Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/782355
NETWORK / 16 / FEBRUARY 2017 The customers' choice networks we simply wouldn't have the means to transport the energy that homes and businesses need at peak times. Daily heat demand peaks on a cold winter's day at 8am and again at 6pm. The gas networks can ramp up to over 130GW in just an hour – no other fuel can offer this. To put that into context, peak UK electricity demand is less than 60GW – four times more energy flows through the gas networks than electricity, and over the course of a year three times as much energy is transported. Since 2002 billions of pounds have been spent on upgrading all existing cast iron and ductile gas mains within 30 metres of properties with new and more durable polyethylene pipes. This 30-year planned replacement policy ensures the UK now has a gas network supplying almost 85% of the population and one that will be largely plastic by 2032. The changeover of the gas infrastructure from metallic The heating solution of tomorrow cannot risk leaving more consumers at risk of fuel poverty. CUSTOMERS D etermining how we heat the homes of tomorrow is no easy task. We need an energy supply that is clean and meets the UK's 80% carbon reduction targets for 2050. But it also has to be affordable: network costs represent a fiŒh of customers' gas bills. Currently gas meets about 80% of total UK peak energy demand and is reliably transported to homes by the distribution networks. For the immediate future this doesn't look like changing, although gas consumption across the UK has fallen slightly, and is forecast to continue to do so. This can be put down to more economical appliances and a generally warmer climate. In contrast, the number of properties connecting to gas supplies continues to grow, with developers and investors still wanting gas supply installations for newly built developments. For now gas remains the fuel of choice. Without the gas