We have two new speakers confirmed for our event on 24th April, where we'll be launching our report on the economic benefits of smart grid development, and receiving an update on smart grid development in Britain and across the world.

We also have some spaces left, so to register please contact my colleague Gemma Campion!

Two new speakers:

Petter Allison, Managing Director - Technology and Innovation, British Gas

Paddy Turnbull, Growth Strategy Leader (Europe), GE Energy - Digital Energy.

Paddy and Petter will be joining us for our panel discussion with Charles Hendry MP, Bill Easton (Director, Utilities, Ernst & Young) and Ben Wilson (CFO and Director of Strategy and Regulation, UK Power Networks).

In addition to these speakers, we'll also be hearing presentations earlier in the morning from Dr Cristiano Marantes and Ben Wilson (UK Power Networks) and Martin Hill (Scottish Power). UK PN and Scottish Power will be discussing their Low Carbon Network Fund projects. Guido Bartels (Chairman of the Global Smart Grid Federation and General Manager, Energy and Utilities Industry, IBM) will also be discussing a GSGF report on the development of smart grid around the world.

Venue: Insitution of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3AA.

Timings: 0830 to 0900 registration. 0900 prompt start to 1300.

The launch of SGGB's report on the economic benefits of smart grid and its development in the UK and around the world.

We have a new speaker confirmed! It's Ben Wilson, CFO and Director of Strategy Regulation, UK Power Networks.

Two more senior speakers will also be confirmed shortly, so please be sure to watch this space!

There are still spaces left at the event, so if you would like to attend, please contact my colleague Gemma Campion who can provide you with more information and register you accordingly.

A quick update on our agenda too:

The first half of the event will be dedicated to knowledge sharing. Ben Wilson and Cristiano Marantes of UK Power Networks, and Martin Hill of Scottish Power Energy Networks will present on their current Low Carbon Networks Fund Projects. They will then be followed by Guido Bartels, of the Global Smart Grid Federation and IBM, who will provide an update on global developments in smart grid.

In the second half of the event, SGGB will launch its report on the Economic Benefits of Smart Grid development - a report that has been done for us by Ernst & Young. Bill Easton, Director of Utilities at E&Y, will talk through the report. He'll then be followed by a key note speech by Charles Hendry MP, and a panel discussion. The panel will consist of the Minister, Bill Easton, Ben Wilson and two more senior representatives who I will confirm in the next few days!

SmartGrid GB's event with Charles Hendry is fast appraoching! The event is taking place on 24th April from 0900 to 1300 at the Institution of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3AA. To attend the event, please register with Gemma Campion.

On top of the Minister's key note, the other highlight of the event will be the launch of SmartGrid GB's first major report on the economic benefits of smart grid development in Britain which has been produced for us by Ernst & Young. Bill Easton, E&Y's Director of Utilities, will be taking us through the report's key findings and recommendations.

In additional to Bill's presentation, we'll also be hearing presentations from Scottish Power, UK Power Networks and Guido Bartels, the Chairman of the Global Smart Grid Federation. Guido will be taking us through some major research that the GSGF has recently done on the state of smart grid development across the world.

The event is on the eve of the Clean Energy Ministerial, so we're aiming to have good attendance from international delegates. It promises to be a great morning of speeches and presentations, so do let Gemma know if you're interested in attending.

SmartGrid GB has just returned from an excellent visit to Japan as part of an FCO delegation aimed at forging closer links between British and Japanese industry and academia in the field of smart grid.

Representatives from SGGB, British Gas, UK Power Networks, the Energy Technologies Institute along with leading academic institutions such as the University of Manchester, Strathclyde, Imperial College London, University College London, and the UK Energy Research Centre made up the British side of the delegation.

On the Monday, SGGB signed an MoU with the Japan Smart Community Alliance with the aim of facilitating greater collaboration between the UK and Japan in smart grid development. The signing ceremony was attended by the Chairman of NEDO (the Japanese equivalent of the Technology Strategy Board) and was marked by a video speech from UK Energy Minister, Charles Hendry MP.

The Minister’s speech offered a wholehearted endorsement of SGGB and the government’s support for our work. A copy of it will be made available to SGGB members once I’ve received it from the Embassy.

