Ofgem sets out decarbonisation ‘Action Plan’– but is it playing catch-up?
Setting out a nine-point ‘Action Plan’ for the next 18 months to deliver decarbonisation, Ofgem has tacitly acknowledged that it is currently ill-equipped to deal with the challenge. The regulator...
View ArticleHow the UK industry got ahead on decarbonisation: the role of luck, surprise...
The UK is celebrating bringing forward the phase out of coal and the plunging level of carbon emissions from the power sector. But as I have covered the sector over the years, I have noticed that it’s...
View ArticleThe fifties had some good points, but do they seal the deal for hydrogen?
Often in discussion on the future of gas, there is talk about the role of hydrogen. Sometimes that is put forward as more or less a ‘straight swap’ from natural gas. There is a concern though: people...
View ArticleWho pays the bill for home working?
So far the narrative over power supplies during the Coronavirus measures has been one of falling demand. But that is because swathes of industry and commerce has been winding down. But how much...
View ArticleSmall suppliers: which will ride the storm?
Energy suppliers are under pressure at the moment, as they will be faced with customers who need a payment holiday. Small suppliers with equally small balance sheets may hit problems first. But a...
View ArticleFrom the fax to the future: the system operator needs to take a big leap
National Grid’s system operators are both doing a great job – in gas and electricity – balancing supply and demand and managing the system through the Coronavirus crisis. It is groundbreaking stuff....
View ArticleLow demand over the bank holiday could help get the public into the smart...
National Grid ESO is quick to show how it reacts to changes in power demand – TV pickups after big sporting fixtures (then), or on a Thursday evenings when people put the kettle on after their regular...
View ArticleDo we have enough Electricity Margin Notices?
This winter we have had four Electricity Margin Notices (EMNs), alerts from the electricity system operator NGESO to warn the market that the system operator wants more power available. Why is this so...
View ArticleThose intermittent power plants …
We’ve been seeing some price spikes in power supply over the last few days. Ought we to blame those intermittent power generators, who can’t be relied on to generate at times of need and sit idle 80%...
View ArticleTreaty governance versus membership – and the stability of UK policy
Participants at the longstanding Joint European Stakeholder Group (JESG) this week expressed their concern that co-operation on energy under the EU-UK treaty agreed at the end of 2020 ceases in 2026....
View ArticleA good idea a decade ago?
Once again Kwasi Kwarteng MP talks up nuclear as “The only way we can get decarbonised firm power which isn’t intermittent …We will need a source of power that isn’t fluctuating, that isn’t dependent...
View ArticleDo you need an energy butler?
From time to time I find myself trying to explain how the energy industry is changing to people who couldn’t give a picowatt. Here is my latest analogy: In the past you have had an energy butler, happy...
View ArticleRange anxiety again?
Think tanks Bright Blue and Policy Exchange raise some useful policy proposals aimed at speeding up the rollout of electric vehicles (see story here). A couple raise questions. Policy Exchange would...
View ArticleTexas customers face blackouts – are there lessons for the UK?
Energy customers in Texas are facing rolling blackouts, with around 4 million currently off power. Users have been asked to cut peak demand and unprecedented actions have been seen from competitive...
View ArticleHow to get electric vehicle plans out of the box
During discussions about electric vehicles and the opportunities in having so much storage in the system, I am always struck by how quickly people start to talk about their own car, and what they do...
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UPDATED: Range anxiety? It will be the making of electric vehicles
What’s going on at this SE London petrol station? It is being converted into an EV charging hub. It reminds me of the blog below, which I wrote in 2017, and this article on petrol...
View ArticleIf hydrogen is to work it can’t be second class for domestic users
Janet Wood asks how we will look back on the hydrogen future In the short term, a switch to electric heating is expensive and disruptive. It means new heating systems are needed throughout the...
View ArticleWhen can we retire ‘demand’ and ‘supply’?
Electricity and energy industry models are starting to diverge from the centrally dispatched model dominated by large generators, and demand side response – although often an opaque term to users – is...
View ArticleHow new-build assets stack up against behaviour change is exactly the...
‘Relevant technical experts’ must respond this week to provide input to BEIS over how energy planning and national planning statements will take account of sustainability and the required Habitats...
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