This short report summarises our work over the past 18 months and the impact this has had in driving forward the Smart Meter Energy Data Public Interest Advisory Group (PIAG) recommendations and how these sit within the wider context of the growing focus on energy data and digitalisation
While the government’s Energy Price Guarantee has provided price certainty for most customers, there remain several million often low-income households, for whom the position is deeply unfair. This report 'It's a Lottery: how Ofgem's price cap fails Economy 7 customers' by Maxine Frerk, explains how this has happened and how to address this
The changes taking place within much of the energy, water and communications sectors are profound and companies, regulators and policy makers are all impacted. Arguably there needs to be a similarly profound cultural change within these sectors if they are to deliver economic, social and environmental wellbeing. This report analyses how organisational culture, especially within these essential services, can support this much-needed transformation.
The lack of any coherent long-run plan for addressing a highly intense and long-lived greenhouse gas, SF6, commonly used as an effective insulator in electricity substation equipment, is problematic. In this commentary, we argue that Distribution Network Operators, the firms that own and operate the lower-voltage networks, must establish a common reporting methodology proposed by Ofgem - both for SF6 leakage and for their SF6 inventories. This is too fundamental to ignore.
Energy losses – the cost and carbon impacts of energy that is lost as it flows across the networks to the end-customer, is a vital but overlooked area that needs tackling. It accounts for around 15-20% of customer electricity network bills and around 1.5% of the UK’s carbon emissions. What particularly concerns us is that there is no clear ‘ownership’ of distribution losses.
This technical paper is a welcome expert contribution and 'explainer' from Dr Chris Harris. It sets out basic economic considerations in energy supplier hedging and discusses how these may interact with energy volumes, wholesale prices and the price-cap in a period of major uncertainty. He raises important questions about our near-term readiness and resilience for a cold winter and he stresses the short and longer-term imperative for energy saving.
This discussion paper begins by exploring the importance of engagement in terms of delivering public value. It considers the reasons why engagement is important, different types of engagement and the concept of engagement maturity.
It then puts forward Sustainability First’s ‘Essential Services Utopia’ proffering some key outcomes we should aspire to achieve in the water and energy sectors, and which engagement can play a key role in delivering. The paper then highlights 26 recommendations to maximise public value. There is much good work going on in this area but to really seize the ‘engagement opportunities’ available, we consider that decision makers should stand back and ask some fundamental questions about their approach.
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A pro bono report for Sustainability First by Frontier Economics
This report provides a starting point for the development of a framework that considers the intergenerational effects of decarbonisation and climate adaptation policies, focusing on approach and appraisal (creating a comprehensive framework would require further development).
By understanding and articulating the long-term intergenerational benefits of environmental measures, policymakers can accelerate the rate at which these measures are realised, which will be central to delivering upon commitments of the Paris agreement as well as achieving successful outcomes for this year’s COP26.
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