Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | JUNE 2021 | 25 Policy & Regulation around the table was mixed – but with the caveat that exciting things are under way. "We are thinking big, but it's not grounded in plans that are executable in many areas at the moment. I like to have a roadmap that can be followed, and I do not see the road at the moment," said one participant. 2. Make a decision on heat "Heat" was the word on everyone's lips as the next big milestone that needed to be reached and the need to crack how it would be decarbonised. The long-awaited strategy for how we decarbonise heat in buildings, which accounts for around 40 per cent of UK emis- sions, is expected at any moment. But how much of this will be replaced with electri- cal means, like heat pumps, and how big a role replacing natural gas with hydrogen can play, is still unclear. Not knowing what horse will be backed leaves huge uncertainty across much of the energy sector. "We don't need to solve heat 2050 today, but we need to decide what the next 10 years look like. Let's get on with that," observed one expert. 3. Open up data Participants lamented that there was not a central repository of energy data in the same way that there is for ˆ nancial services. They questioned whether there was genuinely a culture to share data and put it on open platforms. An example cited of how open data could beneˆ t the sector was in the industrial clus- ters, or in local authority regions. MicrosoŒ and Accenture are actively supporting a number of industrial clusters on open data initiatives. "If we are able to take a certain region, or area, and think about applying these con- cepts, like the open data platform, micro- grid, two-way power Ž ow, electriˆ cation of heat, rooŒ op solar, etc, and look at some trailblazers, and think about how we can apply that at scale, then I think that would provide good evidence that these distributed energy resources actually can be optimised and work as an integrated ecosystem. "Because even a country the size of the UK is too big to be able to apply some of these concepts at scale. So let's prove it somewhere, so that we can then take it and replicate it elsewhere," said one guest. Participants pointed out that trials were ongoing across di" erent market segments, but it was too early to know which ones will emerge as solutions. 4. Step up smart meters A missing piece of the jigsaw in the switch to a smart distributed grid is smart meters – getting smart meters rolled out was seen as a critical to the successful energy transi- tion. Said one participant: "If we get back to a more determined approach to get the smart meters in, there's then a much simpler con- versation with the data management centres. And o" the back of that, what exists now is this massive demand-side response, and the opportunity that exists from those meters. "That is the critical building block by which we can be much better informed on everything we do from here on in." A strong theme was the need to win over consumers and give them visibility in how the data collected with smart meters could be used to support the sustainability agenda. 5. Lead not follow A more controversial thread of the debate was whether the pace of change could be quickened by forgoing pilots and going straight into collaborating on data. There was some enthusiasm for taking this approach: "We haven't got time to trial everything. Tri- alling has got a place, but when you need to move quickly, you need to make some leaps," said one. But if that were to happen it would also need to be acknowledged that not everything would be successful. Our regulatory expert in the group pointed out that Ofgem had been encourag- ing networks to think bolder with funding for innovative business cases – and that would continue. "I personally don't think that anyone should be sitting around waiting for government to say what they think is a good idea. I think it's every single company's duty to look at how they can make data more open. And if they're not doing that, I think they should be called out for not doing that." 6. Cook a turkey on a car Throughout the discussion there was much emphasis on the need to engage the con- sumer as key to successful transition and lack of it was hampering progress. Others were in total agreement and pointed to the need for more diverse skills in the sector and the need to think di" erently. "We also need those outside the energy sector to care about energy and understand what is good behaviour and what isn't, and be incentivised in the right way." Asked how more consumers could be inspired to become engaged, one participant cited the need to ˆ re up their imagination. He explained how his organisation was look- ing for participation in a trial and struggling to recruit with its partners. "But then I put out a post/blog with the headline 'I cooked my Christmas turkey on my car'. Following that, it was amazing how many people we recruited! Because for Christmas Day, my car powered my whole house. People really engaged with it." Denise Chevin, intelligence editor in association with

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