On Thursday 21 February 2019 the Centre for Energy Policy held ‘Keeping the lights on’: what is it worth? part of the Energy Conversation series of events. Read the Centre for Energy Policy team's reflections on this popular event below.
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Dr Oluwafisayo Alabi Research Associate, Centre for Energy Policy oluwafisayo.alabi@strath.ac.uk |
During the conversation there was the consensus that the role the transmission network plays remains a significant part to the continued availability and supply of electricity in meeting various consumer demands. However, in terms of quantifying its value/worth, this may be quite difficult with evolving and complex consumer preferences for electricity services. Moreover, in cases where electricity customers can produce their own electricity and/or supplies to the grid it changes the dynamics and value proposition of the transmission network. This then suggests that the focus should be on creating a balance by prioritising reliability and security of electricity supply over cost and/or value of the transmission network.
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Mr Constantin Brod |
While there seems to be a consensus on why the UK electricity system needs a resilient and capable electricity transmission network, there is less of a willingness to accept that this network will need further enforcement and extension in the very near future. This is in context with the expected upcoming challenges such as the electrification of personal transport or a further renewable integration.
While more investment will be needed in order to cope with the challenges there is consequently the need for consumers – directly or indirectly - to pay for it and/or to change their consumption behaviour, most parties are reluctant to recognise their responsibility to this. An example is the objection of some electric vehicle user’s to adjust their timing of charging to the network’s requirements. From a rational approach such as ‘the one who causes it should pay for it’ it is clear that the consumer groups are responsible, but voices on distributional issues such as energy poverty are strong. From these two challenges, namely the unwillingness to change behaviour and the unwillingness to pay, it may be inferred that the transmission network is not fully valued. Will only blackouts change people’s minds?
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Dr Christian Calvillo Research Associate, Centre for Energy Policy christian.calvillo@strath.ac.uk |
Energy security is a very complex issue that is not always valued or recognised. Partly because most of us haven’t had a problem with our energy supply in decades. However, this sense of security has driven an over reliance on the power system for most of our daily activities and our economy.
A blackout it’s no longer a minor annoyance, where you cannot watch TV for a couple of hours. A blackout might stop our transport systems, our banking, our security services, etc. Could we survive a week long blackout with the cash we have in our wallets? Maybe it’s time to revaluate energy security and the role of different technologies in supporting it.
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Ms Kankana Dubey |
Balancing supply and demand
A major challenge in the coming future will be to balance demand with oversupply. The surge in renewable power generation contributes to low electricity prices. The prices sometime slip negative during periods of high wind solar radiation. Afterwards, prices can turn adverse, increasing sharply when the wind and solar output is low. The dynamic controlling price determination can then change substantially. The trend frequently appears to follow the phenomenon known as the “Duck curve”
Role of politicians in resolving energy issues
With Brexit on the horizon, the politicians should seriously consider the impact of Brexit on the energy sector. For example, UK’s dependency on gas supply from the EU can have significant impact on domestic markets, which will experience escalating fuel prices. Domestic heating will be strongly affected.
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Dr Antonios Katris
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One interesting point that was made during the conversation was that, when interviewed, consumers seem to prioritise the reliability of the system over the cost of electricity. It is only natural to wonder then whether this is a strong enough incentive to motivate consumers to be more flexible in the way they use energy. But this is where there are barriers preventing what is generally viewed from a positive angle. One of the main argument is that “if energy companies cannot send me an accurate bill how can I trust them to switch on the washing machine at night?”. More broadly the introduction of increase demand flexibility needs to overcome well established social patterns and norms and therefore as the energy systems are evolving it is crucial to take these parameters into account if the systems are to work in practice and not just on paper.
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Ms Kusum Vishwakarma |
The Energy Conversation basically revolved around the challenges of energy transition, how decentralised networks are becoming increasingly important and the decarbonisation of heat/electricity networks in future. However, there is still a lack of awareness among the consumers of how these energy systems are being operated.
People have many ways to meet their energy demands, be it through compact diesel generators, solar panels, small wind turbines, car batteries especially for places that are away from transmission networks or countries that do not have very well-developed transmission networks. However, the value of energy does not itself break the case of transmission since it is significant to keep on identifying how much of that case of transmission network is the bulk supply of cheap energy and how much is it about energy security. So currently, we are looking to a future where potentially the energy could become really cheap if there is more deployment of renewable energy technologies and all the cost and value would be in terms of the security that it will provide in the long run.