The Substation Podcast

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A place for independent electricity market, systems and technology chat. Two energy geeks who want to share what they know and learn about the energy transition. Get in touch at thesubstationpodcast@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at @substationpod

The Substation Podcast


    • Oct 30, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 42m AVG DURATION
    • 25 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Substation Podcast

    Skip Rates in the Electricity Market

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2023 35:17


    Tom and Emma talk about skip rates - the term used to describe assets not being dispatched in the electricity market, although they're in merit. They discuss how definitions for skip rates differ across stakeholders, and talk about work underway to improve skip rates. Are they a natural part of balancing a complex system or are they avoidable quirk of old systems?

    Alternatives to Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2023 42:01


    Tom and Emma discuss options for improving locational signals on the electricity system that aren't Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP). Could reforms to network access, network charging, new markets and services send better signals to the market and reduce constraint costs? Could these options be easier to implement than LMP, and reduce potential investor uncertainty? And why can't we just build more wires?

    Energy demand – the role for intelligent demand in energy systems with Alex Schoch from Octopus

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2022 46:46


    In the third episode in the series about the role of demand in energy markets, Emma and Tom speak to Alex Schoch, global head of flexibility at Octopus Energy. They discuss how Demand Side Response will evolve to become intelligent demand. Read the Octopus blog about this at: https://octopus.energy/blog/intelligent-demand/

    Energy demand – what happens when there's not enough energy to meet demand?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2022 40:38


    In the second in a series on the role of demand in energy, Tom and Emma talk about the arrangements in GB gas and electricity systems that are used when the market fails to balance supply and demand. What are the steps taken to avoid disconnecting demand? How is energy rationed when there isn't enough, and how do we return back to normal market operations afterwards?

    Energy demand – the role of demand in energy

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2022 54:50


    In the first in a series about energy demand, Emma and Tom discuss how demand interacts with energy, covering energy efficiency, demand side response, demand destruction and rota disconnections. How should different kinds of demand be incentivised, now and in the future?

    Market design - Time in electricity markets

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 32:58


    In the third episode on electricity market design, Tom and Emma ask "What is Time?". But they're not physicists, so they can't answer this question. But they can answer: What's a Settlement Period? What's an EFA Block? What do futures contracts represent? All this - and more - in the latest episode of the Substation Podcast.

    time electricity markets market design
    Alternatives to locational pricing - with Adam Bell

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2022 52:02


    Locational Marginal Pricing seems to be high on the policy agenda after it featured heavily in the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements released recently by BEIS, Emma and Tom chat with Adam Bell from Stonehaven as they attempt to tease apart the strengths and weaknesses of this approach to market design, and discuss possible alternatives.

    A Clean Energy Standard - with George Day

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2022 46:49


    How might a clean Energy Standard help the energy system deploy towards Net Zero in a cost effective way? A clean energy standard places obligations on consumers and suppliers to secure firm low carbon power. Emma and Tom catch up with George Day from the Energy Systems Catapult to talk through some of the implications of its design, its strengths and weaknesses and compare it to some other ideas like market splitting or locational marginal pricing (LMP). You can read more about the proposals here: https://es.catapult.org.uk/report/rethinking-electricity-markets-the-case-for-emr-2/

    Review of the Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) - how might market design evolve in GB?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2022 33:47


    Emma and Tom talk about the latest development in market design in GB, the Government's Review of the Electricity Market Arrangements - REMA. It will be a wide-ranging review, with an ambitious scope, considering all aspects of markets and mechanisms. They talk about historical experience with market reform in GB, possible interventions following REMA, tne importance of governance, and the importance of good acronyms.

    Market design – self despatch and central despatch

    Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022 49:58


    In the second in the series on electricity market design, Tom and Emma discuss the two different approaches to pricing and despatch in electricity markets –central despatch and self despatch. They talk about how we moved from a centralised 'pool' market to a de-centralised market in Great Britain and ask whether there could be a case to move back again.

    great britain market design despatch
    Market design - is it time to move away from marginal pricing?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2022 33:01


    In this episode, Tom and Emma dive into electricity market design. Marignal pricing is a key concept in electricity market design, with the most expensive unit needed to meet demand setting the price for all generators. They explain Marginal Pricing and ask whether in a world of rising gas prices and increasing proportions of renewables the marginal pricing principle is still fit for purpose. Could a two phase market work, with a separate 'green power pool' so that pricing is no longer set by expensive fuelled generation? How would this work, and what would the implications be?

    Security of supply mechanisms in a net zero world

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2022 47:29


    In the third in the series on security of supply mechansims, Tom and Emma ask how they may need to change in the light of net zero. With a changing generation mix, market fundamentals and a climate, how will markets ensure that approrpiate signals are sent to firm, reliable (and clean) capacity to keep the lights on?

