National smart grid network for the UK
September 9, 2011
Smart metering and smart grid infrastructure has been taken seriously in the UK since 2007 when the then Labour government set in train the requirement for energy suppliers to install smart meters in most businesses by 2012. More in-depth measures were adopted in 2009, with proper strategic planning being formulated to put into practice the vision of how the country’s smart grid infrastructure should evolve. One of the plans was to develop a national smart meter scheme costing in excess of £8.6 billion to 2030. By 2020 up to 26 million electricity and 20 million gas meters will be replaced by a new company made up of the UK’s six principal power utilities – British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Power and RWE N-Power. The plan is in line with increasingly stringent EC rules on energy conservation and the requirement for Member States to procure a greater proportion of their energy needs from renewable sources and low-carbon sources.
To help maintain this impetus, the government and the utilities regulator Ofgem have supported a number of technology trials. Yet the vision goes far beyond technology: fundamentally, the challenge will incorporate necessary changes to the regulatory, legal, and commercial frameworks, as well as a massive cultural shift among consumers, whose cooperation, engagement and understanding of the benefits to themselves is crucial. To this end, smart grids supported by smart meters and smart appliances in their millions will be important cogs in an overall mechanism.
In mid-2010 the Coalition government first called for interest from companies to deploy a transmission network to support smart meter connectivity. Vodafone and O2 considered their existing mobile networks for the job, which had merit due to the networks’ comprehensive footprint, while a BT-led consortium suggested using a dedicated long-range, low-frequency radio network using low-end spectrum which could better penetrate buildings and so access places where meters are situated. The consortium included Arqiva, which has a national licence in the 28GHz band as well as frequencies in the 400MHz band, as also Detica and the smart meter manufacturer Sensus.
The government has recently announced contracts worth up to £4.59 billion to build a national wide area network (WAN) supporting smart meters. Uniquely in Europe, it plans to shoulder the cost of infrastructure as well as manage the data. Contracts are being split into three areas, encompassing northern England and Scotland, central England together with Wales, and southern England. Depending on the contract, each will run for between six and 15 years.
Henry Lancaster, senior researcher Europe, BuddeComm
