In my profile piece I describe how working in the Utilities' World is exciting because it is ever-challenging and changing. Now that the Regulator has laid out its policies and plans designed to address the Smart Grids challenge, it is easy to see how everyone could get swept away by the euphoria of it all - including me! The Regulator freely admits that the future is uncertain, yet expects the DNO's to act now if they are to cope with the planned changes and to take advantage of the opportunities that this new world presents. Paradoxically however, the same Regulator forces the DNOs to operate in a world that is certain, through a Distribution Price Control Review that constrains capital expenditure and has reduced Research and Development funding to almost nil. So what are DNO's to do?
Firstly, a sub-standard network will never cope with the increased demands of a smart grid so there needs to be a renewed focus on the performance of the existing network through improvements in asset management. Secondly, the current operational resource model, with its high dependency on contractors, will inevitably breakdown, so there needs to be improvements in contractor management, coupled with improved operator efficiency and multi-discipline operation.
DNO's need to get their strategic hats on and to start delivering if they are to have any hope of surviving in this brave new world.