    Security of supply market mechansims

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2022 37:51


    In the second on a series on security of supply, Tom and Emma talk about market mechanisms for insuring security of supply; how signals are sent to market participants to help keep the lights on - capacity mechansims, pricing signals, ancillary services, price controls, and retirement homes for old power stations. They ask questions such as: What are the options for designing a capacity mechanism? What is an energy only market? How does network capacity support security of supply?

    Locational Marginal Pricing - with Ed Birkett

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2022 45:13


    We're joined by Ed Birkett to discuss how the electricity market could change to reflect the value of energy in different places, though the introduction of Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP).

    Local Flexibility - with Randolph Brazier

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2022 51:20


    Have you ever wondered what a Distribution System Operator (DSO) is? Why is it different to the network owners (DNOs)? Why do we need flexibility in the distribution network, and why is it so important? Join Emma and Tom as they ask these questions, and more, and have them answered by distribution flexibility expert Randolph Brazier, Director of Innovation and Electricity Systems at the Energy Networks Association (ENA).

    Introduction to Security of Supply

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2022 44:42


    In the first episode in a series on Security of Supply, Emma and Tom talk about why it's so important to ensure security of supply in gas and electricity, and some of the key concepts related to it, including margins, types of interuption and value of lost load (VoLL).

    The future of energy data - utopia or dystopia?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2022 42:29


    What could the future of data in energy look like? Tom presents differnet views of the future of energy data with the help of sci-fi references. Some of our imagined futures included the utopias: 1. Real time pricing as standard - locational real time pricing which is sufficiently clear enough to predict with some level of accuracy to allow operation and scheduling 2. Energy brokers for everyone - Digital assistants that can schedule your gadgets and buy power on your behalf, think an Alexa that has a trading account with the BSC 3. Energy system digital twins - digital twins that run in parallel with the real system allowing parties to simulate outcomes of real time events before they happen And then we thought about the dystopias: 1. Push notification hell - customers and supplier relationships mediated through push notifications that drive undesirable behavior 2. Permanent stasis - nothing really changes, and there are few improvements.

    Christmas Energy Quiz

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2021 45:13


    Tom and Emma are joined by Tom Palmer for a Christmas-themed energy quiz. Play along! The questions are: How many kilometers can a Tesla car travel using the energy it would take to stream an hour of netflix? In what year was natural gas first brought into the UK from our own gas fields? What animals have solar farms been built in the shape of? What country has the oldest operational nuclear plant? What country has the largest estimated amount of lithium reserves? What is the capacity of coal-fired generation in China in 2021? What is the gross power output of the worlds northern most nuclear power plant in MW? When is peak electricity demand in GB on Christmas day? What was the largest TV pick-up on Christmas day in GB? What renewable energy featured in the 2020 Coca-Cola ad?

    Buzz Bar - National Grid Future Market Design deep dive

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2021 47:29


    In this (not so) short episode, Emma and Tom do a page turn on the November 2021 publication from National Grid on Net Zero Market Reform. Read along at: https://www.nationalgrideso.com/document/221776/download

    Data on the distribution system

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2021 40:38


    In this episode, Tom and Emma talk about the role of data on the distribution system in GB. They cover the historical context, how this has changed over time, and recent and future initatives to improve data and visibility about distribution connected assets.

    Data in the energy retail market

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2021 53:37


    Emma and Tom talk about the role of data in the energy retail market, touching on the nature of competition, the state of play for energy data today, and the scope for change to be brought about by regulatory change and disruptors in the market

    Data in the wholesale electricity market

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 48:02


    In this episode, Tom and Emma discuss the structure of the GB wholesale electricity market, and the role that data plays in it

    Buzz Bar - New Financing for Nuclear Power

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 16:08


    In this short "Buzz Bar" episode, Emma and Tom give an initial reaction to the UK Government's October 2021 proposals for a new funding mechanism for new nuclear stations, the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model

    British Government policy announcements and data in the transmission system

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2021 45:48


    In this episode, we give initial thoughts on the British Government and other bodies' series of policy documents, released October 2021, covering its net zero strategy, the heat strategy, the Treasury's review of net zero, the response to the Carbon Climate Change Committee's report on progress to meet carbon budgets. We also wind Tom up, and let him go, on data in the GB transmission system - how it is used today, and how it could evolve in future.

    Hello, the energy crisis and energy data

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2021 31:28


    In the first episode of the Substation Podcast, Tom and Emma introduce themselves and the pod, cover the ongoing energy crisis, and introduce the topic of their first series, energy data. Get in touch at thesubstationpodcast@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at @substationpod

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