The UK government has reportedly announced that it plans to take away the responsibility of ensuring Great Britain’s power supply from National Grid plc, a multinational power and gas utility firm based out of London. The decision is a part of a newly proposed “revolution” within the nation’s electricity network, fueled by smart digital technologies.
As per reports, The FTSE 100 firm has played a pivotal role in maintaining and managing the electricity network of Scotland, Wales, and England for more than three decades. However, it is now set to lose its position at the core the industry after new plans, put forward by government officials, propose to replace it with a new, independent system operator.
The newly assigned system controller will help the government steer the nation towards its zero-carbon climate targets while ensuring the lowest cost for utility bill payers. It would do so by offering impartial data as well as advice after changing the rules governing the power system to make it more fit for a clean future.
Reliable sources cite, the proposed plans are a part of a slew of novel proposals that aim to help integrate millions of smart appliances, electric cars, and some other green technologies into the energy grid. Government officials believe that this could help save the nation more than £10 billion per year by 2050, while simultaneously creating over 10,000 jobs for data scientists, engineers, and electricians.
The new regulations are looking to make it much more easier for electric vehicles to transfer electricity back into the energy grid or the home from their batteries whenever needed. They could also allow long-duration and large-scale batteries to play a role in the storing of renewable energy, such that it is readily available when wind and solar power generation levels are relatively low.
A spokesman for the National Grid stated that the company would be closely working with the UK government and Ofgem towards the role of the nation’s future system operator.
Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/20/national-grid-to-lose-great-britain-electricity-role-to-independent-operator