The Department of Energy and Climate Change is already working on key areas of smart networks to ensure it understand the benefits of smart grid technologies for meeting our goals and to encourage deployment in the coming years. Its programme currently consists of:
Smart meters:
A programme to roll out smart meters to every home by end 2020—an £8 billion private sector investment. This is one of the building blocks for creating a smart grid.
Deploying new technologies:
Encouraging Distribution Network Operators through regulatory incentives to trial new ‘smarter’ technologies on their networks. The Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets are proposing to significantly increase the amount of funding available for this.
Developing new technologies:
Providing direct funding for innovation through the Energy Technologies Institute which aims to invest up to £l billion over the next 10 years in low carbon energy technologies, including networks. The Government are engaging with the recently established Energy Technologies Institute networks panel that is scoping the objectives they set for a call for projects.
Funding research:
Providing direct funding, through the Research Councils, of over £30 million for collaborative research in networks involving academia and industry. Providing complementary funding of £6 million to supplement other funding for network innovation such as Ofgem’s Innovation Funding Incentive among other sources. Government funding for smart grids will be used to support early stage development of trials of key technologies consistent with a vision for a smart grid in the UK to be published later this year.
The following table shows the UK electricity supply capacity margin, for financial years 1993-04 to 2006-07.
Total electricity declared net capacity (MW) Simultaneous UK maximum electricity load met (MW) Implied percentage margin 1993-94 66,901 54,848 22.0 1994-95 64,923 52,362 24.0 1995-96 66,100 55,611 18.9 1996-97 69,090 56,815 21.6 1997-98 68,288 56,965 19.9 1998-99 68,390 56,312 21.4 1999-2000 70,245 57,849 21.4 2000-01 72,193 58,452 23.5 2001-02 73,382 58,589 25.2 2002-03 70,369 61,717 14.0 2003-04 71,465 60,501 18.1 2004-05 73,287 61,013 20.1 2005-06 73,941 61,697 19.8 2006-07 72,996 59,071 23.6 Source: Energy Sector Indicators, 2009, available at: http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/indicators/indicators.aspx
The Department does not hold such information. However, Eurostat does publish data on total network losses, transmission and distribution combined, for each member state.