Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/831507
NETWORK / 29 / JUNE 2017 T here is an expectation that exibility will solve the thorny issue of the increasing amount of variable or intermittent generation in the system as the proportion of generation from more predictable sources continues to fall. This new name for demand-side response is considered a catchy title that customers will engage with. The failure, thus far, of behavioural change mechanisms, smart metering and nudge marketing will be forgotten thanks to exibility. Why? The assumption is that people will respond to price signals and act accordingly. Results from around the globe suggest this is far from certain. LCNI projects in the UK have highlighted the challenge of recruiting people into these programmes in the € rst place, let alone incentivising them to change their lifestyles. Why is a name change going to change this? The name change is a acknowledgement that we must automate the lifestyle changes that are required and make them as easy as possible for consumers to engage with. Machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions are thought to be the only way to achieve this. Smart metering is designed with this in mind but integrating M2M solutions is not without its challenges. Will this be a centralised controlling mind or a distributed intelligence embedded in the grid or at the F L E X I B I L I T Y Q U E S T I O N S T H AT M U S T B E A N S W E R E D grid edge? Will this be seen by users as a convenience or an intrusion into their lifestyles? How much new infrastructure and back o‰ ce support will be needed to implement these changes? Who will own, pay for, operate and maintain these new intelligent machines? Will this solution be acceptable to end users? Will this be imposed or a voluntary option for consumers? There are a lot of questions that still have to be answered, and answered quickly as network operators prepare for RIIO-ED2. Are Ofgem and the network companies prepared for this? Are consumers? Is the technology ready to deliver this seamless M2M dream? More questions. We are not even sure that, at the start of RIIO-ED2, we will have some of the building blocks in place to build on. Smart metering connected via the DCC to SMETS2 standards is one of them. The complexity of what has to be in place and the acceptance of the many solutions that exibility demands is not being co-ordinated or thought about in an end-to-end system engineering way. Who will be responsible for the delivery of this co-ordinated new world? Do we have the right skills in place to understand and deliver it? Is "the market" expected to design, deliver and maintain it? More questions. Why are there so many unanswered questions? We know the answer to this. There is a lack of oversight, engineering rigour and responsibility for this function. Sound familiar? It is yet another example of the need for a system architect. A facilitator who can ask the right engineering questions is essential. They must have the skills to design a new market incorporating M2M solutions such as exibility, blockchain, arti€ cial intelligence and new and upcoming applications that are no longer human processes but machine- orientated processes. These are new skills and competencies that BEIS and Ofgem do not have at present, and yet we are about to € x our future spending for the next eight years in RIIO-ED2. How will we, the industry, be judged in 2030 looking back at the solutions that have been delivered? Far-sighted or underperforming the rest of the world in this extraordinarily fast-paced global change programme? Our current governance arrangements are not € t for purpose in the 21st century. The current processes were designed for an analogue world and citizens' expectations are for lifestyles to be enhanced, not controlled. The challenge for many in power is to understand the problem let alone propose a solution. Expert help is at hand but will policymakers embrace it or see it as interference in their domain? Time is running out if we are not to embed another eight years of talking and soul-searching into our programme of work. 2030 is tomorrow in this industry, lead times are long for action to be implemented. A re we able to answer the questions that have to be answered in a timely manner to enable the dream of exibility to become a reality and to deliver our mandated, legally binding goals? Time and current decisions will tell. "A system architect who can ask the right engineering questions is essential." DUNCAN BOTTING MANAGING DIRECTOR GLOBAL SMART TRANSFORMATION