Network

NETWORK / 9 / APRIL/MAY 2020 bodies in the sector are certainly hoping that the pandemic will bring a renewed focus on the energy transition as a motor of economic and social recovery, and that "green" energy storage or generation projects could look even more appealing to policy makers and investors than before. Caroline Bragg, head of policy at the Association for Dis - tributed Energy, believes there are opportunities to be found. "We are right in the middle of this vital response but looking to the future, I hope that this pandemic will see a renewed fo- cus on the opportunities of local energy. It is to the decentralised energy sector that our policy- makers must look for local jobs, local skills and local industrial strategy." The Royal Society of Arts and others have called for post- pandemic economic stimulus packages to be linked to green energy targets so that the social inequalities revealed by the pandemic are not perpetu - ated, and Frank Gordon, head of policy at the Renewable Energy Association, stikes a similar note: "Looking forwards, a green recovery is what is needed, with a net zero element to any economic stimulus pack - age that could achieve multiple aims at the same time, namely economic growth in a way that does not damage the planet." In summary, at the Energy Networks Association, senior press and public affairs manager Peter Kocen says: "Although it is difficult to predict what the global social and economic situation will be, taking steps to combat climate change will still be critical. Recently updated in - novation strategies for gas and electricity networks will help find new ways for Britain's gas and electricity grid infrastruc- ture to work together in a more integrated way. The whole en- ergy industry will need to work closely with the government, regulator and all key stakehold- ers to make sure that the public can still benefit from a net zero energy system." Immediate concerns With the lockdown continuing, there has been no let up in the day-to-day operational chal- lenge for gas and electricity distribution companies as they work to maintain the resilience of the networks in the context of drastic shi's in demand, a reduced workforce to call on, while also protecting vulner - able customers on the Priority Services Register. In such an extreme situation, many in the sector are focus - sing on maintaining stabil- ity before thinking about the longer-term impacts. As Frank Gordon, senior policy analyst at the Renewable Energy As - sociation, comments: "We are seeing unprecedented changes in society and the focus of the energy industry at the present time must be on addressing these and helping the national effort in any way possible, while ensuring business continuity that will provide the power and heat everyone needs." The regulator has taken a similar view: on 8 April , Ofgem clarified that regulated networks should concentrate on core, critical activities. "It essen - tially said it will not penalise breaches of certain regula- tory requirements where those breaches have been caused by prioritising essential work over 'delayable' work during the pan- demic," notes Andrew Enzor, a senior consultant at Cornwall Insight, who also believes that the networks have performed well under recent pressures. "To date, the network companies As part of an ongoing initiative to profile network key workers and their contribution to the Covid-19 response, Network talked to Jeremy Wright, head of network operations South East at UK Power Networks. Q How has the coronavirus outbreak changed your daily routine/responsibilities? My daily work is continuing as normal. I have teams fixing power cuts if and when they happen and I make sure that any safety calls are attended to by the appropriate teams. But we have postponed lower priority work on electricity cables and substations, as many people are working from home and we want to minimise disruption to their lives. And there's a lot of extra antiviral kit that we need to ensure is available (masks, gloves and overshoes as well as the usual safety kit) if anyone needs to go into a customer's home. There is a process which guides how we use the extra kit, according to a risk assessment that everyone has been briefed about and the additional PPE is available for everyone as and when needed. It is also very strange getting the teams to ask the customer to stay in another room while they work – they can end up calling out to the customer or even calling their mobile - and we keep reminding the teams not to touch any surfaces. They have actually adjusted to it very quickly, they've had to! Q How do you feel about your role and the importance of maintaining operations/supply during this crisis? I've had a letter certifying my status from our chief executive about key worker status. I am proud to be a key worker, it recognises our role in keeping the power flowing while everyone tries to carry on their lives as best they can under the new restrictions. It reminded me that what we do really does help keep the country going. Q How you are using technology to help you manage in extraordinary circumstances? We have used portable computer tablets for a few years now and have issued more of these and they show the details of every job that has been sent from our operations centre to the team and they can access network maps and technical information they need to carry out any type of job. Having these available to all operation teams limits the need for them to visit the local depot to get jobs assigned. The only reason a visit to a depot is required is to collect materials where a supervisor manages the numbers to a low number doing the same activity. We rely a lot on having a good phone signal, and we are doing more Skype calls but not using the video camera helps avoid putting pressure on the nation's mobile network. Q What you think will be the biggest challenge in the weeks ahead? We're getting daily updates from our CEO and I think we have to stay safety focused and agile to adapt to new ways of working. Our biggest challenge will come if we start to get staff shortages, which is in common with other key worker communities. We have various daily calls within network operations to ensure that we have appropriate resources in place to ensure we respond to any network outage or safety report. With a significant amount of people now sitting at home, it is vital we provide the best possible service. It's a challenge every utility company is planning for. O N T H E F R O N T L I N E "If planned work has been cancelled to concentrate on 'keeping the lights on', the networks might not have time to undertake what they had planned this summer. " ANDREW ENZOR, ANALYST, CORNWALL INSIGHT

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