UK's Move to Cleaner Energy Grid Demonstrated by Power Switch-Off

Last week, British citizens were presented with a decision: continue using electricity as usual or switch off the lights.

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Hundreds of thousands of homes participated in an initiative to lower electricity usage for a few hours when energy resources were predicted to be in short supply.
A financial incentive was presented as part of the emergency measures, but there is more to it than that. These measures are a glimpse of the decisions and actions that will need to be adopted as the world shifts its energy sources to mainly rely on renewable energy sources that are not always available. The global energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drastically changed public expectations regarding the cost and availability of gas and electricity. People used to take these resources for granted, but the crisis in Europe has revealed the fragility of the system.

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The ability to adjust energy consumption in response to changes in price or availability can help to keep electricity costs down and promote the use of renewable energy sources. In order to combat climate change, nations are attempting to accelerate the implementation of renewable energy sources. This will necessitate a major change in the way people use and consume energy. Sarah Honan, the flexibility policy manager at the Association for Decentralised Energy, recently stated to a committee in the UK Parliament that demand-side response needs to become a regular part of operations.

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Technicians are constantly monitoring the world's electricity grids to ensure a steady balance between supply and demand. They are prepared for sudden increases in electricity usage, such as when the World Cup is being watched or during the typical evening hours when people are cooking dinner.
Rather than simply increasing the amount of supply, the United Kingdom is attempting to alter the amount of demand.

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Electricity providers serving residential customers requested that eligible customers reduce their energy consumption for one hour on Monday night and 90 minutes on Tuesday. Participants were compensated with money for every unit of energy they saved compared to their usual usage. Octopus Energy, a major supplier, reported that 400,000 customers participated in each session. On Monday, they reduced electricity usage by approximately 200 megawatt-hours, which is equivalent to the power being shut off in Bristol, one of the 10 largest cities in England.

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The following day, the decrease in customer demand was almost the same as if the city of Liverpool had shut off its lights for an hour. This was only slightly less than 1% of the total energy produced during that time, but it was enough to make a difference to the tight margins on the power grid. In the event of a shortage of resources, this type of program could be beneficial in avoiding a disaster. Additionally, it serves as a practice run for a future where wind energy has a more prominent role in the power grid.

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When the wind is not blowing, something else must take its place. Natural gas is the most common short-term solution. However, if people can reduce their energy consumption, it will result in less gas being burned and fewer greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. As nations search for renewable energy sources to replace current gas plants, the cost of these fossil-fuel based options will be significantly higher. This makes the transition to more sustainable energy sources even more appealing.

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Kesavarthiniy Savarimuthu, an analyst at Bloomberg NEF, believes that this is a positive move towards achieving cost-effective and clean demand flexibility. According to Savarimuthu, this is a much more affordable and environmentally friendly option. The United Kingdom is not the only country to take action against high energy demand. Ireland has recently implemented a program called "Beat the Peak" to encourage customers to use energy outside of peak hours. Last year, California's grid operator sent out text messages to customers in order to prevent potential blackouts, asking them to reduce electricity usage during certain times.

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As economies move away from carbon-based energy sources, the number of opportunities to reduce electricity consumption will increase. Homeowners may have limited options at present, but in the near future, more households will be using electric vehicles and home heating systems. This will give people the option to charge their vehicles or adjust their thermostat during times of high demand, thus reducing their electricity usage.
It is anticipated that electric cars will experience a surge in popularity.

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In order to be more flexible in the future, automation may be used to avoid the difficulty of getting millions of people to adjust their energy usage to times when electricity is more affordable, such as when the wind is blowing. Homeowners could potentially have the ability to give their energy suppliers some control over their energy consumption, such as the ability to adjust the temperature of their refrigerators without the homeowner's knowledge.

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In order to make progress, households must update their communication with the electricity grid. This means replacing traditional meters with smart meters that can provide real-time information about power consumption.

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Denmark is leading the way in terms of smart meter usage and market-based electricity prices. This encourages people to use electricity when the wind is blowing and prices are lower, usually at night. As a result, Denmark has the highest share of electricity from wind. Jo-Jo Hubbard, co-founder of Electron, believes that automation will create a power market that is more cost-effective, more efficient, and requires less effort from customers. Electron specializes in constructing software for flexible power markets.

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She emphasized the importance of ensuring that all electric vehicles and heat pumps are able to communicate with the grid and suppliers, which is not currently happening. She noted that this is the first step in creating a flexible, low-carbon grid.