Abstract |
Since de-regulation the Electricity Supply Industry has undergone a metamorphic
change both technically and commercially. The industry has become much more
streamlined and, at the same time, more fragmented in its different approaches to
solving the common challenges of an ever more demanding customer base, an
ageing infrastructure and a rising preponderance of different forms of distributed
generation.
The challenge going forward is to provide greater flexibility to allow distribution
power networks of the future to deliver the demands that will be placed on them by
future generations. To achieve this, the normal ambition of best practice and cost
efficiency must be blended with technical innovation and sustainable strategies to
allow the liberalised market to flourish and deliver the real promise of a lower
carbon economy in an affordable, safe and environmentally acceptable manner.
This report sets out the steps that will be necessary to ensure the most appropriate
use is made of our legacy infrastructure, the opportunities that innovative
technological, commercial, regulatory and environmental solutions can offer and a
framework that will allow these solutions to be delivered in a liberalised context.
The report proposes the processes needed and offers recommendations to achieve
this goal. |