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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	NIA_WWU_050
Title	Project REACH (Reaching Everyone and Connecting Homes)
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research 80%; Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Demographics) 20%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	SOCIAL SCIENCES (Psychology) 50%; PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics) 50%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 50%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour) 50%;
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given Wales and West Utilities
Award Type	Network Innovation Allowance
Funding Source	Ofgem
Start Date	01 July 2018
End Date	01 December 2018
Duration	ENA months
Total Grant Value	£213,333
Industrial Sectors	Energy
Region	Wales
Programme	Network Innovation Allowance
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , Wales and West Utilities (100.000%)
	Industrial Collaborator	Project Contact , Wales and West Utilities (0.000%)
Web Site	https://smarter.energynetworks.org/projects/NIA_WWU_050
Objectives	Egnida Consulting (Egnida) will undertake a two phase project: Phase 1, the pilot project, will focus on the development of the methods and tools and on the assessment of the results using case studies; and Phase 2 will focus on the expansion and refinement of the scheme.Phase 1 - Pilot projectWe will use data from Cardiff, Rhyl and Prestatyn to pilot the process outlined below:Work package 1 - Initial data analysis:In this work package WWU would work with Egnida to collect, clean and analyse the necessary datasets to prioritise the off-gas grid properties based on connectivity to the network and on fuel poverty likelihood.Task 1.1 - Data source collation and cleaning (Anticipated duration: 3 weeks)Egnida will work with WWU to establish the data sources that WWU already have for this analysis, including the list of connected and off-gas grid properties and the shapefiles of the gas network (for use in GIS software). Egnida will then use additional datasets needed including the Ordnance Survey AddressBase datasets (Ordnance Survey, 2018) for the properties in the required locations to proceed with the identification of the priority areas based on connectivity with the network. To identify the properties that are more likely to be in fuel poverty Egnida will collect EPC data and fuel prices sourced from national statistics (BEIS, 2018). Egnida will work with Experian to obtain income level data for the targeted postcodes (net income and housing expenses datasets) (Experian, 2018). Where appropriate and available, the Welsh Housing Conditions Survey data would also be retrieved to better inform the fuel poverty calculations. Data cleaning processes would ensure that all datasets provide useful and correct information for the pilot cases.Task 1.2 - Identifying priority areas close to gas grid connections (Anticipated duration: 2 weeks to initiate after task 1.1 has been signed off)Using the shapefiles provided by WWU, Egnida will model the current gas network in GIS. Based on the list of off-gas grid properties and the Ordnance Survey AddressBase datasets, Egnida would run an analysis to identify the households that are within a connectable distance from the existing gas grid. Egnida will also look to systematically identify major infrastructure constraints such as watercourses and railways that would form an additional barrier to connection. A ranking methodology would be then deployed to prioritise the properties based on connectivity to the network. Task 1.3 - Analysis of likelihood of fuel poverty (Anticipated duration: 2 weeks to initiate after task 1.2 has been signed off)For the estimation of fuel poverty the government is currently using the Low Income High Costs methodology (LIHC) (BRE, 2017). As the name suggests, there are two main parts forming the methodology: the household income; and the household fuel expenses. For the calculation of the household income for each of the targeted properties, the datasets from Experian would be used. Egnida would use Net Income by postcode data from Experian to augment EPC and Ordnance Survey data. From the net income dataset the housing costs (i.e. mortgage and rent payments) would be deducted to calculate the After Housing Costs income (AHC income). For the fuel expenses Egnida would use EPC data to estimate likely energy use for the properties based upon floor area and building archetype. Egnida would then apply fuel prices to identify the households fuel expenses. Once household income and fuel expenses have been calculated, Egnida could apply the government approved methodology to calculate which of the off-gas grid properties fall under the Low Income High Costs category and are therefore identified as fuel poor. Using this methodology the fuel poverty gap for each of the properties would also be identified to highlight which of the properties are deeper in fuel poverty than others. This metric would then help inform as to which households should be prioritised further. The use of alternative fuel poverty methodologies, such as the 10% indicator, will be explored as well.Work package 2 - Refined data analysis and customer engagement: Task 2.1 - Customer facing web-app design (Anticipated duration: 7 weeks to initiate after task 1.3 has been signed off)In order to refine the baseline data Egnida will build a customer facing web-app which can be hosted and styled to match WWUs or one of its existing partners web offerings that allows householders to log-in to see our preliminary results and make adjustments. This would use EPC data to allow the user to select their property from addresses which have an EPC lodged, in which case EPC data would be augmented, or add their property information manually. Egnida would seek to ascertain current heating method, floor space of the property, any heat efficiency methods already employed, household income and current energy spend. Egnida propose to include additional features within this web app such as simple modelling tools which allow the user to find potential renewable energy options for their home, such as a solar PV calculator, to a more rounded customer experience and to incentivise the sharing of data. Task 2.2 - Market engagement strategy (Anticipated duration: 2 weeks to initiate after task 2.1 has been signed off)Egnida will work with WWU and any suitable marketing partners to create a market engagement strategy for WWU or its partners to enact.Phase 2 - Scheme expansionIf the data found in the first work package were found to be a cost-effective method of targeting fuel poor customers, producing quality data, then WWU working with Egnida would look to expand the scheme to the next band of most opportune customers. Egnida will use a list of properties within WWUs area not currently connected to gas to define those with the highest potential for connection based on geographic proximity to an existing gas connection.It is assumed that the total number of properties in the WWU area without a gas connection is circa 611,000. We would expect the second tranche of applicants to be around 50,000 of the highest potential customers based on geographic location. • The location of the pilot cases in North Wales for Rhyl and Prestatyn and in South Wales for Cardiff would enable testing of the webapp development across Wales from the early stages of the project and ensure that the methodology and tools developed are applicable and validated at large scale. Phase 2 would also expand the scheme further to capture the majority of eligible properties within WWUs area.• Advice on implications of findings, presentation and recommendation for future developments. To identify priority areas close to gas grid connections using datasets and Geographic Information System technologies to estimate likelihood of fuel poverty level for householdsTo build a customer facing web-app that allows householders to log-in to see our preliminary results and make adjustments for their personal circumstances.
Abstract	.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	02/12/22