Utility Week

22 | DECEMBER 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Talking Points… Our low-carbon future relies on greater collaboration H ow best to accelerate the integration of low-carbon technology into the UK's energy network is something that seems to be occupying the minds of those charged with designing the network's future. The debates at ENA's Low Car- bon Technology Forum suggest this is due to the fact that when we discuss the projected future of our energy network, "low carbon" is a term that encompasses pretty much all of it. Behind the obvious changes that customers notice, we heard about the innovations that are enabling our energy system to successfully adapt to the new demands being placed onƒit. There was both pride and excitement in the room as people discussed the progress being made around creating a smarter, more … exible grid. The UK's energy market is already the most … exible in the world and this year we tendered record levels of local … exibility for the fourth year running. If this pace is maintained, according to Ofgem, … exibility could save consumers £10 billion per year in energy costs by 2050 and reduce the total cost of the net zero transition by up to £70 billion. We're still on that journey however; one quick poll of the room showed that of the gathered energy professionals, only 31% said they were per- sonally participating in an energy … exibility service, though a further 63% said they would if they had the opportunity. The investment to give everyone this option is already in the pipeline. The £450 million Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is welcome, though debates suggested the Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) is equally needed as NIA funded projects to support technical innovations, greater data sharing and the further development of common standards are important for mak- ing greater … exibility a reality. Voices from outside the energy section reminded people of the wider context and market conditions that need to be fac- tored into our plans. It's sometimes easy to forget that global trends, like the ongoing supply chain disruption for semi-conductors, are having knock-on conse- quences for the production of technology essential for decarboni- sation. We also heard from those engaged with the sector's frontline staž , like installers and engineers, on what training, equipment and procedures they need to help accelerate the low carbon transition. It was clear that the optimisation of data management and the rollout of better tools for customers should go hand-in-hand with infrastructure improvement, if we are going to keep up the pace of deployment. One cross-cutting theme for the day was the need to continue our focus on smart integration. We discussed the particular example of digitalising the connection process for low-carbon technologies via a new national platform developed by ENA. It is a perfect example of a situation where the energy industry has the necessary tech- nology, data and procedures in place – they just need to be linked together to simplify and standardise a process that sometimes struggles to deal with the increasing vol- ume of registrations as these connections become the new norm. Throughout the day, as people shared their projects and experiences, I was reminded of the statement, generally credited to writer William Gibson, that the future has arrived — it's just not evenly dis- tributed yet. Likewise, the UK's low-carbon future can already be seen in innovative schemes right around the country. It's now our job in the sector to collaborate with government, investors, local communi- ties and each other to ensure the UK can deliverƒit. Dan Clarke, head of innovation, Energy Networks Association Comment: All parts of the energy sector are innovating to pursue the low-carbon transition – linking those efforts is a pressing mission. Pulse Clean Energy Former Npower boss Paul Massara has been announced as the new chief executive of battery storage developer Pulse Clean Energy. The company was formerly known as Green Frog Power but was rebranded earlier this year as part of a strategic pivot towards battery storage following its acquisition by the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario last year. It had previously built nine diesel engine peaking plants, which it is decommissioning and repurposing for battery storage as it seeks to build a 1GW storage portfolio. Massara, who led Npower for almost three years from early 2013 to late 2015, has been Pulse Clean Energy's chairman for the past year. He replaces Matthew Mendes who has moved to a non-executive director role. Ovo Ovo has announced two new addi- tions to its senior leadership team with the appointment of a new chief commercial oˆ cer (CCO) and vice president of growth. Mat Moakes, former local heroes director at Centrica, is joining Ovo as CCO and will be responsible for accelerating the company's home services business and driving progress towards zero carbon living. He was previously UK chief executive of online car buying platform Heycar. He will be supported in his role by Ido Padani, who joins Ovo as vice president of growth. Padani, who replaces Tim Grimsditch, is currently chief executive of B2C rewards start-up Cashkum. He has held a number of other senior roles including at Quidco, where he was chief com- mercial oˆ cer. Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) Dave Robson, chief executive of energy eˆ ciency developer Ins- taGroup, has been appointed as the new chair of the Asso- ciation for Decentralised Energy (ADE). He has served as an ADE non- executive director since December 2017. ON THE MOVE

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