Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/807744
UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH APRIL 2017 | 21 Operations & Assets Paul Bircham, networks strategy and technical services director, Electricity North West "Liquidity is a real challenge [for local energy markets] because a lot of the constraints we will be looking to manage will be very localised constraints… A series of local markets looking at managing a number of dual network constraints in certain areas may be needed to get that liquidity." Views from the top table: Daniel Westerman, head of network management, National Grid Electricity Transmission "I think one of my biggest fears is what happens at the tipping point for the total cost of ownership for consumers using electric vehicles versus internal combustion engines, and whether we have insufficient infrastructure for that transition." 1. Standardisation. Networks need to start driving forward the standardisation of smart technologies to avoid the imposition of rules and regulations by government, which could stifle innovation. 2. Collaboration. Utilities must collaborate to learn from each other's experiences and to enable industry- wide action such as standardisation. 3. Prioritisation. Utilities need to see innovation as a core part of their businesses rather than an optional extra. This means allocating sufficient resources – time as well as money. 4. Determination. Networks will face numerous obstacles when trying to develop an innovative idea. They cannot wait for all the barriers to be lifted before pressing ahead. 5. Look outside of the sector. Networks should look beyond their sectors for help in developing innovative products and services. They should also view other sectors as potential markets for those products and services. Key points to take away Geoff Randall, associate partner for RIIO gas networks, Ofgem "When we started RIIO we always said that [the NIA and NIC] would be a time-limited stimulus. We didn't want it to become business as usual… So we are going to be asking ourselves: 'Are there ways to do the trials without a direct funding source?'" Stewart Reid, head of asset management and innovation, SSE "Don't become an innovation funding addict… It's really easy to just sit there in your comfort zone. It's amazing what you learn when you stop using innovation funding and actually do something for real." Colin Taylor, director of engineering services, SP Energy Networks "I do fundamentally believe that there are a number of technologies, in active network management for example, which are at the stage where we do need some standardisation. One of my frustrations is how to roll things out at scale when there's a number of bespoke products – bespoke IT products, sensors – that wouldn't necessarily work with each other." Sponsored by