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NETWORK / 32 / FEBRUARY 2018 ENERGY W ith the en- ergy system in the midst of unprecedented change, North- ern Powergrid wants to put its eight million customers at the heart of the smart grid and will draw up recommendations as part of a £1.9 million, three- year project - the Customer-Led Distribution System. The project will identify the best use of technologies in a future smart energy system and the business models and policies necessary to support them. According to the company, increasing amounts of electric- ity are being produced by solar panels, wind farms and other local forms of generation. New ways to manage supply and demand are going mainstream, such as battery storage and paying big energy users to Accessing energy markets Northern Powergrid is aiming to create a new energy market where its customers can make money from solar panels, electric vehicles and home batteries. Jim Cardwell, head of trading and i nnovation, speaks to Network editor Alec Peachey. reduce consumption at peak times. Homes are becoming mini-power stations generat- ing and storing electricity with solar panels, home batteries and electric vehicles. Speaking to Network at a recent consultation event, Cardwell said: "We think there's a real need for customers to be given access to the energy markets. There's a key role for a local actor to ensure that the route to market is simpli… ed, so that customers are given a sim- ple route to market and that it enables them to sell their power or services to get a … nancial return for their † exibility in the future. It needs to be done in a safe and secure way so it's not just about money." NPG distributes electricity to 3.9 million homes in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. The company made the announcement as it set out its plans to ensure that customers gain maximum bene… ts from low-carbon technologies transforming the energy network. According to Cardwell, engagement with customers is something that's key. He added: "We talk about this being a customer-led distribution system. What that requires is engagement with customers, the wider industry and stakeholders to make sure that what we produce, what we develop and how we move forward is in keeping with cus- tomers' priorities. "We're really keen on that engagement process and conversation with customers to make sure we're doing the right things. "We've asked our custom- ers what their priorities are. They've identi… ed that the key priorities for them are all things relevant to the distribu- tion system approach. Things like reliability and availability. It's about keeping people safe, looking a' er vulnerable cus- tomers and innovating for the future. These are all important priorities for our customers. I think that we're heading in the right direction, but we've got a way to go to get there." Role of EVs With the government set to ban all new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, the rise in electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to continue and this will mean more pressure being put on the grid. "We're working quite closely with Nissan – one of the biggest providers of electric vehicles. Their research has suggested that when a customer has an EV their electric use goes up by about 50 per cent," comments Cardwell. "What we have to assume for each house is that if you've got an EV then the peak will go up by double. What we need to allow for in the sizing of the grid is to allow for that peak charging period. It shows you the material diœ erence that hav- ing an EV does to your electric We think technology is going to be a big enabler." engagement with customers is He added: "We talk about this being a customer-led distribution system. What that requires is engagement with customers, the wider industry and stakeholders to make sure that what we produce, what we develop and how we move forward is in keeping with cus- "We're really keen on that engagement process and conversation with customers to make sure we're doing the right "We've asked our custom- ers what their priorities are.