Smart Grids and Smart Metering Group

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For a list and summary of the group's previous meetings, please visit the Meeting Reviews section.

About the group

Intellect's Smart Grids and Smart Metering Group represents members with an interest in smart grid and smart metering technologies by engaging with the regulators, the regulated, and other stakeholders within these markets. Members come from a range of fields including software, consumer electronics, utilities, telecoms, meter manufacturers, satellite communications, the legal profession, consultancies and broader technology companies.

Background

Smart metering

A smart-meter provides customers with close to real-time data on how much gas and electricity is being consumed, the related cost, and the impact this consumption is having on greenhouse gas emissions. The key distinction between smart meter types is determined by the communication format between the utility company and the communications provider: for example, whether communication is one-way or two-way and the data-storage capability of the meter. Smart meters have been rolled out with some success in a number of worldwide markets and have been shown to reduce consumption and will put an end to estimated bills. 

Smart meters are likely to provide a number of benefits:

• from a retail perspective, it is hoped that customers will shift their demand patterns thanks to differential tariffs, in turn easing the pressure on the grid, and the need for new power stations.

• from a network perspective, operators will be able to spot and manage leakages and boost the grid’s efficiencies.

• utility companies themselves will be able to shift resources away from old-fashioned meter-reading, also leading to greater efficiencies.

In October 2008, Lord Hunt announced the Government's decision to mandate a roll out of smart meters to domestic electricity and gas customers. The project will potentially require each of the country’s 26m homes to be fitted with new gas and electricity meters – 46m meters in all – which will allow customers to monitor their energy consumption on easy-to-use digital devices. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and utilities regulator Ofgem are planning and directing the roll-out, and it has been recently announced that it will be supplier led with a central communications model.

The Government's preference is to see the roll out begin by 2012, following a preparation period which we are now well into, and completed by the end of 2020. This is a tight time-frame for an enormous project and the implications of smart-metering and billing for the IT industry are vast. Indeed, each meter must be able to reliably and securely communicate information collected to a central location and technology will play a significant role in making all aspects of the project feasible.

A number of challenges exist, including the issues of:

• interoperability between meters - whereby it is important that if one energy supplier installs one type of smart meter into a property, the basic functions must be able to be used by a different supplier if the customer chooses to change.  

• methods of communication - such as whether wireless or cabled. 

• data security - how will large quantities of potentially sensitive customer energy usage data be stored? 

The technology industry is well placed to meet these challenges and to help determine the most appropriate format of the roll-out.

Current Activities

This is a critical and exciting time for the project with many important decisions to be made. The group is holding a series of roundtables with regulators and other stakeholders to discuss some of the implications and challenges involved in the deployment of smart-metering in the UK. We aim to gauge how best the group can provide decision-makers and thereafter regulators with information on the technology solutions that could help tackle these issues and meet new regulatory requirements.

These roundtables provide a greater understanding of the direction of legislation and regulation within the smart-metering arena, and enable members to discuss IT solutions directly with the regulators and government officials.

Intellect has responded to consultations issued by DECC and Ofgem and is hosting a series of workshops with both bodies.

Roundtables have been held with DECC, Ofcom, Ofgem, The Conservatives, the ERA and Warwick Business School. The Intellect Smart Metering Conference also took place in November 2009 - details and presentations from a range of stakeholders can be found by clicking on the link at the side of this page. 

Smart Grids

Smart meters are not an end in themselves. Indeed, they are a stepping stone to an electrical infrastructure which will seek to intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it. This will help ensure sustainable, economic and secure energy supplies as we move deeper into the twenty-first century.

The Smart Grid is an evolving concept where technology will lead the way to a more efficient and interconnected network. This will play a central role in ensuring the future competitiveness of the UK, thus impacting an incredibly broad spectrum of industries.

Watch this space.

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