The rest of the week was dominated by workshops and knowledge sharing in the British Embassy, as well as a visit to the Tokyo Smart Grid Expo which provided the delegation with a great opportunity to learn more about Japanese expertise in areas such as home energy management systems, battery and storage technologies.

SGGB also delivered a key note address at the conference to an audience of roughly 300 people about the opportunities currently available in the UK electricity market for Japanese companies.

There’s a lot of information that came out of the trip which will be distributed to SGGB members once the Embassy has sent it to me and I’ve found a suitable way to forward it on to you without crashing your inboxes!

If you’ve got any specific questions about the visit, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at robert.mcnamara@smartgridgb.org

Happy New Year SmartGrid GB followers.

Back in December, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland produced three new roadmaps to 2050 for smart grid, wind energy, and EVs. These joined existing roadmaps on bioenergy, ocean energy and residential energy.

If you missed the roadmaps due to a hectic festive season, I'd recommend checking them out - you can locate them here. They've got some interesting figures in them - particularly for smart grid. Here are three:

1) By 2050 SEAI estimates that smart grids will see an accumulated reduction in energy related CO2 emissions of 250 millions tonnes.

2) Greater integration of renewables will see a net reduction in energy imports of 4.3Mtoe, equating to savings of €3.8 to €7.5 billion in direct fuel offset by 2050

3) More than 10,000 Irish jobs will be created by the implementation of smart grid infrastructure and associated technologies.

It makes you wonder about the possibilities for Britain.  Similar findings over here will really help the green growth story. That's why SmartGrid GB's work stream 1 is working on outlining the economic benefits case for smart grid development in Britain.  If you want to find out more, get in touch with me at robert.mcnamara@smartgridgb.org. 

The last few days have been some of the busiest in SmartGrid GB’s existence.   On Wednesday night, SmartGrid GB and thought leaders from the US smart grid community were invited to participate in a small private dinner and talk with Bob MacDonald, Chairman and Chief Executive of Proctor & Gamble and Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer of GE.

Both of these industry heavyweights gave fascinating insights into how they’re addressing the challenge of consumer engagement. From Beth Comstock, we heard about the innovative methods GE are using to ensure that their products always have the end consumer in mind. Ecomagination – a GE forum that invites members of the public to come up with technology solutions to address the low carbon challenge – was cited as a great example of GE’s commitment to embracing fresh outside thinking.  

Bob MacDonald gave his own unique insights into how lessons learnt from P&G’s global experiences could be transferred to the energy market. As everyone knows, smart grid and other policy drivers will be disruptive forces in the utilities industry and we expect to see an increasing number of energy companies looking to provide more energy services/solutions, as their traditional business models begin to change. Bob McDonald’s observation was that energy companies need to spend as much time with consumers as possible in order to understand what those services and solutions might be. He credited such detailed analysis of consumer needs as fundamental to the ongoing success of P&G’s global brands.

We also heard good updates about the work of a new US organisation called the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative – an organisation funded by energy and technology companies with the aim of promoting the benefits of a modernised electricity system to consumers. They have undertaken three big pieces of work since their establishment earlier this year: the consumer pulse programme which is designed to provide knowledge about what consumers need to know about smart grid development and how best to communicate it; excellence in customer engagement – a study of best practices and learnings derived from the different smart grid initiatives taking place in the US; and a state of consumers report which is aimed at providing a baseline for existing consumer research in order to better understand what the lessons learned had to offer the industry and what future work was needed. Copies of all reports will be uploaded on to the SmartGrid GB website shortly.

Thursday was an especially long day for SmartGrid GB. The day got off to a great start with British Gas’ Petter Allison (Managing Director, Technology & Innovation), Bob MacDonald, Beth Comstock, Michael Niggli (President, San Diego Gas and Electric), and Susan Story (President and CEO, Southern Company Services) discussing the challenges of consumer engagement and it finished with addresses from Accenture Management Consulting Group Chief Executive, Sander van’t Noordende, and Livio Gallo, CEO of ENEL.

