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22 | 27TH NOVEMBER - 3RD DECEMBER 2015 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Analysis D istribution network operators (DNOs) know networks will have to cope with electric vehicles, distributed genera- tion and demand-side response (DSR) in the future. But the extent to which these will ben- efit DNOs is only just becoming clear thanks to the Low Carbon Networks Fund (LCNF). Groundbreaking trials by the two projects have revealed DNOs can expect to make mul- timillion pound savings by adopting these technologies, with the benefits to the country as a whole running into billions. The pro- jects' findings will provide the routemap for all DNOs as they navigate technology adop- tion over the coming decades as cost-effec- tively as possible. The LCNF has supported 23 projects over five years, and while projects have big costs attached – £28.3 million for UK Power Net- works' (UKPN) Low Carbon London and £28.6 million for Northern Powergrid's (NPG) Customer-Led Network Revolution – the pro- jects had to provide significant benefits, not just for the network company undertaking the specific project, but for the whole system. NPG says its project has opened the door to up to £26 billion worth of net benefits to Great Britain by 2050. There will also be "larger cost savings" of around £400 million aer 2023 for its customers. UKPN says its project has allowed it to save £43 million in network investment over the next eight years. The projects have been described by Ofgem as two of the "most ambitious" under- taken into smart grids to date. Both have measured a range of disruptive technologies including the flexibility of consumers for both DSR and electric vehicle charging, and the impact of technology on connecting dis- tributed generation – critical information to enable the move to smarter grids. Maxine Frerk, senior partner for smarter grids, distribution division at Ofgem, said: "Energy networks are facing significant chal- lenges in moving to a low-carbon future and ensuring costs are kept low for consumers. Ofgem's LCNF has helped network companies respond to these challenges. We now expect companies to learn from the experience pro- vided by the projects under the scheme." Low-carbon route to savings Trials by two projects financed by the Low Carbon Networks Fund will provide the routemap for all DNOs to make multimillion pound savings using low-carbon technologies, says Lucinda Dann. Customer-Led Network Revolution Project cost: £28.6 million Headline benefits: Larger cost savings of around £400 million beyond 2023 for Northern Powergrid's customers. Net benefits to Great Britain of between £5 billion and £26 billion in the period 2020 to 2050. Electric vehicles Findings: EV uptake on the network will first be felt in rural locations. For off-peak charging to become commonplace, EV users must feel confi- dent in automated overnight charging systems. Northern Powergrid recommends an upli of only 1kW per customer with EVs and heat pumps. DSR of SMEs Findings: SMEs showed significant reluctance to flex their usage. SMEs should also be classified by energy use to acknowledge the wide diversifi- cation. New, potentially bespoke tariffs will need to be designed for this consumer group. Time of use trials for domestic customers Problem: Time of use tariffs will follow smart metering, but the level of flexibility by consumers and effectiveness of incentives to shi demand are little understood. Findings: The tariffs are popular and easily understood by domestic customers with demand being reduced by 10 per cent between the 4-8pm evening peak as compared to a regular tariff. The majority of customers are inherently flex- ible, exceeding expectations, with laundry and dishwashing the most moveable activities. Smart washing machines were found to have limited benefits. Heat pumps successfully reduced peak load by 2.5kW but significant barriers around retrofitting were identified. Domestic customers were also found to contribute less to system peak demand than expected. Northern Powergrid has recommended a 42 per cent reduction to 0.9kW per customer. Industrial and commercial (I&C) 16 I&C customers provided a total 17MW of DSR 80 per cent of the time. Northern Powergrid will use DSR from 2015-23 to manage fault conditions and security of supply at substations that will be overloaded occasionally. DSR could provide 10 per cent of additional headroom. Low Carbon London Project cost: £28.3 million Headline benefits: Delay to £43 million of investment in assets Electric vehicles Problem: High EV uptake could result in peaks of simultaneous charging, potentially overloading the system. 72 domestic, 54 fleet and 1,408 public charg- ing points were studied to provide information on how much networks must be strengthened to cope with extra electricity consumption from EVs. Findings: As the number of EVs increases, total average peak demand from EV charging decreases. When more than 50 EV users are con- nected, DNOs only need to accommodate 20 per cent of the maximum total demand. 70 per cent of the EV users modified their charging behaviours when incentivised to do so. DSR Problem: Calculating the level of network reinforcement that could be cancelled out by reducing demand at peak times. Findings: 37 participants including hotels, major shops and visitor attractions took part in the trials, voluntarily reducing their electricity consumption sufficiently to serve 18,000 homes at peak time. UKPN will use DSR to manage particular sites that are occasionally close to their capacity limits, but where upgrading the network would provide more capacity than needed. Distributed energy Problem: Networks were designed to expect gen- erating plants to be a long way away, but targets are set for 25 per cent of energy in London to come from decentralised sources by 2025. Findings: By integrating monitoring data from both combined heat and power and photovoltaic sites with other generation data, greater visibility was achieved of whether decentralised plants are operating or down for maintenance. In the London network, 70 out of 114 primary substations could benefit from using active network management to recognise the current configuration of the network, allowing up to a third more distributed energy plants to export power to urban networks.