OFGEM - GAS & ELECTRICITY UK

OFGEM IS THE UK'S OFFICE FOR GAS AND ELECTRICITY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

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FREE AS A BIRD - It is happening. Wind energy is providing bucket loads of energy that will be more useful with the kind of load leveling that battery and hydrogen storage can provide, to make better use of all that captured natural power. Windmills and sails had been working for mankind for hundreds of years before the discovery of electricity. These graceful machines can be located in isolated areas where winds are strong and reliable.

 

 

In the age of climate change OFGEM has responded favourably (on paper), in principle supporting the need for innovation and trials, as per their plan published in 2018 to decarbonise the energy industry, sections of which relating to electric vehicles and infrastructure are show below:

 

 

OFGEM'S DECARBONISATION ACTION PLAN

P 4 - "Our use of electric vehicles may need to grow from 230,000 today to 46 million by 2050. To meet the challenge of net zero, we must now go further and faster, especially in decarbonising transport, heating and our industrial use of energy."

P 10 - Surface transport

"The UK is on the brink of a rapid transition to electrified transport. However, the scale of the challenge is significant. There are over 30 million cars in the UK, but by Q3 2019, there were around 230,000 plug-in electric vehicles, up from just over 50,000 in 2015.9 The government’s current target is that the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans will end by 2040.

 

However, the CCC recommend that all new vehicles sold (excluding heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)), should be low carbon by 2035 at the latest, and preferably by 2030.11 The CCC forecasts a required 46 million electric vehicles on UK roads by 2050. This will need new charging infrastructure – the CCC estimates that 3,500 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers near motorways and 210,000 public chargers in towns and cities will be needed, up from 30,000 public chargers of all speeds currently installed.

 

Increased uptake of electric vehicles creates a rare opportunity for a win-win-win for society, through lower carbon emissions, improved air quality and a more robust and low-cost energy system. But this will only be achieved if drivers are supported to charge their vehicles typically at off-peak times, for example, through smart charging. Support for drivers using their electric vehicles in novel ways will also be needed, for example by ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology to share energy from car batteries back to the electricity grid when it is needed."

P 13 - "Ofgem is one of many organisations who must take responsibility for ensuring that GB progresses towards net zero. As an independent regulator, we will be able to challenge and provide leadership to other energy system stakeholders. However, we will also work alongside government and industry, recognising the whole system thinking that is needed, in considering the opportunities and implications of the electrification of transport and increasing energy efficiency and demand side management. We will use our convening power to bring people and organisations together to find solutions where joint action is needed."

OFGEM P 25 - Action 7 - Enabling electric vehicles at low cost for maximising the benefits associated with electric vehicles (EVs)

 

"The National Infrastructure Commission estimated that, if EVs are rolled out without smart charging, average annual system costs could increase by £2 billion, adding up to £30 per year to domestic consumer bills.35 However, smart charging of EVs can also create opportunities for a more flexible and cheaper energy system, for instance by using vehicle batteries for short-term storage to smooth peaks in energy demand and maximise use of renewables. Government has consulted on mandating that all chargepoints are smart.

We have been working closely with government to support the rapid take-up of electric vehicles. To complement the government’s work, we will develop a regulatory strategy that will set out our role and define our actions in response to government policy on the electrification of transport. This will draw together activity on identifying and tackling regulatory barriers and enabling rapid roll-out of EVs in a cost-effective way. In coordination with our work on reforming electricity network charging, our strategy will outline our thinking on how network costs could be recovered to ensure networks are used efficiently and flexibly, and to allow consumers to benefit from new EV related products and services.

We will develop a regulatory strategy for electric vehicles, taking account of developments in government policy and technologies, to support roll out and maximise the consumer benefit. We will identify and tackle regulatory barriers, removing obstacles to new business models, products and services such as EV users selling flexibility services.

