Water & Wastewater Treatment

Network Theatre Network businesses face a period of unprecedented change. The energy mix is changing, alongside forms of genera on and habits of consump on and demand, driving energy networks to radically reform what they do and how they do it. For power networks, the flexibility agenda is paramount. Energy storage and demand-side response (DSR) offer networks the means to solve challenges posed by intermi ent renewable genera on and distributed genera on. They also bring fresh challenges – technical, economic and strategic – and new ways of interac ng with stakeholders. There are major ques ons to be asked about how a more complex, interconnected power system should be managed in the future, with discussions now taking place under the auspices of the Future Power System Architecture project that will shape the way power is managed for decades to come. For gas networks, the main challenge is finding their role in a low carbon future. The con nued use of gas in the energy mix is looking more certain than ever, and gas networks are working hard to understand how they can facilitate flexibility, for example through the use of the gas network for storing hydrogen. New technologies provide new opportuni es, and networks are moving from reac ve to proac ve asset management, giving assets a longer life and providing a more reliable service to end users. They are deluged with data, but the challenge is turning that data into informa on and even insight. All this ac vity plays out against a background of regula on which must balance the need for affordable bills with the requirement for investment in infrastructure. The regulatory regime has had significant success in suppor ng innova on through the Low Carbon Networks Fund and its successors, and the ques on now is how innova on can be embedded in business as usual, and its benefits shared by customers as well as businesses. Meanwhile, the learnings from the numerous innova on projects need to be disseminated and understood. All these topics and more are on the agenda in the Network Theatre at U lity Week Live, the dedicated space for gas, electricity and heat networks, brought to you by the team behind Network magazine. Editor's column: Paul Crompton, editor, Network 10 | Book your free ckets today www.u lityweeklive.co.uk

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