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UTILITY WEEK | 1ST - 7TH APRIL 2016 | 25 Operations & Assets Decc head of future networks David Capper "We're not so sure having a brand new licence written in pri- mary legislation that will take many years to do is the panacea to the problems storage developers see. But I think we're sympa- thetic to some of the things they say about needing to define stor- age more clearly." 1. Commercialisa- tion. Coming up with a new solution or technology is all well and good, but it won't count for anything if you can't find a way to turn it into a commercial proposition. 2. Co-operation. Networks can save money, and generate it too, by deriving value from each other's activities. 3. Sharing. Every company faces its own unique set of problems but there's a lot to be gained by sharing data and innovative solutions. 4. Engagement. It's vital that consumers understand what networks are trying to achieve and what they stand to gain by helping. Key points to take away Views from the speakers: In assocation with: SSEPD head of asset manage- ment and innovation Stewart Reid "One of the dilemmas we've had with elec- tric vehicles is that at the moment the only way you'll know if you've got a cluster formed on a particular street is the fuse will blow. It isn't entirely a smart solution." Northern Powergrid head of trad- ing and innovation Jim Cardwell "I think we're moving to the next phase now [of the Low Carbon Networks Fund] which is all about cop- ing with the volume of learning. I think the next phase is prob- ably about starting to have some more projects that don't go mining for new answers." National Grid director of system operation Phil Sheppard "On transmission charges [for storage] we do have a role to play as National Grid and we are consider- ing reform… This doesn't necessarily mean getting rid of half the charges but it does mean a fair cost reflectivity for all technologies." Schneider Electric director of smart grids Barrie Cressey "Electric vehicles… will change the shape of the usage of the network. Some say, in the future they will change into mobile storage devices, which we'll have to forecast and predict. I think we're some way away from that yet. I don't think I'm going to see that in my working lifetime, and indeed my lifetime." Association for Decentralised Energy director Tim Rotheray "When you have a heat network, if you overdesign it, the water is circulating around a building and it just gets hotter and hotter. It's not because people are being deliberately ineffec- tive, it's because we actually don't know how we use heat."