Electrical network was not designed for 21st century

The UK’s policy is to stop the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and hybrid vehicles by 2035. There is also talk of the UK replacing gas and oil boilers with electric boilers.

Guernsey’s electrical network is currently overloaded and not capable of providing additional electricity without a huge amount of investment in updating/replacing the existing network. Guernsey Electricity is currently applying sticking plasters to the network, which was not designed for the 21st century. So what are they going to do about it?

PAT ROGER

Editor’s footnote: A spokesperson from Guernsey Electricity replies:

The States of Guernsey’s 30-year energy policy was agreed earlier this year. Its key objective is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an interim target of a 57% reduction on 1990 carbon emission levels by 2030.

In terms of de-carbonising electricity used today, we have already reduced our current carbon intensity by approximately 86% in relation to 1990 levels. The average home, containing four people, now uses 13 electrical and electronic appliances, including televisions and laptops. That is a huge leap compared with 1990, when just four appliances were typically used, according to the Energy Consumption in the UK 2017 report. Despite owning more appliances, we still use roughly the same amount of energy as we did 20-plus years ago, meaning our devices have become more efficient over time.

To facilitate the de-carbonisation of both transport and heating, we need to invest further in our electricity system, and also form a clear view on how energy demand is going to be managed on the island. This way we can optimise the affordability of the energy transition for our community.

In anticipation of this carbon neutral future, Guernsey Electricity continues to plan and implement upgrades to the grid so it is fit for the future.

Much of the electricity network, which is predominantly underground, was installed several decades ago. The network, naturally, was not originally designed for such a future, but the island’s electricity system is reliable and secure. This is a great starting point for further investment to upgrade it. This programme is happening in parallel with the development of new technologies creating the additional demand.

Networks are not designed for everyone to use their appliances at the same time and, if they were, we would end up with an extremely expensive and under-used system.

In reality, however, we all use electricity at slightly different times of the day and night and Guernsey Electricity deploys sophisticated means of monitoring the network, forecasting patterns of electricity usage and making changes to the network accordingly. As we move to more customers using electricity for their vehicles and for heating, we will ensure the electricity grid is used pragmatically to meet these needs.

For example, when considering electric vehicles, the average driver on-island will travel around 20 miles in a day so realistically will only need to charge their car every few days. We therefore anticipate that vehicles will be plugged in at different times of the day and week, with the majority taking advantage of off-peak electricity when there is plenty of network capacity.

As technology develops, the ever improving range of energy solutions and innovations will bring more opportunities for better control of our energy supply, demand and storage for our customers. We are exploring and investing in a range of these technologies, such as grid scale and domestic energy storage, as these technologies will be beneficial for parts of our network (often the extremities) where capacity today might currently be limited to accommodate some of our customers’ electricity needs.

Your correspondent and Guernsey consumers in general can rest assured that the current and future provision of electricity is in safe hands.