In response to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) call for evidence on ‘Building a Market for Energy Efficiency’ the region’s power network operator has urged that providing greater responsibilities to DNOs will enable wide-ranging customer and carbon benefits, including greater capacity for the future increase in electric vehicles and other low carbon technologies.
Recent research by Electricity North West revealed consumer attitudes towards energy efficiency and renewable technologies across the North West. Around 91 percent of respondents have no renewable technologies and 64 percent stated that cost is the main barrier. On the back of the survey the power network operator launched a switched on energy test to highlight the importance of energy efficiency and people’s behaviour in the way they use electricity in their homes and businesses to help reduce the need of costly new infrastructure.
Paul Bircham, commercial strategy and support director at Electricity North West, said: “The energy landscape is rapidly changing and the demand on power networks is set to dramatically increase so it’s vital we start to change our behaviour towards energy consumption and that’s why we took the opportunity to respond to the Government’s call for evidence.
“There are currently a number of barriers for network operators to support and deliver energy efficiency, including restrictions in current regulatory models, the structure of the standard network allowance means we cannot, within the current regulatory rules, justify a business case for domestic energy efficiency measures.
“Our recent research and energy efficiency campaign shows that network operators can have a vital role to play in energy efficiency to benefit both our customers, by saving them money, and the network, by reducing the need for costly new infrastructure.
“The way we use electricity is changing, with consumers playing a much bigger role in how they both use and generate power for their homes and businesses. As a power network operator, it’s essential that we ensure everyone has the power they need, when they want it, which is why we believe energy efficiency is vital for a smarter and greener energy network in the future.”
To read more about the switched on energy efficiency campaign visit - https://www.enwl.co.uk/about-us/news/switchedon/keeping-you-switched-on/.
