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NETWORK / 9 /JUNE 2018 by 2030 – or around £22bn per annum – over the next 10 years, which is more than the current rate of investment. This is before we include investment in decarbonising heat and hydrogen. There's also additional investment required for consumer focused energy efficiency measures and smart homes devices (including bat - teries and DSR) and investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, all of which will contribute to significant changes to the system. These could add another £2bn or more per an- num over the period. At the same time, some of these investments (particularly those in smart homes or energy efficiency) may also reduce the need for some of the more traditional capital investment beyond 2025. The question is then – do we need to re-think what we see and mean by 'in- frastructure'? Are demand side measures and 'digital platforms' to be considered infrastructure? Is the border between 'capex' and 'opex' becoming more fluid? The move towards using totex in regulation certainly points in that direction already. A new wave of investors These trends also suggest that very different players and type of investors are likely to be the household name in 10 or 15 years' time. New commercial business models are already be- ginning to take shape, such as: l Community energy services l Virtual power plants l Peer to peer trading and blockchain-enabled trading platforms l Reliability services provider l Transport as a Service (TaaS). The business models for gas operators will change signifi- cantly in the UK and continental Europe over the next 10 years. Utilities will have no option but to adapt and become 'platforms' or 'integrators' for a portfolio of different technologies and solutions. We will see the emergence of niche companies and business models tailored to specific regions and loca - tions across or the UK as well as specific network and system services. Integrated utilities will bring together and link different sources of power and energy with multiple and diverse cus - tomers. Smart systems and data driven solutions will be the key to providing these links. These changes can only hap - pen though through a successful and transparent transition to a DSO model and potentially even a LSO (local system operator in microgrid and private networks) model. Making the future reality So what's the main challenge? How to manage a system with hundreds of players. There will be hundreds of licencees, thousands of generating units, multiple platforms, multiple suppliers and contractual relationships. This is where the connection between the energy infrastructure and the digital infrastructure will be critical. Players in the future energy system will need to be agile and innovative but most importantly flexible and creative, that goes for policymakers as well. So now we know what to expect – how smooth will the journey be? A wireless pressure testing system that gives you the reassurance of precise readings, a secure, searchable database and evidence traceability at your fingertips. Evidence Traceability Guaranteed Compliance Save Time & Reduce Error A Product By Android/ iOS App Digital Pressure Tester Cloud based Dashboard info@stevevick.com +44 (0) 1225 864 864 stevevick.com