GOVERNING DIGITAL ENERGY
EMILY JUDSON, PHD RESEARCHER, ENERGY POLICY GROUP
UK ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OF THE PAST
Generation Transmission Distribution Consumption
One way energy flow
Large, centralised
thermal generation.
Fossil, nuclear,
some renewables.
High voltage,
national, long-
distance networks.
Lower voltage,
regional, shorter
distance networks.
Commercial and
domestic, via
technologies,
largely ‘passive’.
ENERGY SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION
Decentralisation
Digitalisation
DemocratisationDecarbonisation
Source: adapted from Soutar 2019
Climate change mitigation
ICT and data development
Reduced costs of renewables
New actors & responsibilities
WHICH TECHNOLOGIES ARE INVOLVED?
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2017, p. 11 Figure 12
NEW VALUE PROPOSITIONS AND BUSINESS MODELS
Sources: see reference slide
GOVERNING DIGITAL ENERGY FOR EQUITABLE
DECARBONISATION
SOCIO-TECHNICAL FRAMING
• Developed in Science and Technology Studies
• Co-evolution (Foxton, 2014) and mutual shaping
of technology and society (Geels, 2005).
• Technology is never socially neutral.
• But humans may prefer algorithmic decision-making,
perceiving it as more ‘objective’ than human decision-
making (eg Logg et. al., 2019).
• Outcome: failure to look for or acknowledge
unintended negative consequences of new tech.
Source: author’s own
THE UK DIGITAL GOVERNANCE LANDSCAPE
Risk of gaps, duplication and slow pace of change.
• A relatively nascent infrastructure,
reflecting recent technological
development and uptake that is still
growing rapidly.
• Governance spread across at least
12 regulators (House of Lords
2019) and industry self-regulation.
• Focus on communications, media and
online transactions. Other industries
missing – including energy.
Source: Complete VNI Forecast, Cisco, 2018
THE ENERGY GOVERNANCE LANDSCAPE
Photo: Chris Collins / Margaret Thatcher Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0
• A complex and mature system
rooted in the 1980s
• Developed under state roll-back
and privatisation
• Includes public and private actors
Source: Dr Bridget Woodman, Energy Policy Group, University of Exeter
• Energy governance today is built from historical
context: maintaining a centralised, market-led
and fossil fuel centric system.
WHILE SOME CHANGE IS HAPPENING…
… overall, regulation has not kept pace.
OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF GOVERNANCE?
Bottom-up:
diverse,
locally
determined
solutions,
difficult to
scale.
Top-down:
centralised
processes,
policy and
regulation,
applied at
scale.
Decentralisation
Digitalisation
DemocratisationDecarbonisation
New forms emerging from a changing context
‘PUBLIC INTEREST’ OUTCOMES
ENERGY DEMOCRACY• A nebulous and contested term.
• Activist roots, but now more academic development (e.g. Thombs 2019, Szulecki 2018, Soutar 2018).
• Opportunities for formal (eg national policy consultations) and informal (eg changing attitudes or
practices) participation in system transformation.
• Key point: opportunity to contest and shape the ‘rules of the game’.
• Democratisation of energy AND information/technology?
SUMMARY: 5 KEY POINTS
1. The energy system is changing fast.
2. Digitalization is an area of particularly rapid and unpredictable change.
3. Technological change can lead to unintended negative consequences.
4. Effective governance of digital energy is therefore required to ensure that change
aligns with valuable environmental and social outcomes.
5. Current energy and digital governance does note serve this purpose.
THE CHALLENGE:
• How can we build a ‘fit for purpose’ governance
framework(s) for digital energy, that supports
equitable transformation to a decarbonised energy
system?
APPROACH AND METHODS:
• Literature review and policy analysis
• Commercial landscape mapping
• Qualitative data collection: workshops and interviews
REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSSupervision: Dr Iain Soutar and Professor Catherine Mitchell, Energy Policy Group, University of Exeter.
• Bloomberg New Energy Finance: “Digitalization of Energy Systems” whitepaper, 6 November 2017. Accessible via: https://sie.ag/2XEAdDk
• Evison, J. “Ikea creates blockchain solution to "democratise" renewable energy”, Edie, 11 March 2019. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2WfDaWF
• Foxton, J. and Steinberger, J.: “Energy, efficiency and economic growth: a coevolutionary perspective and implications for a low carbon transition”, Centre for Climate Change Economics and
Policy Working Paper No. 146 and Sustainability Research Institute Paper No. 49, September 2013. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2XeZ8ck
• Geels, F.: “Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study”, Research Policy, vol.31(8), 2002, pp1252 – 1274.
• Glachant, J.M. and Rosetto, N.: “The Digital World Knocks at Electricity’s Door: Six Building Blocks to Understand Why”, Florence School of Regulation – Energy, Issue 16, September 2018.
• House of Lords Select Committee on Communications: “Regulating in a Digital World”, 2nd Report of Session 2017–19, 9 March 2019.
• iGov, “IGov Primer – Fit for Purpose GB Energy Governance Framework”, iGov, 4 February 2019. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2WfELM9
• Logg, J., Minson, J., and Moore, D.: ” Algorithm appreciation: People prefer algorithmic to human judgment”, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, vol. 151, 2019, pp90 –
103.
• New Energy Update. “Google AI hikes wind power value by 20%; UK targets 30 GW offshore wind by 2030”, 7 March 2019. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2Hx5YH0
• Ram, A. “Europe’s AI start-ups often do not use AI, study finds”, Financial Times, 5 March 2019. Accessible via: Europe’s AI start-ups often do not use AI, study finds
• Soutar, I. “Emergence and control in UK energy system democratisation”, In Search of ‘Good’ Energy Policy, University of Cambridge, 26th Feb 2019. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2CvTbQV
• Soutar, I: “We need to talk about (deep) energy democracy”, Exeter Energy Policy Group Blog, 12 November 2018. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2Xe9dey
• Sustainability First New Public Interest Network, “Looking to the long term: hearing the public interest voice in energy and water”, February 2018. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2Cuvbxm
• Szulecki, K: “Conceptualising energy democracy”, Environmental Politics, vol. 27, 2018, pp 21-41.
• Thombs, R: “When democracy meets energy transitions: A typology of social power and energy system scale”, Energy Research and Social Science, vol. 52, 2019, pp159-168.
• Vaughan, A. “AI and drones turn an eye towards UK's energy infrastructure”, The Guardian, 2 December 2018. Accessible via: https://bit.ly/2U8CBha
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
@TheEmilyJudson
@exeterepg
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