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BUSINESS STRATEGY DSO director Andrew Roper discusses 'Learning by doing', a key principle that Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is applying to the net zero transition, and their work to build a system that supports the UK's decarbonisation ambitions NETWORK / 22 / FEBRUARY 2020 Don't just think about it, simulate it! There is a great deal that we do not (yet) know in how electricity networks will func- tion, which ideas will win the day, and how customer behaviour and engagement with our business might change. 'Learning by doing' ensures we are re - sponsive and proactive in finding solutions to changing demands and signals. Learning by doing doesn't just mean ap- plying the practical lessons that our project participation teaches us. It also means thinking about how we are engaging and interacting with our wider stakeholders and especially how they want to interact with the energy system that serves them. Learning by doing delivers better results for our customers through listening to their needs and developing a nuanced under- standing of how our stakeholders will act in the future energy system. 'Learning by doing' on the road to net zero Simulating the future In the summer of 2019, we took an industry- first step in hosting a series of 'market rules simulation' events. The learnings gathered through these simulations will form a key part of SSEN's Project TRANSITION. TRANSITION is a five-year project which will design, develop and demonstrate the opera - tions of DSO architecture. The project's focus is to support local energy flexibility and facilitate new markets, such as peer-to- peer trading, whilst maintaining neutrality and delivering on customer expectation. The first field trial of the rules developed through TRANSITION will take place in the summer of 2020. The TRANSITION project team met in Reading with SSENs internal colleagues, which included representation from our planners, control room and trading teams. Assuming a different role in the energy in - dustry, a scenario was given for each group