Download Transformation of the top and tail of energy networks

Transformation of the Top and Tail of Energy Networks
‘Challenges in Creating a New Tail – The Last Mile Electric Network (Achieving change with users)’
Dr Ritsuko Ozaki, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group, Imperial College Business School
This project is part of a large research programme of an eight-university consortium. The consortium
investigates two particular places in energy networks where existing network technology and
infrastructure needs radical change to move us to a low carbon economy: the top and tail of
network. This project focuses on the tail of the network (the ‘last mile’) where electricity is wired
into user premises.
Long-run scenarios of low carbon futures often envisage a large role for electric heat-pumps and
vehicles post-2030; as a result, the local electrical distribution could become very heavily loaded.
Remedying physically (e.g. digging up roads and laying new cables) could be expensive and
disruptive. The challenge is to re-engineer the way in which the ‘last mile’ assets are used. One way
of doing it is to relax the voltage. Many end-use devises are relatively tolerant to voltage variations.
The consortium will assess technical issues and analyse the technical and economic benefits of
relaxing voltage quality. We want to investigate user responses to the possible technical solutions,
including how business users comprehend voltage quality.
This project looks into user acceptability of this new energy service in the business context and seeks
to understand how willing businesses users might be to adopt (or reject) and why they hold the
views they do and explores challenges and opportunities in new energy service diffusion. The project
also seeks to explore key engagement strategies to facilitate diffusion through understanding
existing service expectation and levels required for new ‘last mile’ supply, and will explore user
reactions to new business models that may to deliver environmental, social and economic value. The
research employs both quantitative (e.g. questionnaire surveys with statistical analysis) and
qualitative (e.g. focus groups and semi-structured interviews) methods.