company position: smart grids
Last updated: 22/12/2011
We acknowledge the potential benefits of Smart Grids but would prefer a wider focus on ‘smart energy’ as we believe this is the key to ensuring future electricity demand is able to respond to inflexible generation.
As suppliers will be responsible for co-ordinating generation and demand in a ‘smart energy’ world, we believe they should be fully involved throughout developments.
role of distributors and suppliers
In a ‘smart energy’ world, it is suppliers who will ultimately be tasked with coordinating generation and demand and they should have full involvement in the development process. Smaller, more innovative and niche suppliers in particular may have a great deal to contribute.
Distributors should consider more granular pricing and initiatives such as local storage which negate the need for investment. Options which impose limitations on a customers’ usage should not be investigated as customers will respond to choice and price signals.
Demand management will evolve in the home as a result of private companies offering systems which work alongside Smart Meters. Suppliers will be able to offer sophisticated tariffs for customers to save money by allowing their in-home demand systems to shift load. Distributors’ role in this revolution is to forecast, invest in their networks and charge appropriately.
We are fully supportive of Ofgem’s initiative whereby third parties can apply for project funding for schemes not carried out on a licensed network.
We believe it is important that funding is focussed on independent projects rather than those planned by large, vertically integrated companies which already have both distribution and supply divisions.
In the longer term it would be undesirable and anti-competitive if projects which have been researched and developed are only capable of being taken forward by large players.
For additional information, please contact us.
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