Networks take centre stage

Once the forgotten periphery of the energy system, local energy networks are now taking centre stage as the UK ramps up efforts to decarbonise the grid through the more efficient management of electricity supply and demand.

Greater uptake of community-based flexible, distributed energy resources like heat pumps, electric vehicles and solar PV installed in homes and businesses will help the nation reach net zero by 2050 and address numerous challenges faced by power systems, including energy losses, grid congestion and the need to accommodate growing peak demand.

Scaling up over the coming years requires disruptive new approaches to local system planning and operation and a sustained commitment to innovation at the grid ‘edge’, including new technologies, engineering solutions, market platforms and business models, all while avoiding unintended consequences to the reliability and cost of energy supply.

Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) stands at the forefront of innovation among Distribution Network Operators (DNOs). Recent pioneering work has included an advanced tool to help councils plan networks at a local level, and a four-year neighbourhood trial in Oxfordshire where flexibility products, services and renewable energy assets will inform strategies for decarbonising homes and businesses. Furthermore, an initiative to proactively tackle the issue of distress boiler purchases, whereby consumers default to installing a polluting gas boiler, is forecast to boost national uptake of heat pumps.

“There’s often no ultimate bottom line benefit for DNOs with the innovation projects they are completing, yet there is absolutely a legitimate reason for us to be the ones driving them,” explains Stewart Reid, head of future networks for SSEN. “It’s about making sure that what we're delivering on the ground is actually going to work so the energy system as a whole delivers through net zero and beyond.”