Good data use and availability are crucial to provide better visibility of system usage, spare capacity and constraints, to inform investment needs, and to facilitate opportunities for strategic coordination. Several innovations to support a low-carbon future, such as smart vehicle-to-grid flexibility services, flexibility platforms, peer-to-peer energy trading and new demand side response services, rely upon the energy system’s data architecture."

 

 

OFFGEM claims to be looking to help innovation reach the grid

 


P 26 - We will support innovators

" ... where possible by removing regulatory barriers to new business models, products and services. This includes the expansion of our regulatory sandbox service and a greater openness to adapt or lift some licence conditions to enable firms to experiment and test innovative concepts."

p 27 Action 8 - "We will also explore, using innovative experiments and trials, how to stimulate the necessary consumer behaviour required to enable them to play their role in decarbonisation and what steps Ofgem needs to take to support this.

In particular, we propose to explore how to encourage uptake and engagement with time-of-use tariffs and EV charging. This is likely to include:

 

(1) testing the impact of various time-of-use style tariff designs on consumer electricity consumption patterns and 

 

(2) testing methods of increasing the adoption of smart charging, either through managed charging or time of-use style tariffs amongst EV owners, e.g. default versus opt-in enrolment.

We will enable new energy service business models, particularly in the retail market, that will be needed to deliver the transition. We will do this by adapting regulatory requirements to enable experimentation and to foster innovation."

 

UK GOVERNMENT BORIS JOHNSON & GRANT SHAPPS

 

According to their website, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson's government’s is investing £1.5 billion in charging infrastructure, to encourage people to switch to clean transport that is powering the electric transition across the UK’s roads. As of 2020, Grant Shapps is the Transport Minister.

 

GO ULTRA LOW

 

Head of Go Ultra Low, Poppy Welch, is quoted as saying:


"If we want to help UK consumers make the most informed decision when it comes to switching to an electric vehicle, it’s important that Go Ultra Low understands the latest consumer behaviour and embraces new technology. Voice Search is a growing trend and this new service will help support potential EV customers in a completely different and innovative way."

 

Roads media enquiries
020 7944 3021 

Switchboard
0300 330 3000 

 

 

ABOUT OFGEM

 

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas). 

The authority's powers and duties are largely provided for in statute (such as the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, the Utilities Act 2000, the Competition Act 1998, the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Energy Act 2004, the Energy Act 2008[4] and the Energy Act 2010) as well as arising from directly effective European Union legislation. Duties and functions concerning gas are set out in the Gas Act and those relating to electricity are set out in the Electricity Act. 

 

Its primary duty is to protect the interests of consumers, where possible by promoting competition.

The Authority‘s main objective is to protect existing and future consumers' interests in relation to gas conveyed through pipes and electricity conveyed by distribution or transmission systems. Consumers' interests are their interests taken as a whole, including their interests in the reduction of greenhouse gases and in the security of the supply of gas and electricity to them.

 

Since 2010 the Authority has imposed nearly £100 million in fines and redress levies against energy suppliers, including a £12 million redress levy on E.ON in May 2014, and a £1 million redress levy on British Gas in July 2014.

 

 

POWER COMPANIES A - Z

 

According to Power-Technology.com, a website that provides market and customer insights in this sector, they listed these power companies (according to the 2018 Forbes calculation of net market capitalization, assets, sales and profit) as the biggest utilities: 

 

DOE Department of Energy USA

EDF Électricité de France SA

ENEL

Engie

E.ON

GE General Electric

Iberdrola

KEPCO Korean Electric Power Corporation

National Electric Grid & Central Electricity Authority (India)

National Energy Board (Canada)

National Grid plc (formerly Central Electricity Generating Board)
Scottish & Southern Energy

Siemens Gamesa

State Grid Corporation of China

TEPCO Tokyo Electric Power Company

 

 

Electricity pylons for high voltage transmission via national grids

 

HIGH VOLTAGE - Every country uses high voltage cables to transmit electricity via a grid. mostly over ground using steel pylons.

