Vulnerability and Energy Networks, Identification and Consumption Evaluation (VENICE)
| Funding mechanism | Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) |
|---|---|
| Duration | Jul 2021 - Aug 2023 |
| Project expenditure | £1,699M |
| Research area | Transition to low carbon future |
Objective(s)
Objectives are:
- To measure the impact of the recent pandemic on networks and in particular persistence of behavioural changes in the future to inform network planning.
- Model vulnerability in order to be able to predict if a customer has become vulnerable so that DNOs can improve the identification of vulnerable customers and be able to offer more support to the people that need it.
- Using a community energy scheme determine the right approaches needed to engage the fuel poor in this transition. This will be done via new business models and schemes to attract them to Net Zero while benefitting the electricity distribution network.
Problem(s)
Predicting customer vulnerability is a complex matter but on the back of the global pandemic, the increasing focus on fuel poverty, the estimated costs of the energy transition it would be potentially beneficial if the industry could be proactive in highlighting vulnerability ahead of the transition to Low Carbon Technologies.
Method(s)
The project will look at three different aspects of the energy challenge and the low carbon transition. Firstly it will look at the pandemic and how this has impacted on energy consumption and how changing behaviours may “stick” in order to inform our future planning approaches. The second will look at how it could be possible to predict if a customer has become vulnerable through their energy usage patterns and do this using exist known patterns for customers with vulnerabilities. The third will take a local community where poverty is high and develop new business models for those customers to keep them engaged and provide benefits to the distribution network. It will use insights from the other two work streams as well.