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NETWORK / 28 / SEPTEMBER 2016 October brings arguably one of the highlights of the year for those in the energy networks industry – the annual Low Carbon Networks and Innovation (LCNI) conference. This year it is being co-hosted by Electricity North West in Manchester and promises to be a compre- hensive round-up of all the innovative and technological develop- ments going on in the industry. Last year's LCNI essentially marked my initiation to the networks patch on Utility Week. It was memorable for two reasons. The - rst was the gala dinner, staged in Liverpool's stunning Anglican cathe- dral and compèred by Marcus Brigstocke sporting an enormous handlebar moustache ready for his turn as Captain Hook in panto. I fear the night has le† me with unrealistic expectations of future din- ner locations. Second was sitting in a presentation that explained how voltage could be controlled by varying temperature and realis- ing how out of my depth I was. But far from putting me o‰ , the event sparked a real personal interest in innovation, albeit not for voltage control. The lull in pro- ceedings during the summer months has given me the time to delve into the network innovation allowance in more depth than usual. Trawling through NIA reports can feel like a labour of love, but the results are worth it. So much innovation is taking place under the radar. There may well be "an app for that", but there's probably an NIA project too. Memorable ones include attempts to harness the sensitive noses of dogs to detect natural gas, and the treatment of gasholder sludge. The sheer number of projects – in one week in July there were three new project registrations, 98 progress reports and 39 closedown reports for electricity alone – shows how much innovation is becoming central to daily operation of networks. Unfortunately, innovation in the energy industry is o† en framed as avoiding a crisis, rather than moving with the times. Inevitably National Grid's new enhanced frequency service (see page 24) will be painted as Grid struggling to cope with the growth of renewables rather than a proactive solution to a challenging problem that is also supporting the early growth of the storage industry. But here at Network the how is just as important as the why. Cov- erage from the LCNI and our regular update on underexposed NIA projects means October and November's issues should be a real cel- ebration of™innovation. D E P U T Y E D I T O R : C E L E B R AT I N G I N N O V AT I O N LUCINDA DANN DEPUT Y EDITOR NET WORK WIRED Despite the UK's vote in favour of Brexit, a European regulation is set to affect the cable supply chain The quality of electrical wiring used in the UK has historically been a regulation black spot, but that is set to change. Despite the decision to leave the European Union earlier this year, a piece of regulation designed to harmonise cabling standards across the EU was launched in June – and it will affect the UK. On the whole the grade of cabling used by DNOs and TNOs already supersedes the requirements of this new piece of regulation, except in one instance. The 2m section of 11kV cabling that runs from the distribution network into a building to the distribu- tion panel will have to comply with the standard. The introduction of Construction Products Regulation EN 50575+A1 requires all power, control and communications cables on the open market in the UK to conform to certain fi re performance standards if they are to be used in civil engineering. The regulation only applies to the seller of the cabling, so DNOs, as us- ers, should not have to take any action, but there will be knock-on effects. Certifi cation requires the use of specially appointed centres to run tests that are likely to increase the cost of cabling and, with a tight deadline until the regulation becomes mandatory in July 2017, possibly result in a shortage of supply. The British Approvals Service for Cables in Milton Keynes is one of the handful of government-approved test centres in the UK, having made a £500,000 investment in the large-scale vertical lad- der fi re test (left) required to determine the heat release, fl ame spread, and smoke and gas emission of cabling to be certifi ed class D and above under the regulation. The test requires 3.7m lengths of cabling to be at- tached to a 4m-long ladder, placed in the chamber and set alight at the bottom. The spread of the fi re up the ca- bling, the quantity of fl aming droplets and the gas given off are all measured. Two cables can appear almost identical and be sold as such, but perform very differently. With only 15-20 of these ladder rigs across Europe, it will be tight to certify all manufacturers' products before the 2017 deadline. At a cost of £3,300 for the three obligatory ladder tests, coupled with sampling costs, the testing process could be very expensive for manufacturers of higher grade cable. The lowest grade cable will not be as affected because the test is quick and considerably cheaper to perform. Despite the UK's im- minent exit from the EU, this new standard is unlikely to be removed, even though cable standards in the UK are relatively high, to allow cabling to be traded back into the EU.