SmartGrid GB then attended a meeting and a dinner of the Global Smart Grid Federation. Updates on the state of smart grid development in Japan and South Korea, were provided by the Japan Smart Community Alliance and the Korea Smart Grid Association respectively – copies of both presentations will be circulated to all SmartGrid GB members once I have received them.

The second day of the Gridwise Global Forum has delivered some insightful panel discusisons on future technology trends for smart grid development; smart grid data (privacy and security); and the smart grid regulatory landscape. 

On future technology trends, the discussion focussed - in part - on the role of smart grid technologies and other low carbon technologies in driving economic growth.  Echoing Energy Secretary Chu’s comments from yesterday, it is palpably clear that the majority of attendees at this conference believe that smart grid can deliver growth - panelists from Alstom, ABB, the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) and Itron all believed this to be the case.  However,  there remain common international challenges around interoperability and standardisation, amongst other things, that need to be overcome first.  This was highlighted by Michele de Nigris, Chairman of ISGAN, who noted the extensive and ongoing work that is currently taking place in Europe to address these themes.   [ISGAN, for those of you who don't know, is an International Energy Agency initiative aimed at provided a framework from smart grid implementation with the participation of 24 countries]

Continuing on the European theme, before lunch I had an opportunity to have a useful conversation with Vincenzo Giordano, who worked on the European Commission's JRC report on smart grid mapping. Interestingly, the Commission’s work in this area is going to be updated on an annual basis. This is great news for Britain, because the first iteration of the report didn't include enough information on the various, impressive projects taking place in Britain – an example of how, so far at least, Britain’s attempts to communicate its smart grid achievements in Europe have sometimes been found wanting. The good news is that I explained to Vincenzo SGGB’s role as a conduit to British industry developments - especially for European bodies looking to find out more about smart grid in Britain - and we are going to explore ways of working to ensure that Britain is suitably represented in the next version of the JRC's smart grid mapping work.

On another note, the impact of the Gridwise Alliance as a lobbying body has impressed me very much.  Over lunch, a pre-recorded speech Hilda Solis, the Secretary of Labor, was televised.  She noted that her department had just submitted a ‘Green Jobs Paper’ to the US Congress which estimated that there are currently 2.7 million ‘green’ jobs in the US and that the median wages of those jobs are roughly 13% higher than others.   She made numerous references to the Gridwise Alliance’s Smart Grid Jobs – which tackled not just the job creation opportunities delivered by smart grid, but also addressed the skills challenges associated with smart grid deployment.  The report has clearly made a genuine impact with policy makers who have since used it to support their own policy development - a great example of how industry bodies can help educate and inform the policy making process.  I'll be sure to circulate a copy of the report to SGGB members once I get a copy of it...

Before today's Gridwise Global Forum got formally underway, I was allowed to observe the main annual membership meeting of SmartGrid GB's US equivalent - the Gridwise Alliance.  The Gridwise Alliance was founded over a decade ago and its initially modest membership numbers has now grown to exceed 150 companies.  Operating out of downtown Washington DC offices, the Gridwise Alliance plays a key advisory role in helping the US government understand what kind of smart grid/s the US might need and how it might be achieved. 

The Alliance's meeting this morning was a great example of effective cross industry collaboration in action.  I heard updates on current work programme activities from Aliiance members hailing from all parts of the smart grid ecosystem.  Of particular interest were the updates I heard on the Alliance's work on developing a Smart Grid Value Proposition and a report on the Current Interoperability and Cybersecurity Initiatives in the US - the specifics of both areas have provided me with food for thought in relation to SGGB's own work programme development.

The Gridwise Global Forum itself was launched later in the afternoon by US Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, and the Israeli Minister of National Infrastructures, Uzi Landau.  Both politicians made repeated comments about how each country is working to become a global leader in smart grid development, with each placing a major a emphasis on the job creation and broader economic growth benefits that such leadership could bring - a timely reminder of the need for the UK to be a global leader in smart grid and to not fall behind its international competitors.    Israel offers a good example of the kind of lesser known, but equally impressive, competition the UK is facing.   For example, Minister Landau noted that Israel ranks 2nd in the world for start up tech companies, whilst its EV and PV programmes are some of the most advanced in the world.   

