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Standing almost at the halfway point of this decade, utilities face a steep climb to the summit of their ambitions for 2030. Whether it is progressing net zero, future-proofing infrastructure or protecting customers and the environment, the sector knows it has to increase the pace of delivery. Utility Week Live 2024 looks at how this can be achieved in practice. Here we profile some of the key challenges being discussed across our six stages.
Political paralysis
In the five years since net zero was announced the government has drifted between exuberant cheerleader and suspicious spectator of the energy transition. This has created significant uncertainty for the sector, not least around investment in renewables and engagement with the public over net zero. With a general election due within the next six months, the sector is eagerly looking for signs of how the next administration – of whichever political flavour – will approach net zero.
But in the meantime utilities cannot allow the pace to slow on decarbonisation or risk being seen as a blocker rather than an enabler. How you bridge this gap is a question that will be discussed on the first day of the show – 21 May – at 10.45am in a panel featuring the chief executives of National Gas and SP Energy Networks among others.
The creation of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) will be key to connecting the dots between policy and delivery. On day two – 22 May – its chief operating officer Kayte O’Neill will give an update on the transition from the Electricity System Operator before joining a panel featuring National Grid, the department for energy security and net zero and National Gas.
And kicking off the show on the main stage on day one, we will be hearing from the founder and chief executive of the newly crowned largest electricity supplier in the UK about a critical piece of policy direction. Octopus Energy’s Greg Jackson will discuss the government’s review of electricity market arrangements and in particular the role of locational pricing.
See the full list of content from the Utility Week Forum Keynote Stage
Protecting critical infrastructure and enabling open data
Our report this week on key risks for utilities makes clear that cyber security is a major priority. As networks become increasingly smart, so must the measures put in place to protect them. But as new threats emerge, how can utilities keep ahead of the game?
At the same time as strengthening their systems against attack, utilities are under pressure to open up more of their data and forge new partnerships to better realise its potential, particularly when it comes to protecting vulnerable customers.
These points and more will be discussed on the Smart Utilities stage, including a session at 3.20pm on day one on protecting critical infrastructure and the security of supply, featuring National Grid, SSEN, Energy Systems Catapult and Jacobs.
Meanwhile, on day two at 11.20am, Southern Water, Affinity, SES and Trilliant will discuss smart water systems in AMP8 and beyond.
See the full list of content from the Utility Week Forum Keynote Stage
How to ensure innovation is more than just a tickbox
Utilities love to talk about innovation but how can we ensure that the work being undertaken across the sector is actually tackling real-world problems and avoiding duplication?
This will form the basis for the debate across the Innovation Stage, where specific areas of work will be explored as well as the bigger picture of what innovation looks like for utilities heading into the second half of the decade.
Day one on this stage kicks off at 10am with a look at how the gas system is evolving to achieve net zero, while at 12.30pm, the department for energy security and net zero will join forces with Carbon Trust to look at how innovation can be used enable the rollout of heat pumps.
On day two at 10am, SSEN Distribution will look at the challenges of delivering net zero from the ground up and the role of innovation in driving local decarbonisation.
See the full list of content from the Innovation Stage
Overcoming barriers to flexibility
Across the two days of scintillating content at Utility Week Live, there will be much talk about the need for proliferation of renewable generation if we are to have any hope of reaching net zero by 2050. As our coverage this week highlights that success is dependent on ensuring a connections process that is fit for purpose, and of course that the necessary transmission infrastructure build-out is completed in time and to an affordable budget.
However, is there a risk that a relentless focus on renewables overshadows the potential for using our existing infrastructure more intelligently and exploiting the potential of energy flexibility?
On our inaugural energy flexibility stage, we will look at this topic in the round, including a session on day one from 12.40pm looking at governing, regulating and driving flexibility markets and on day two at 10am focussing on evolving to the DSO model.
As well as having a stage dedicated the energy flexibility, Utility Week Live 2024 will also play host to the first Flex Awards. Find out more here.
See the full list of content from the Energy Flexibility Stage
Ensure decarbonisation does not come at the expense of sustainability
The public service mindset that pervades the utilities sector means that protection of the environment has always been a priority. The strengthening of public scrutiny in this area in recent years has only increased the focus, particularly in the water sector.
However as we progress along the net zero path, there will inevitably be trade-offs around removing carbon and protecting the natural world.
On the Sustainable Infrastructure Stage, we will look at some of those knotty areas, including a session on day one around tackling process emissions released in sewage treatment. This has long been the great unknown of the water sector’s decarbonisation plans but progress is being made. Hear from Severn Trent, Northumbrian and Scottish Water as well as Atkins Realis.
On day two the very live topic of reducing the use of storm overflows will be debated, with Welsh Water, Southern, Anglian and Adler and Allan.
See the full list of content from the Sustainable Infrastructure Stage
Delivering a just transition
Utilities are all too aware that the next stage of decarbonisation will be the trickiest, not least because it will be the first time the public en masse has been expected to engage with the drive. There is a clear obligation on all companies involved in the transition to ensure that net zero does not just benefit those first movers or those with the money to adopt low-carbon technologies in the near future but that it helps society as a whole.
On the Customer, Culture and Workforce Stage, speakers will tackle the challenges of ensuring consumer trust, identifying and supporting customers in times of crisis and techniques to help them adopt low-carbon technologies, among others.
This stage will also focus on the need to build a strong and sustainable workforce, including a session on day one at 12.40pm, featuring UK Power Networks, Anglian water, Energy Systems Catapult and FYLD.
See the full list of content from the Customer, Culture and Workforce Stage
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