Power Networks Joint Vision: one system electricity networks

Managing the challenges of decarbonisation, while maintaining security of supply and affordability for electricity customers, calls for radical and holistic thinking across the electricity system.

Electricity Networks: Handling a Shock to the System, a new report from the Institution of Engineering and Technology( IET), recommends a ‘systems architect’ role to oversee the electricity system as it adapts to meet the complex new requirements of a low carbon economy. No party has this responsibility in today’s privatised electricity sector.

Decarbonisation means unprecedented change for our hitherto mature and stable networks over the next 20 years. They will have to cope with everything from two-way local power flows and less predictable generation to accommodating new demands like charging electric vehicles. All of this will have a profound impact on the electricity system.

To tackle this huge challenge, the Institution of Engineering and Technology( IET) has formed Power Networks Joint Vision, a diverse and independent group of experts from the leading electricity distribution and transmission companies, academia, government and energy consultancies. Electricity Networks: Handling a Shock to the System sets out in detail the scale of the challenge, together with a series of proposed ways forward.

Power Networks Joint Vision is gathering momentum, with industry and policy makers coming together to give their support and welcome the group’s findings. For Britain’s electricity distribution companies, the Power Networks Joint Vision work highlights the urgent need for whole-system thinking. Basil Scarsella, UK Power Networks’ Chief Executive, endorses the findings of the new report, saying: “We are committed to getting our networks fit for a low carbon economy and have developed a comprehensive innovation strategy to support that objective. However, to make decarbonisation a reality, we need to make sure we look at the electricity system as a whole – and not just parts of it in isolation.”

Simon Harrison, Power Networks Joint Vision Chair, sees a genuine opportunity to tackle the challenges facing the power industry head on by taking action now. “New low carbon developments will undoubtedly put increasing pressure on electricity supply security and the cost of running the grid, he says, “but Power Networks Joint Vision has rallied fresh thinking which, given the scale and complexity of the challenges, is a significant breakthrough. If we get this right, there is a real opportunity to reduce the cost of a low carbon future, while also creating worldwide opportunity for innovation and UK leadership.”

The next stage of work for Power Networks Joint Vision is subject to funding, but will define the role of the systems architect in more detail. It will also draw on parallels in other industries including telecommunications, rail and aviation, where an agency-style systems architect has overcome significant challenges by developing and implementing industry-wide Codes and Standards.

Find out more about Electricity Networks: Handling a Shock to the System and how to get involved http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/energy/elec-shock-page.cfm