As part of our Countdown to COP series, Utility Week speaks to Suleman Alli, director of customer service, strategy, regulation and information services at UK Power Networks. He discusses the legacy of COP26 but also delves into action his company is taking to facilitate on-street electric vehicle charging and how it aims to “write the book on green home heating”.

COP26

What do you want to hear from the conference?

COP26 means climate change will be discussed across nations with a fresh intensity. It’s about securing a brighter future for our children and future generations, which requires countries to take urgent action and I would like it to bring an impetus of ambition, courage and collaboration.

Our customers have told us that tackling the climate crisis is one of their highest priorities. As a result, enabling the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 forms the backbone of our business plan for 2023-2028. Our approach is to be bold, different and lead the way on delivering Net Zero while keeping costs low for customers.

The COP26 aims most relevant to us, are:

• ‘Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach’, as this could help speed up the switch to electric vehicles and encourage investment in renewables, and
• ‘Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats’, as this includes ensuring resilient infrastructure

I am looking forward to seeing how other countries are tackling the common threat, how energy networks are taking leadership roles to drive change as opposed to reacting to change, and how the UK is taking a global leadership role in decarbonization while increasing our resilience to weather extremes.

As the UK’s biggest electricity distributor, we know we must be ready, and genuinely, we feel excited and are ready to take on the challenge. COP26 will see even more questions asked of us and our industry, and we are confident that we are well placed to play a leading role in the energy transition within the communities that we serve.

What should the legacy of COP26 be?

COP26 should be the inflection point- when we look back from 2050, we should see the impact COP26 made. It should be the UK’s opportunity to clarify our policies, enabling the private sector to mobilise behind this common pathway.

We’re ‘technology agnostic’ – we don’t mind which new technologies people use, but it’s our job to provide the electricity grids which will enable our customers to switch to new low carbon options. We’re taking a fresh approach, not simply pressing the ‘repeat’ button, but rather developing our business agility to be able to go at the pace of the fastest change. We truly hope COP26 inspires change for all and drives leaders to take bigger strides forward.

Is your company actively participating in COP26?

We have a small number of senior staff attending to join forces with other UK businesses. They will be taking the ‘Green train’ from London to Glasgow to share our net zero innovations and learn from others. We work closely with the Energy Networks Association which will also be representing UK energy networks.

Walking the talk

When and how is your company planning to get to net zero?

Net zero to us means two things, enabling our customers to use low carbon technologies through our electricity networks, and crucially, achieving net zero in our own operations.

As a business, we have achieved a lot – we annually measure and report our emissions to Ofgem and since 2014/15 our carbon emissions have decreased by 30.9% to the year 2020/21. In May 2021 we became the first UK Distribution Network Operator to have our carbon reduction targets verified by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi).

We are aiming to exceed 1.5 ˚C (42%) for our directly controllable emissions scopes 1 and 2.  This includes the emissions from our fleet, temporary generators and the energy we consume in our buildings and substations.  This incorporates a target to ensure we purchase 100% REGO-backed renewable electricity contracts as well.

As a step further, we have also set a net zero target for 2028/29 for these directly controllable emissions.  We will, in the short term, utilise offsetting then follow the principles of eliminate and reduce emissions first, using offsets only for the hard to eliminate residual emissions. We will work with reputable partners to ensure that the offsets are verified and high quality.

But it isn’t all just about carbon, so we have updated our comprehensive Green Action Plan (GAP) and built on its short-term targets to incorporate them into a longer-term Environmental Action Plan.

The next ten years will be a defining period, that’s why we are preparing to facilitate a minimum of 2.6 million Electric Vehicles (EVs), and over 300,000 heat pumps across our regions.

Customers and the community

What role do you think utilities have in helping to accelerate the climate plans of local authorities and in helping to engage customers on the path to net zero?

Decarbonisation is one of the greatest challenges facing our generation and no single industry can do that alone. Networks play a key role in engaging with, and listening to our customers, wider communities and key stakeholders like local authorities, to develop our role in enabling public support for net zero.

We have already connected enough renewable energy to our networks to power 3.4 million homes, and we can’t lose that focus. We are building new capabilities and technologies to facilitate more renewable energy, such as wind and solar farms, to connect to our network but there are opportunities in the domestic market too.

Some examples include:

• We are working closely with 116 local authorities across the south east, to support and understand their plans to decarbonise, thus understanding what infrastructure they require, we believe adaptive and agile regulation will unlock this for the long term
• As transport accounts for a third of emissions, we have the responsibility of every EV chargepoint being able to connect to our network, and we never want to be a barrier to that happening. We forecast there could be a minimum of 2.6 million EVs in the communities we serve by 2030, compared to around 170,000 at the moment, so we’re looking into ways to improve on-street charging because range confidence is crucial for people who are considering switching to an EV. For example our Charge collective project is working with five local authorities on an innovative approach to avoid charging deserts in their areas.
• Another third of emissions comes from heating, so we launched our first heat strategy last year, launching a series of innovative projects around electric heating, as we evolve to meet our customers’ needs. For example CommuniHeat is a first-of-its-kind project which puts local people and their stories at the centre of climate action. A partnership between villagers in East Sussex, UK Power Networks, OVESCO and Buro Happold, CommuniHeat will allow Barcombe to become one of the first net zero villages in the UK. In the process, it aims to write the book on green home heating using local area energy planning principles to guide the four million properties across the UK which are not connected to the national gas network.

We will maximise the scope for customer participation in the energy market, through flexibility and energy efficiency and this transition to net zero needs to be just and fair. Everybody’s needs will be different so we want to enable our customers to go green, at the lowest possible cost, without leaving anyone behind.

Policy & regulation

What is your principle ask of government and regulators to help your company contribute to the net-zero push?

Climate, communities and customers are changing, our networks are changing. To facilitate this change at the pace of the fastest and at the lowest cost, we need agile and adaptive regulation to respond to a level of uncertainty we have never seen before.

This interview is part of the Countdown to COP series. To read more click here.