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NETWORK / 12 / MAY 2016 "But inevitably those are big multi- million or billion pound projects, so their delivery is going to take time." And while that time plays out, Graham says he is con- • dent that the barriers to storage playing its part in smoothing peaky demand and renewables intermittency are lined up in such a way that "will make progress happen very quickly". Which leads him to the last element – demand-side solutions. This is an area that "gets talked about least, but I think it will make a huge di erence to how we operate our homes and live our lives – as well as to businesses that are already using it". Smart Power identi• ed that £200 million a year could be shaved o the operating costs of the grid in the UK if 5% of demand could be met using demand-side solutions. The report cited international leaders like Australia and the US as demonstrating how more mature markets are already using demand-side response e ectively. Optimistically, Graham predicts that "by the 2020s we will think it is very odd to just run your dishwasher at the point at which you've • lled it up. It will become second nature to be taking decisions on how you use electricity depending on how it is priced". This could be directly or via an automated service based on clever algorithms. What this will mean for networks is, of course, closely tied up with developments in the retail market. But it will also hinge on parallel revolutions in community energy, changes in the way consumers and busi- nesses heat their properties (a major use of energy), the potential electri• cation of transport and, last but not least, the crea- tion of new housing stock built with smart power in mind. All of these di erent elements, spanning multiple sectors and government depart- ments, fall within the scope of the NIC's long-term remit to produce a National Infra- structure Assessment over the course of this parliament which will specify a structured way of thinking about "multi-modal" infra- structure needs. It's hoped this assessment will not only help prioritise investment in a timely and co-ordinated way, but also address the fact that UK infrastructure pro- ject costs are o' en seen to far outstrip inter- national comparators. If this Holy Grail of infrastructure plan- ning seems tantalisingly far o , Graham has news of a nearer term project that should achieve a similar level of insight, if at a smaller scale. Over the next six months the NIC will work on a multi-modal study of the infra- structure needs of the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, running through Milton Keynes and Bedford. "It's an area that links some of the most productive, highly skilled econo- mies in the country and as a result it is see- ing increasing pressures in terms of housing stock," says Graham, setting out the logic for the study. "Yet in pockets either side of it you see areas of signi• cant deprivation where economies are depressed and jobs are hard to come by." The NIC's report, therefore, will look both at servicing the needs of existing and growing productivity, and at how to link that a— uence to areas of deprivation in order to raise them up. Taking in housing, transport, energy and water planning and more, the NIC hopes the report will give infrastructure owners a rare, sharply de• ned view of the kinds of investment and technology choices they will need to make, alongside others, in the next • ve to ten years. "Demand response is an area that gets talked about least, but I think it will make a huge difference to how we operate our homes and live our lives – as well as to businesses that are already using it." The National Infrastructure Commission's Smart Power report sets out the imperative of creating power system fl exibility. But it is not alone. Flexibility is the central theme to a range of key research projects alive in the energy sector today. These include: ☛ Future Power System Architecture project report from the Institution for Engineering and Technology and the Energy Systems Catapult defi ning the technical functions of a fl exible power system. Due for publication early May ☛ The Value of Flexibility from Utility Week and CGI exploring expectations for returns on investment in fl exibility and identifying priority technologies. Due for publication late May ☛ A Sustainable Europe: Green Gas, Green Grids, Green Future from the Energy Networks Association and Geode defi ning the kinds of fl exibility needed in gas networks to support decarbonisation and renewables growth. Published late April ☛ A series of essays is in development at Carbon Connect and will focus on power system resilience in the context of fl exibility while an inquiry into low carbon gas will consider potential for greater fl exibility in the gas network. Publication timelines for these studies are to be confi rmed. FLEXIBILITY: ON TREND Utility Week Energy Summit Philip Graham is among confi rmed speakers at Utility Week's Energy Summit, which takes place on 5 July in London. Other speakers include: • Andrea Leadsom MP, Decc minister • Dr Alan Whitehead MP, shadow minister, energy and climate change • Iain Conn, chief executive offi cer, Centrica • Vincent de Rivaz CBE, chief executive offi cer, EDF Energy • Keith Anderson, COO, Scottish Power & Scottish Power Renewables • Dorothy Thompson CBE, chief executive, Drax Group More details: www.uw-energysummit.net ˜