In the final session of the afternoon a representative from American Electric Power (one the US' larger integrated energy companies) offered another good example into cross industry collaboration - this time in the realm of cyber security.  Since 2009, AEP and Lockheed Martin have been funding a cyber security operations centre (c-scoc).The basic model of the c-soc is that it acts as a hub for utilities companies to share their experiences and learnings in relation to the cyber security threats faced by utilities to encourage best practice across the whole industry.  This strikes me as an eminently sensible thing to do (possibly in the UK??) given that the threats posed in the cyber world are constantly evolving - as one threat is nullified, another one is raised...

Today SmartGrid GB spoke at the New Energy Economy Conference at Hogan Lovells in the City.  The background to the conference is almost as interesting as the conference itself.  It was co-founded earlier this year by the Energy and Utilities Network which, for those of you who don't know, is essentially a linkedin group for those working in the energy and utilities industries across the world.  Since its launch in March 2008, the network has amassed a following of over 63,000 members - no mean feat and a stellar example of the power of social networking.

The conference  included presentations from, amongst others, Maxine Frerk of DECC, Tony House of SSE, Hayley Dunlop of GE, Mark Coyle of Utiligroup, Andy Heiron of Renault UK, and Mike Abrey-Begg of Age UK.

Rich Hampshire of Logica spoke on behalf of SmartGrid GB and introduced the audience to our aims and objectives and provided some insights into the scale of the challenge facing Britain if it is to meet its low carbon transition commitments. 

Rich also picked up on a recurring theme throughout the day which was the importance of consumer engagement.  Tony Ward, a Partner at Ernst & Young, articulated the challenge well in relation to the smart meter rollout: specifically the importance of developing a clearer narrative for consumers so they better understand the reasons and the cost behind the £11bn government programme.  He went on to draw an interesting parallel with another expensive, but well handled, initiative that was ultimately paid for by the consumer but which also delivered major benefits - the 3G spectrum auction. 

We all know that getting consumers engaged and behind smart metering and associated smart technologies will be crucial to the eventual success of smart grid - so much so, it's almost a becoming truism to mention it.  Statistics tend to indicate that consumers are pro taking reasonable measures to lower their energy usage: what we need to see now is a coherent narrative developed for consumers so that we can convince them to put their good intentions into practice and get fully behind the smart energy revolution.  SmartGrid GB is working with all interested stakeholders to help make sure this happens.

According to some reports, the dreadful weather conditions in the north east of America have left an estimated 2.8 million homes without power.  In the UK such a situation is almost unimaginable: for all its faults, we're fortunate that our weather rarely gets so hazardous.  If it were to happen here, just imagine the scale of political fallout.  We're so used to receiving our energy largely without fault, that if 2.8 million homes were to go without power for a weekend, the political repercussions would be massive.

It's a timely reminder of the different challenges facing transmission and distribution networks across the world.  In countries like the USA, Canada, and Australia, extreme weather conditions are an ever present threat to the resilience of the grid and utilities industry professionals in those countries are constantly looking into minimising the risks that such weather conditions bring.

Next week I'm going to the Gridwise Global Forum in Washington DC - an international gathering of  government and industry leaders who are playing crucial roles in the development of smart grid -where the recent blackouts in the US will, I'm sure, be a major topic of conversation.  I'll be blogging regularly with highlights and insights from the conference, so do make sure you check this page regularly.


 

I noticed recently that it is just over a year since the Stuxnet virus was discovered. Many secrets of the malware which made headlines for disrupting the Iranian nuclear infrastructure, and for who might have been behind it, are still being debated but it’s influence on the smart grid cyber security market is interesting.

Electricity grids are no longer isolated...Read more

As noted in my previous blog, SmartGrid GB was proud to be an official supporter of RUSI's excellent CNI conference which took place yesterday.

Two particular highlights included:

The Energy Networks Association's Chief Executive, David Smith, noting the important role that domestic and non-domestic consumers of energy will play in Britain's future energy security - specifically how more informed future consumer behaviour (facilitated by smart metering, etc) will enable the grid to deal more effectively with challenges such as peak demand.   He also commented on how smart grid is creating a new, direct relationship between energy networks and consumers due to the two way communication potential offered by increasingly intelligent networks.   

