Five years from now, three quarters of households and premises that currently use fossil fuels for heating are expected to have switched to low carbon systems. This target, part of the government-led carbon neutral roadmap, will mean that around 16,000 customers will change how they heat their homes.
It’s why Jersey Electricity has launched its Big Upgrade, a huge £120 million investment in infrastructure designed to meet the extra demand of the island’s carbon neutral and net zero ambitions. Mark Preece, Jersey Electricity’s Chief Operating Officer, told Connect how it’s preparing the network.
An extra 100 kilometres of low voltage cabling; new sources of local renewable energy; a more extensive electric vehicle (or EV) charging network; an upgrade to the undersea link to France, 50 megawatts of backup generation – all these projects are Jersey Electricity’s answer to the challenges and opportunities posed by the drive towards a more sustainable future.
The numbers are impressive. It’s estimated that by 2050, our electricity peak demand will have increased by 25%. If you just look at our future transportation needs, that’s more electric vehicles, or EVs, electrified buses and even ferries. But JE says it’s ready for those challenges and has the capacity to meet them.
“We’re already in a good position to start today,” Mark begins, “but because we do everything from taking in the supply from France, generating power, installing EV systems and selling electricity to customers, we’ve been able to gain unique insights into the way our network behaves. We can use data and technology to optimise investment so that we’re not building so far ahead that we end up with stranded assets. We know where the hotspots are on the network so we can deal with them before they become issues.”
Domestic heating systems are one area where a lot of time has been devoted to finding the best solutions for customers and the network. To some extent the work to prepare the network has already been done or is underway. With around half the island’s homes heated using electricity, Jersey is well ahead of the UK. But in a future where more people are using electricity for their heating, mobility and cooking, Jersey’s electricity grid needs future proofing like never before.
“We’ve got a programme of work to ensure a robust network is in place to meet that demand. Our innovative use of digital technology allows us to flex that programme because we can understand how demand is developing on the network and adjust our plans to meet it, which means we can deliver the investment as efficiently as possible.”
With nearly every property connected via a smart meter, the company has the data to work out how customers’ electricity use impacts the network and understand whether they are using electric or fossil fuels for heating. The data has enabled JE to create a ‘digital twin’ of its network which models areas requiring reinforcement as more people switch to electric heating.
“In the UK the electricity industry structure is quite siloed which means companies can’t access the efficiencies that our vertically integrated structure enables,” explains Mark.
“In that context, the meter operator operates independently from the distribution business, which is also separate from the supplier and the transmission operator. Our integrated approach allows us to leverage our comprehensive involvement in all these areas to gain valuable insights into the network to better meet customer needs.”
Price is always a key factor for any utility and in today’s volatile world, energy prices have been impacted by historically high wholesale energy markets and political uncertainty since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mark explains that the company is investing in technology that will continue to provide value for customers, whether they are businesses or domestic. The successful My JE app used by domestic customers is being rolled out to business customers which should allow them to manage their electricity use more efficiently.
For electric vehicle users, we have enhanced our public charging network and offer our Easycharge home charging solution, facilitating the transition to low-carbon transportation. We continue to develop integrated solutions for home, residential, fleet, and public charging. More broadly, ferry operators and the island’s bus fleet will also transition to electric buses and ferries which the network is ready to enable.
These developments, and others such as the ground mounted solar farm in St Clement alongside the use of commercial and domestic rooftops, are among the many initiatives that Mark says will benefit the whole island, driving better value and supporting the energy transition.
Switching over to a new heating system, whether it’s at home or in the workplace, can be an expensive and disruptive process. JE is work hard developing solutions that will enable customers to make the transition more easily. Our aim is to change the way we think about heating our homes .
“Traditionally we’ve used flow boilers and panel heaters, and they work well. But I think it’s important that we embrace the new air source heat pump technology, just because of how efficient it is. For every one kilowatt of power used, a properly installed air source heat pump will produce three kilowatts of output, so we are working on propositions for customers so that they can use install these systems and use them efficiently over the long term.
We recognise that the upfront cost of an air source heat pump system is more expensive than a flow boiler, but then the operating cost is significantly less. The government has also recognised their value, with a £9,000 financial incentive for islanders considering switching from fossil fuel heating to an air source heat pump.”
Whether it’s produced from low carbon or renewable sources, electricity is the key element that’s fuelling the green economy. As new substations and generating capacity are needed to meet demand, those pieces of kit will require people to install and maintain them. It’s the same with new heating systems as engineers, plumbers and technicians will be needed to supply and install those, driving growth in those sectors of the local economy.
The Big Upgrade and our other projects will ensure that every home and business continues to access affordable, sustainable energy long in to the future. From the base of a secure, low carbon future-proofed electricity network, we can be certain that our island can continue to prosper.
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This article first appeared in the February edition of Connect – read the digital edition in full below…
