Tag Archives: Demand Reduction

1 July 2013: Discussions from the latest (third) meeting of the Mayor’s High Level Electricity Working Group – which took place on 18 June –  have recently been published. The papers can be downloaded here [see details of previous meetings here]. Points of interest include:

• GLA “officers are
  currently
  in
  the
  process
  of
  setting
  up
  a
  mechanism
  to
  provide
  UKPN
  regularly
  with
  up to date
  data
  from
  the
  GLA’s
  London
  Development
  Database
  in
  particular
  about
  planning
  permission.” Provision of this data will allow UKPN a better understanding of where future developments are likely to come forward, and foresight on where future energy demand – and potential future new decentralised energy generation capacity connected to the distribution network – is likely to be introduced.
• The minutes also inform that “The
  GLA
  and
  UKPN
  have
  also
  established
  a
  sub-
  group
  with
  respective
  experts
  to
  discuss
  identified
  Decentralised
  Energy
  and
  demand
  side
  response [DSR]
  issues
  and
  develop
  a
  joint
  strategy
  initially
  covering
  UKPN’s
  demand
  site
  [minor typo here in minutes – this should read ‘demand side’] response
  initiatives
  and
  connection
  cost
  barrier
  for
  Decentralised
  Energy.
  The
  subgroup
  met
  on
  3
  May
  for
  the
  first
  time
  and
  will
  meet
  again
  twice
  this
  year.”
• The minutes also capture the following interesting point: “It
  was
  also
  mentioned
  that
  demand
  side
  response
  measures
  work
  best
  in
  new
  developments.
  GLA
  officers
  confirmed
  that
  development
  could
  be
  encouraged
  to
  be
  ‘demand-side-response
  ready’
  through
  the
  London
  Plan.
  This
  will
  be
  considered
  as
  part
  of
  the
  Further
  Alterations
  to
  the
  London
  Plan.”
  The discussions do not go on to explain how this could be done, but energy management systems on site could potentially reduce the load of a building during times of peak grid system demand (ie reduce lighting or electrical heating/cooling uses, restrict lift use) or potentially looking to onsite decentralised energy systems exporting more of their output (or conversely when there is a lot of wind or perhaps PV output on the grid, onsite DE systems such as CHP could switch off).

UK Power Networks (UKPN) – under their Low Carbon London Programme – are already undertaking trials of such demand response activities – see the following press release.