Charles Hendry MP re-emphasised the fact that the UK's energy infrastructure needs £200bn of private investment over the next decade and offered some very encouraging words about how government is committed to working with industry to make sure that the right structures are in place to ensure that that investment can be made.

SmartGrid GB is happy to announce that it is supporting the Royal United Services Institute's 5th Annual Critical National Infrastructure Conference which takes place next Wednesday, 12th October.

The conference is one of the preeminent events focusing on critical national infrastructure and boasts a selection of leading speakers in the space - notably Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change; Lord Hutton of Furness, Chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association; David Smith, Chief Executive of the Energy Networks Association; Sir Robert Smith MP, Energy and Climate Change Select Committee; and Dr Tim Morgan, Global Head of Research, Tullett Prebon, to name but a few.

SmartGrid GB has helped with the development of the conference programme and has 10 tickets to this event at a discounted rate of £158.33 (+ VAT). If SmartGrid GB members would like to attend this conference, please let me know. Discounted tickets will be available on a first come, first served basis.

It is party conference season in the UK and smart grids have been mentioned at both the Labour and Liberal Democrat showcases, with the Conservative conference to come.

Speaking at a fringe event at his Liberal Democrat party's conference, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne discussed the challenges facing the wind power industry, saying the UK needs as much onshore wind capacity as possible in order to meet renewables targets

More interesting news today about another investment firm looking for secure, long term investments in the ever growing low-carbon technologies market place.  Palmer Capital and renewable energy firm, Low Carbon, have launched the UK's first fund dedicated to investing in solar energy farms.

According to the FT, the UK Solar Income Partnership will look to pension and insurance funds to raise £52 million to acquire three solar parks which together account for a third of the UK's solar output.

The move reflects the desire amongst an increasing amount of investors who are starting to look towards the infrastructure market as an alternative to government bonds.

The FT quoted Palmer Capital's CEO, Alex Price, as saying, 'as well as ticking the boxes for [investors'] corporate social responsibility, it is an area that is only likely to grow during the next few years as the spread between energy need and energy supply widens.'

For a full copy of the story that isn't behind the FT's pay wall, please click here.

Last week, the Department of Energy and Climate Change invited me to their offices to deliver a presentation on SmartGrid GB to a delegation of utility industry profesisonals and government officials from Brazil.

Officials from the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy, from ANATEL (the Brazilian telecoms regulator) and ANEEL (the Brazilian electricity regulator) amongst others, were all present to hear about the work that SmartGrid GB is doing to bring together the smart grid value chain in Britain and provide government with a way forward for smart grid development.

What surprised me are the common challenges that Britain and Brazil will face in the deployment of smart grid.  Though Brazil faces challenges that don't apply to Britain such as energy theft and regular blackouts, all present highlighted the importance of getting consumer buy in to smart grid, having the right regulatory structures and incentives, and getting a better understanding of the types of technologies that will be needed.

The Brazilian government have assembled a small group of energy experts to look into smart grid and they will be producing a report in November (as soon as an English version is released, I'll put it online!).  After this, I was informed that the government will be looking to help facilitate the establishment of a group similar to SmartGrid GB in Brazil. 

As members and followers of SmartGrid GB will know, we're committed to sharing information on best practice taking place across the globe - principally through our membership of the Global Smart Grid Federation - and we'll be sure to keep track of developments taking place in Brazil and elsewhere.  In the meantime, do have a look at our resources page to see some of the key British and international reports on smart grid.

The Royal Academy of Engineering, London.

120 plus delegates from industry, academia, government, regulator, consumer groups and trade associations gathered to hear Minister of State for Energy Charles Hendry MP and a cross-industry expert panel kick off SmartGrid GB and endorse its purpose and vision.

As our acting chairman has told the distinguished audience.... Industry wants it, government wants it and the country needs it.

Hello there, and welcome to SmartGrid GB. We’re excited to be here.

SmartGrid GB has been set up on a simple premise.

We believe that achieving smart grid is of fundamental importance to the UK economy and the time is right for a national conversation about how we make it happen.