MPs call for smart grids
The Energy and Climate Change Committee has called for the Government to provide strategic leadership to ensure the timely delivery of a smart grid network.
They believe that the existing National Grid is outdated and no longer fit for purpose as it was developed to "serve the fossil fuel economy of the last century".
“The future looks very different," said Paddy Tipping MP at the launch of a report into the future of Britain's electricity supply system.
"By 2020 the UK electricity network will need to accommodate a far more diverse energy mix that includes a much higher proportion of renewables that cannot respond so easily to fluctuating demand," he said. "The only cost-effective response to these developments is the creation of a smart grid that intelligently manages demand and supply across the energy system.”
The Committee, which consists of MPs from all political parties, criticised the regulator Ofgem for agreeing funding for new grid investment projects before the completion of a review of how better use can be made of the existing network.
"Strategic investment in transmission capacity will be required to avoid delays in connecting new power stations, but the existing regulatory framework may be driving the case for transmission investment presented by the industry at the expense of other more cost-effective options such as greater management of demand for energy," said the report.
A large amount of renewable energy is effectively locked out of the Grid under our current access arrangements. The committee urged the Department to implement a regime that will "encourage the sharing of grid capacity and prioritise renewables, whilst also facilitating a greater role for energy demand-side management".
“Currently, we have a very dumb grid,” he said. “It costs us £1bn a year just to have a ‘spinning reserve’ as our grid has to be operating at full capacity all the time to make sure we always have enough energy available. Smart grids level out demand peaks and troughs with users being paid for holding back their appliances when they don’t really need the power.”
Speaking at a recent meeting of Ruskin Air Management's executive and sales staff, Frise explained the principle of ‘dynamic demand’ control where electrical appliances are equipped to monitor the state of the Grid and hold back until there is less demand so eliminating the need for a spinning reserve.The committee said the cost of electricity transmission had soared in recent years because of "inherent flaws" in the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA). It said there was a lack of innovation in the grid sector and called for a renewed focus on skills because of the growing shortage of trained people. Without the broad skills of all participants within the sector, the UK faces “a dirtier, more expensive and less efficient future”, the MPs said.