These pages set out our wider thinking on issues relating to innovation, governance and practice for a sustainable, secure and affordable energy system.
New Thinking
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Blog 1 of Name, Form and Function of Distribution Entities
Name, Form and Function of Distribution Entities – clarity and agreement needed across the world Catherine Mitchell – IGov Team, 19th October 2018 The need for the traditional 3 part utility function of planning, operations and market administration broadly continues within the distribution area, even in this changing energy world, but changing technology, public policy goals, user preferences and business models are challenging whether the traditional distribution utility should still be responsible for each segment; whether the traditional role for the utility within those segments is also still necessary; and whether there are new functions
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Blog 2 of Name, Form and Function of Distribution Entities
Name, Function and Form of Distribution Entities – A brief description of the James McGinness 4 Blog Series By Catherine Mitchell – IGov team, 19th October 2018 A recent 4 blog series by James McGinness, Founding Partner of David Energy based in Brooklyn, New York City has many interesting ideas about the future needs / functions / form etc. of a fit-for-purpose distribution entity (Blog 1, Blog 2, Blog 3, Blog 4). His first blog sets out his overall argument on why now is the time to liberalise distribution networks; his 2nd blog talks more
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New Thinking: The people’s energy networks?
The people’s energy networks? Labour’s new ownership proposals Matthew Lockwood, IGov Team, 27th September 2018 To coincide with its annual conference, the Labour Party has just launched a new environmental policy document, The Green Transformation. A key element of its proposals on energy is to bring ‘the UK’s energy transmission and distribution networks back into public ownership’. Much media debate has been on how that will be financed, which is obviously an important issue. Here, however, our focus is on what such a move would mean for the running of networks. Labour’s shadow Chancellor John
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New Thinking: Tales of the unexpected
Tales of the unexpected: A policy success story? Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 25th July, 2018 This blog has been written to provide an analysis of how Australia became the world leader in the percentage of households installing small-scale PV (<100kW). It will introduce the initial policies that were put in place at the national and state level which were intended to capture Australia’s solar resource to help reduce the country’s emissions. The blog will discuss other unrelated events happening at the same time which culminated in higher than expected adoption rates. It will also comment on
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New Thinking: The Lost Strategy and Policy Statement
The Lost Strategy and Policy Statement: Is Ofgem Really Working to the 2011 Social and Environmental Guidance? Catherine Mitchell, IGov Team, 18th July 2018 The rhetoric of GB Energy Policy is now firmly set on an energy policy path which is ‘smart and flexible’. This is set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, the Industrial Strategy and Ofgem’s Smart Systems and Flexible Plan. In August 2017, Ofgem set out their Strategy for Regulating the Future Energy Systems – which is an overview of the issues that energy systems are facing, and their plan for dealing with
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New Thinking: Multi-level Coordination and Governance in the Energy Revolution
Multi-level Coordination and Governance in the Energy Revolution Richard Hoggett, IGov Team, 27th June 2018 Early this week I blogged on local energy, multi-level change, and governance reflecting on some thinking from a recent event from the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum. This second blog builds on these ideas to put forward the clear case for multi-level coordination and governance in the energy revolution. Its reflects some of my thoughts from an event last week at the Energy Systems Catapult on Transforming places through clean growth. In common with many other countries, the
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New Thinking: Local energy, multi-level change, and governance
New Thinking: Local energy, multi-level change, and governance Richard Hoggett, IGov Team, 25th June 2016 I recently went to a Westminster Energy Environment & Transport Forum on the Next Steps for Localised Energy Projects and Community Energy. These type of events are great for hearing a range of perspectives on how the energy system is changing and getting insights into how different actors are doing different things. It can be easy to forget how much has happened over recent decades and years in terms of generation, transmission and distribution and how things that felt like
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New Thinking: More ambition needed for RIIO2 outputs
More ambition needed for RIIO2 outputs* Catherine Mitchell, IGov Team, 14th June 2018 Ofgem is currently consulting on multiple issues: RIIO2, network charging, post-supplier hub model, settlement and metering – and the sum of the decisions made about these consultations will form the basis of regulation for the next 10 years or so. It is therefore important to get these consultations ‘right’ – and from my perspective ‘right ‘ equals putting in place an energy system which removes barriers to delivering, whilst positively encouraging, the move to a smart and flexible energy system which is
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New Thinking: Low carbon incentives for network? Yes! But will they work in the current wider governance context?
Low carbon incentives for network? Yes! But will they work in the current wider governance context? Matthew Lockwood, IGov Team, 23rd May 2018 Sustainability First have produced an interesting discussion paper proposing a low carbon incentive for inclusion in the next round of regulation for networks (RIIO2). The paper, written by regulatory experts Maxine Frerk (ex-Ofgem), Judith Ward (who is – full disclosure – on the advisory group of IGov2) and Sharon Darcy, argues for the introduction of a specific low carbon incentive that would work in three areas: Low carbon energy sources: incentivising network
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New Thinking: Cracking in reactors should break open the debate on future electricity supply
Cracking in reactors should break open the debate on future electricity supply Anthony Froggatt, IGov Team and Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, 9th May 2018 The UK has one of the world’s oldest nuclear commercial fleet. In 2017 nuclear provided 63.9 TWh or 19.3 percent of electricity, down from a maximum of 26.9 percent in 1997. Across the UK 30 reactors have been permanently closed, the 12 first-generation Magnox plants, with 26 reactors, 2 fast reactors, an Advanced Gas-cooling reactor at Windscale and a Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) at Winfrith. The remaining seven second-generation nuclear stations, each
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