Neutral Regulation – The Vital Ingredient for a Sustainable Energy Future

Abstract

There are currently several targets for the take-up of sustainable energy in the UK. Renewable energy is to provide 10% of electricity supply by 2010; combined heat and power (CHP) is to increase from its current 5 Giga Watts (GW) to 10 GW by 2010 and energy conservation measures are hoped to at least contain energy increases and preferably reduce them. At the same time, the Government has initiated a number of wide ranging energy market changes with the intention of increasing competition within energy markets so that price of energy are reduced. Thus, the key drivers of the UK energy policy are: increasing competition and lower energy prices and increasing concern about climate change and the need to reduce emissions. This paper argues that if distribution companies were to become market facilitators of energy services (both supply and demand) then the twin goals of Government would be several steps closer to being achieved. This paper examines this regulatory question of how distribution network operators (DNOs) could move to such a role and how a consensus of the goals of economic and environmental could be reached.

Keywords

Renewable energy sustainable energy neutral regulation

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