utilityweeklive.co.uk identified that there's a missing role: nobody is the tech- nical co-ordinator. That's not a regulator, not a central planner, but a technical co-ordinator role, which in other industries they call the system architect," says Scott, who is also a director of consultancy Chiltern Power. "The system architect doesn't own the assets, doesn't profit from the assets, but makes sure all the different parts join up. "In other sectors, for example telecommunications, we get great choice with our mobiles. But hang on, they work anywhere in the world, without us having to do anything. And how's that done? By top class systems engineering, a coherent approach to data and protocol, and the creation of open systems that enable the interop- erability that we as customers expect. "There is nobody accountable for that 'system of systems' co-ordination in the energy industry. We need a party that has engineering vision and technical com- petence, that has a thread of data and complex systems running through it, which is just not Ofgem's skill set," he says. "Another example of something has to be done is to move electric vehicle charging to off-peak and lowest price times, o‡en termed smart charging. Smart charging involves the cars, the charging points, car owner apps, and crosses the meter, because it affects the distribution network. And if there are large numbers of cars charging, it also affects the national power system. "So, the people designing the apps aren't part of the regulated world, they're working with charging point What the NIC is calling for The NIC was asked by the government in October 2018 to review the regulation of the energy, telecoms and water industries to ensure they received the necessary levels of investment and innovation, while ensuring these critical services are kept affordable for everyone. Its report, published a year later, said the system must be strengthened and updated, and public and political confi- dence in it must be improved. Overall the NIC report said all the regulators should have duties to enable them to more consistently consider vital, long- term factors such as resilience and environmental impact – which cannot be leŠ completely to the market – alongside price and quality. Recommendations made by the NIC to achieve this include: • Regulators Ofcom, Ofgem and Ofwat should have new duties to promote the achievement of net zero carbon emis- sions by 2050 and improve resilience; • The government should set out a long-term strate- gic vision for each of the regulated sectors, through strategic policy statements within the first year of each parliament, to support lasting plans and stable funding; • Most major strategic invest- ments should be removed from the price control pro- cesses and opened to compe- tition to support innovation; • Regulators should be able to prevent companies from engaging in price discrimina- tion that does not provide an overall benefit to consumers; • The UK Regulators Network should be given a stronger leadership role through the appointment of an independ- ent chair to promote collabo- ration and co-ordination, and ensure markets continue to deliver for consumers. "There is nobody accountable for that 'system of systems' co-ordination in the energy industry. We need a party that has engineering vision and technical competence." JOHN SCOTT, CHILTERN POWER Community Renewables Two Degrees Steady Progression Consumer Evolution EVS AND PEAK GENERATION CAPACITY THE PAY-OFF FROM SMART CHARGING Net peak electricity demand from vehicles (GW) Net increase in peak UK electricity demand due to EVs, in four different scenarios. Note that only Community Renewable and Two Degrees meet the UK's current climate goal for 2050. V2G is vehicle-to-grid. Source: National Grid Future Energy Scenarios 2018 Demand excluding road transport Road transport charging demand Smart road transport charging demand V2G 2015 2020 2025 20230 2035 2040 2045 2050 Source: National Grid Future Energy Scenarios 2018 00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Morning rush hour causes a reduction in charging Unengaged road transport charging demand gives an additional 8GW on top of peak demand 8GW Traditional evening residential peak period. Engaged charging demand moved to overnight off-peak periods. Charging picks up towards peak as people arrive home; school run, etc. Limited charging through the day as vehicles are in use more. Avoidance of peak time charging and V2G take-up rates separates Steady Progression from Consumer Evolution. EVs saturate the market by 2040 but the growth in V2G continues and pulls down net peak demand. In the early 2030s the growing presence of V2G reduces net peak demand. Similar take-up of EVs but engagement levels separates Two Degrees from Community Renewables.