 

 

The automotive industry is the biggest in the world with around 1.3 billion cars that are filled up roughly once every two-four weeks with liquid fossil fuels. Now imagine those cars, trucks and buses being recharged using load leveled renewable energy. Revenues from oil and petroleum transfer to power utilities in one of the biggest energy shakeups the world is ever likely to see - and over a very short time period. This is due to happen because we've been superheating the world for years by burning fossil fuels, leading to catastrophic climate change: melting ice caps, acid oceans, species mass murder and desertification.

 

The transfer to alternative energy for transport is technically feasible and could become a reality sooner than you might think, provided that we all (or a sufficient number of us) pull together to make it happen. That includes auto makers whether privately owned or State operated - and generating utilities, that are for the most part State owned. Hence, we need the cooperation of the Nations who own and operate their national grids, meaning policy makers and the politicians in power, who direct policies, most of whom are members of the UN.

 

SMARTNET - EV LOAD LEVELLING

 

The developers of the SmartNet EV system do not propose installing their our own wind turbines and solar farms, but that remains a longer term possibility - in working within the industry to help expand the clean sector. In the interests of expediency, service station operators might purchase electricity from existing power companies, and shop around. This could include a mix of fossil fuel and renewables, the aim being for a transition to 100% renewable electricity as soon as possible.

 

Those companies cooperating with such proposal(s) will have priority options as to power sales, and operating their own load-leveling stations directly.

 

VEHICLE END USERS

 

The general public can only make use of vehicles that are sold by car companies, and service facilities that exist to provide fuels and other garage services. Our objective is to be able to demonstrate that the technology exists to allow the general public to swap their petrol and diesel steeds for clean electrics, without sacrificing convenience. Auto makers then owe a duty of care to their fellow man and planet earth, to produce vehicles that do not produce harmful emissions. Petrol and diesel vehicles should carry a Government health warning.

 

This demands confidence in the vehicles that are being sold. Such confidence may only be provided by EV service stations to equal the convenience of liquid fossil fuel stations. This level of convenience is the basis of our Business Plan. It is sadly lacking in 2020.

 

 

 

STATE OF THE NATIONS - There are a number of cartridge formats at the moment leading to a confused market, and confused motorists. Better Place kicked off with one system, Tesla stalled in 2013, NIO uses a similar under car mounted cartridge and BattSwap and PowerSwap use similar capacity cartridges, with PowerSwap being a side loading system. The point here is that with a standard cartridge, service stations can be provided to recharge trucks, vans and cars. At the moment there are no energy cartridges or service stations for heavy goods vehicles.

 

 

Networked flat pack service stations may be made available to any utility, supermarket or energy trading (brokers) company, but also entrepreneurs who might operate as independent franchises.

 

 

 

FROM SPACE EXPLORATION TO ZERO EMISSIONS - Developed to power satellites and spacecraft, the silicon solar panel is now a cost effective way of generating clean electricity. Ideal sites for the location of solar farms is land that cannot be used for farming, such as the deserts we have created.

 

 

CONTACTS  

 

 

Bluebird Energy Systems

PIC No: 895922168

 

or

 

Cleaner Ocean Foundation

PIC: 915580382

 

 

 

ENERGY GENERATING-DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES ARCHIVE 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EUROPEAN AUTO MANUFACTURERS:

 

- Alfa Romeo

- Audi

- BMW

- Citroen

- Fiat

- Ford

- Lotus

- Mercedes

- Peugeot

- Renault

- Seat

- Smart

- Volkswagen

 

 

MAKES OF ELECTRIC BUSES & COACHES

 

- BDY

- ASHOK LEYLAND

 

 

MAKES OF ELECTRIC TRUCKS

 

- DAF

- Renault

- MAN

- Mercedes Benz

- Volkswagen

- Volvo

 

 

 

 

 

LINKS & REFERENCE

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Gas_and_Electricity_Markets

https://www.goultralow.com/

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/fet-proactive

https://www.power-technology.com/features/top-10-power-companies-in-the-world/

 

 

 

 

 

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