Utility Week

26 | OCTOBER 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Electricity Download report Delivering a flexible grid A new Utility Week report – sponsored by Qualcomm Technologies – examines the key barriers utilities must tackle on the journey to delivering the flexible grid of the future. T he UK's target to hit net-zero emissions by 2050 cannot be achieved solely by scaling up renewable generation. The entire energy system will also have to become increasingly flexible, which will ena- ble decarbonisation at a lower cost. However, this energy transition requires networks to accelerate digitalisation and mass engagement with consumers. Despite the urgent action required to meet the net-zero target, the frameworks for encouraging flexibility remain in their infancy. There is a need to roll out new infrastructure, improve data-sharing about system requirements, and ensure regulation keeps pace with the challenges of a new era. Networks are also contending with a fun- damental shi‚ in business models with the transition to distribution system operators (DSOs). According to the Energy Networks Association (ENA), DSOs will take a more active role in operating and developing an active distribution system comprising net- works, demand, generation and other flex- ible distributed energy resources (DER). At the heart of this transformation, there is a need to maintain the resilience and reli- ability of the energy system, while also pro- tecting the interests of consumers. Utility Week partnered with wireless tech- nology company Qualcomm Technologies Inc to explore the key barriers utilities must tackle on the journey to delivering the flex- ible grid of the future. The resulting insight report, Building the Flexible Grid of the Future, looks at the key drivers for change and the tangible steps the sector is already taking to create an energy system that is fit for current and future demand. The challenges of the energy transition Supporting grid flexibility at scale is a com- plex undertaking, requiring millions of deci- sions to be made continuously and in real time. Without this capability, the full value of flexibility cannot truly be achieved. As such, the digitisation of data and automating deci- sion-making processes is critical. Scottish and Southern Electricity Net- works (SSEN) is investing heavily in the capabilities necessary to unlock grid flexibil- ity through the digitalisation of its field pro- cesses, data capture, decision making, and the way in which information is shared with partners and stakeholders. "The volumes of work that we expect on our network as we transition to net zero is set to grow exponentially and, as a result, we are using a range of technologies to drive down unit costs, to improve customer ser- vice and to increase the visibility of our net- work," says Andrew Roper, DSO director at SSEN. "There is no limit to the technologies we are willing to consider in this quest with an innovation portfolio that covers topics as diverse as behavioural economics, vibration analysis, advanced analytics, enzymes and satellite technology." However, there is broad recognition from networks that the digitalisation of the sector and the DSO transition introduces a variety of new and complex risks. Roper explains that these risks extend from areas such as cyber-security threats, system risks, social and political risks. "We have proactively sought to tackle these new risks head on with the aim of mitigating rather than let them slow the pace [of change]," he says. "We have also worked with academia and through facilities like the HVDC centre [the UK's only simulation and training facility designed to support all HVDC schemes] and the PNDC [a whole energy systems research, test and demonstration environment across multiple locations, formerly known as the Power Networks Demonstration Centre] in Cumbernauld to understand new forms of system instability caused by interac- tions between markets, electricals systems, human behaviours and telecommunications in this 'system of systems' that DSOs will be operating." Faramarz Maghsoodlou, senior director, business development, energy and utilities digitisation at Qualcomm Technologies Inc,

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