The key task of this project is to determine if demand side response is effective for communities who have demand information and incentives available to them. Western Power Distribution have selected the Centre for Sustainable Energy as a partner as we have a worked together before and have a good working relationship and have excellent resources in close proximity to Western Power Distribution's head office. Western Power Distribution are working with four other charitable organisations that specialise in energy spread across Western Power Distribution's licence area that will help select 10 communities with different characteristics to be involved in the project. There will be particular emphasis on communities that have high low carbon technology adoption (such as heat pumps, electric vehicles and photovoltaics). This will increase learning on understanding how low carbon technologies change demand profiles and affect the Low Voltage (LV) network.

Community level electricity network and energy flow data will be collected and this will be shared with the community via a website and specially designed energy monitor that can display the individual's demand and the overall community demand. The community will also get local energy efficiency advice from energy charities. Western Power Distribution will be incentivising the communities to reduce demand at peak periods of the day to reduce potential overloading of the LV network. This will be done in a way similar that a supplier or DNO in the future could use time of day tariffs. Once the demand profiles have been understood through interaction with the communities the findings can be reported to explain how effective the demand side response actually was.

Objectives

The project has listed the following objectives:

• Understanding the effectiveness of demand side response at a community level.

• Understanding what effect do incentives provide

• Communities are successfully engaged and that we receive positive feedback

• Developing a community energy monitoring device

• Understanding the potential affects of low carbon technology on the LV network

• Delivering the project on budget and on time.