BEIS consultation: Call for evidence a smart, flexible energy system

As part of our commitment to building a 21st century energy infrastructure, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Ofgem are working together to ensure our energy system can respond to the latest challenges, and take advantage of the opportunities offered by new innovative technologies and services. A smart, flexible energy system offers significant benefits for consumers and the economy, helping us use energy more flexibly and increasing the efficiency of the whole energy system.

Consumers are at the heart of the development of this system, which can give them choice and control over how they use electricity, including any that they generate themselves. This call for evidence sets out our intended approach to realising such a system. We invite your views on how to develop our energy system so that it is smart and flexible, and captures benefits for consumers and businesses. Our approach is firmly rooted in enabling competition and markets to deliver on price, quality and choice, and we want flexible solutions to compete with each other and with more traditional solutions.

The responses to this document, as well as wider engagement, will help shape a plan that we expect to publish in spring 2017. This plan will set out the specific actions we plan to take to remove barriers, improve price signals, catalyse innovation, and shape roles and responsibilities in the shift to a smart, more flexible energy system which meets the needs of consumers and businesses now and in the future.

Deadline: 12 January 2017 11:45pm

Full details here

BEIS Open consultation Heat in Buildings: The Future of Heat – Non-domestic buildings

Non-domestic buildings account for 12% of greenhouse gas emissions. We are looking to unlock carbon and bill savings in areas we know less about, such as non-domestic buildings.

We know that there is significant potential for savings from heat, cooling and energy efficiency within the different non-domestic sectors (public, business and commercial) but accessing it has a number of challenges because of the diverse nature of energy usage in those buildings. Our evidence base is not complete and we need to consider and test a number of policies which can deliver the most effective savings. This call for evidence sets us on this path.

We are seeking views from those in the building industry and decision-makers on the opportunities, and how we can:

• Keep energy bills as low as possible;
• Continue to ensure the UK has a secure and resilient energy system;
• Remain at the leading edge of science, research and innovation; and
• Reduce carbon emissions cost-effectively.

Your response will be most useful if it is framed in direct response to the questions posed, though further comments and evidence are also welcome. We encourage respondents to make use of the online e-consultation platform (link below).

Deadline 27 January 2017 5:00pm

Full details here

Consultation on Smart Energy Code and Licence Amendments – September 2016

Consultation on proposed legal drafting amendments to the Smart Energy Code, Gas and Electricity Supply Licence Conditions and DCC Licence to support smart metering.

Deadline: 17 October, 5pm

Full details here

The consultation seeks any comments on proposed legal drafting on a number of topics. These include:

• Install and Leave
• Maintenance of Smart Metering Systems
• Simplification of change of supplier information flows
• Testing required to implement changes to the SEC
• Enduring Registration Data Provider Entry Process Testing
• Changes to the Enduring Testing Approach Document (ETAD)
• Provision of variant Communications Hubs for testing
• Changes to Section N to support SMETS 1 Enrolment and Adoption by the DCC
• Amendments to the Ofgem Significant Code Review process
• Privacy requirements
• Making certain transitional variations enduring
• Changes to the Supply Licence Conditions, the DCC Licence and the SEC to accommodate multiple versions of Technical Specifications and multiple versions of DUIS
• Minor miscellaneous changes

Consultation: MPs seek your views on impact of Brexit on energy policy, scientific research

The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee seeks your views on the implications for UK energy policy of leaving the EU – with a closing date for responses of 14 September 2016. Views on the impact of Brexit on scientific research are also sought.

Full details here

WBSF research inquiry: domestic energy efficiency

The Westminster Sustainable Business Forum are calling for written evidence on the issue of domestic energy efficiency (although there are overlaps with non-domestic environments):

Historically, UK governments have supported investment in home energy efficiency through a combination of taxpayer-funded schemes and regulatory requirements on energy companies. The Comprehensive Spending Review/Autumn Statement 2015 announces a continuation of the supplier obligation approach with the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) as the only energy efficiency policy remaining in place in its current form until March 2017, after which it will be reformed with no concrete details confirmed as yet. With funding for the Green Deal having ended, there is a need to fill a policy vacuum. Making the successor policy to ECO efficient in terms of targeting low-income & fuel-poor groups and designing a new policy tool to target the able-to-pay market will be highly important.

How to Submit Evidence We invite all interested parties to submit their views on the questions below. The questions are divided into general and more specific questions. You may answer as many or as few as you wish. We welcome evidence from individuals and on behalf of organisations, and will accept evidence in a variety of formats (eg. audio/visual submissions, or data analysis in support of written answers).

The deadline for submissions is Friday, 19 February 2016.

Evidence should be submitted by email to Claudia.Jaksch@policyconnect.org.uk or in hard copy to Westminster Sustainable Business Forum Policy Connect CAN Mezzanine 32-36 Loman Street Southwark London SE1 0EH The Inquiry will not publish evidential submissions, and will seek permission from the submitter for any direct quotes it intends to include in the final report.

Full details here: Call for evidence – WSBF inquiry ‘domestic energy efficiency’