This is how we use innovation to accelerate industry-leading energy solutions

Blog by Eddie Mulholland, Director of Processes and Technology

We are pleased to share the next in the series of blogs linked to the delivery of our RIIO-T3 Business Plan. In this blog, we discuss how we use innovation to accelerate and develop industry-leading energy solutions for our customers, communities and wider stakeholders. If you’re looking for a short summary of this blog, scroll to the end for the top 3 key takeaways.

Introduction

As a transmission and distribution network owner, we play a critical role in enabling the transition to a cleaner, future – supporting both the Scottish, Welsh and UK Government to reach their Net Zero targets and Clean Power 2030.

Our RIIO-T3 Business Plan, to be published this December, will set out proposed investment in the transmission network for the 5 years between 2026 to 2031. It will enable the connection of renewable power needed to deliver the energy transition and generate investment that delivers growth and green jobs.

This blog is part of a series linked to the ‘Data, Digitalisation and Innovation’ workstream of our RIIO-T3 Business Plan. This blog will focus on Innovation with two earlier blogs focussing on Data and Digitalisation.

What is innovation?

Innovation can mean lots of different things to different people. We asked colleagues across our business what innovation means to them. From the word cloud below you can see it’s clear that innovation is about thinking differently, using new ideas and creativity to create solutions, push boundaries and challenge norms.

From the invention of the first coal-powered steam engine in the 18th century to the UK’s first windfarm in the 1990s, innovation has been the lifeblood of the energy sector for centuries.

We, SP Energy Networks, have the ambition and capability to lead the industry by innovating in the best interests of our customers and wider stakeholders to reduce costs and facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy while continuing to improve customer service, security of supply and network performance.

We are leading the way on the issues that really matter. Innovation is critical to that, which is why we have committed to specific innovation activities in both our RIIO-T2 and ED2 Business Plans, and innovation will also be an integral theme of how we will deliver our RIIO-T3 Business Plan.

To us, innovation is about doing things differently, developing new solutions and advancing ideas to deliver benefits to the customers and communities we serve. Innovation enhances many aspects of our business and enables us to improve the services we provide.

• Technological - The engineering of new devices and systems.
• Commercial - The development of new arrangements with customers and suppliers.
• Operational and Process driven - The development of new practices.

Visit the ‘Innovation’ section of our website to read more.

Innovative Technology

Our track record of investing in innovative technologies has accelerated through recent years. An example is the high temperature, low sag conductor technology, which is set to be deployed across multiple overhead line routes as part of our RIIO-T3 Business Plan. This cutting-edge technology will boost capacity across our overhead lines, enabling them to deliver more power to customers’ homes without the need for costly and disruptive infrastructure upgrades. It’s a solution that will expedite connections to the grid and will also reduce constraint costs, embodying our commitment to efficient and innovative energy solutions which deliver clear benefits for customers. 

Innovation in Sustainability

Innovation is a core part of our Sustainable Business Strategy (opens in a new window). For example, investment and innovation in SF6 free switchgear has significantly accelerated the development of this technology to a stage where it’s ready for deployment across our network, starting with our Windyhill substation near Glasgow. And in Merseyside, a £30m project is underway to replace 132kV circuit breakers with an SF6-free solution feeding our network in the greater Liverpool area.

Up-coming Innovation Projects

Our Innovation team are at the helm of advances in innovative technologies and in recent months, working with a number of partners, secured over £22m from Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund to take forward five projects. This investment allows us to continue pushing boundaries and explore innovative ways that our transmission and distribution networks can deliver benefits for all GB customers and support a sustainable future.

One of the big challenges for network operators is visibility of the whole energy system, and then modelling solutions to manage the growth in electricity demand. Digital Twins are one way to overcome this. Our ENSIGN project, in collaboration with University of Strathclyde and other academic and industry partners, is seeking to do just that.

These initiatives are just a glimpse of the innovative solutions now making a tangible difference in our operations today.

RIIO-T3 Business Plan

Innovation is one of the key themes as to how we will deliver our RIIO-T3 Business Plan. Innovation is a way to fundamentally accelerate improvements, and in the business plan we will showcase the value of the innovation we have already delivered and demonstrate how we are targeting our efforts for RIIO-T3 on the specific areas where doing things better, faster or at lower cost will have the biggest impact on the outcomes that matter to network users and energy consumers

As part of our innovation-specific stakeholder engagement for the business plan, we recently hosted an ‘Innovation for T3’ lunch at the Energy Innovation Summit (EIS). This focused workshop explored how innovation can help us go further within the areas of cyber security and sustainability that we’re looking to collaborate on over the coming months and years. We welcome any feedback to help shape our planned activities and transform them into potential projects. If you'd like to contribute to these topics or discuss further, drop our team an email at spinnovation@spenergynetworks.co.uk 

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholders are key to the development of our RIIO-T3 Business Plan. A number of engagement opportunities have taken place, giving you the chance to shape our proposals. Complete this online form to Register as a Stakeholder (selecting ‘Innovation’ as one of your interests) to hear about future opportunities. 

Members of our Independent Net Zero Advisory Council (INZAC) will also be supporting the development of our Business Plan, scrutinising both the technical plans as well as ensuring any emerging customer issues are fully considered.

Stay up to date via our dedicated RIIO-T3 page which will be updated regularly with our progress and opportunities for engagement.  If you have any enquiries about our RIIO-T3 Business Plan, please email us on riio-t3pmo@spenergynetworks.co.uk     

The top 3 takeaways from this blog are:

• We are developing our RIIO-T3 Business Plan which will be published in December 2024.
• Innovation is one of the key themes as to how we will deliver our RIIO-T3 Business Plan activities. Innovation is fundamentally a way to accelerate improvements, and in the business plan we will showcase the value of the innovation we have already delivered – and demonstrate how we are targeting our efforts for RIIO-T3 on the specific areas where doing things better, faster or at lower cost will have the biggest impact on the outcomes that matter to network users and energy consumers
• Complete this online form to Register as a Stakeholder (selecting ‘Innovation’ as one of your interests).

Stay up to date via our dedicated RIIO-T3 page which will be updated regularly with our latest blogs, progress and opportunities for engagement.

If you have any enquiries about our RIIO-T3 Business Plan, please email us on riio-t3pmo@spenergynetworks.co.uk.