The project aims to review and assess the adequacy of current electricity security of supply standards and regulations in light of the UK’s evolving energy landscape. As demand for electricity is expected to grow substantially due to the decarbonisation of heat, transport, and industry, the project seeks to understand whether existing standards and regulations remain fit for purpose in ensuring reliable and resilient electricity supply. By identifying gaps, analysing future needs, and developing recommendations, the project will provide an evidence-based foundation for shaping future standards and regulations that balance security and decarbonisation goals.
Benefits
This project will not result in a direct benefit as at this discovery stage it is seeking to develop options for further consideration rather than to provide solutions.
Independent Electricity Engineering Standards Review (BEIS 2020)[1] identified that standards as currently framed will cost customers money as we move forward through the energy transition. There is a potential saving in the range of £2-6bn per annum that could partly be realised once supply security standards fully recognise the potential of changes in the energy system.
This is initial research project will guide future benefits. These are anticipated to include facilitating a faster transition to net zero.
An analysis of electricity system flexibility for Great Britain[2] by Carbon Trust and Imperial College in 2016 on behalf of the government gave a range of cumulative distribution capex saving between £8 and £13 billion. To realise these savings, security standards need to reflect the benefits of smart grid technology.
Learnings
Outcomes
NG DSO sponsored the project and issued a position statement in response to the proposed recommendations/next steps. The position statement is available here: https://commercial.nationalgrid.co.uk/downloads-view-reciteme/723619
In summary, NG DSO support all recommendations made by the report with some further context provided around ongoing activities with SQSS modifications and further information about the operation standard trial (more information in Chapter 13).
Lessons Learnt
Limitations of current security of supply standards for Electricity Distribution:
· Legacy assumptions: the core planning standard, Engineering Recommendation P2, largely reflects assumptions from the 1970s, such as passive networks, homogeneous customer needs, and predictable peak demand. These assumptions no longer hold due to electrification and digitalization.
· Deterministic planning: P2 uses fixed, deterministic thresholds based on group peak demand, which is increasingly unreliable in a system with distributed generation (DG), energy storage (ES), and demand side response (DSR).
· Limited role of flexibility: DG, storage, and flexibility are treated conservatively and non-firmly, restricting their contribution to security despite their growing importance.
· Fragmented standards: planning standards (P2, EREP 130) and output measures (IIS, Worst Served Customer) operate independently rather than as an integrated whole-system framework.
· Voltage and reactive power: current standards inadequately address modern voltage and reactive power requirements, limiting the network’s ability to leverage flexible customer responses.
· Divergence from transmission standards: despite increasing convergence in system characteristics, distribution and transmission security standards remain misaligned, causing inefficiencies and coordination challenges.
Potential Future of Supply Options:
· Output Standards (customer-facing): enhance IIS and customer service metrics to reflect diverse customer needs, including differentiated Value of Lost Load (VoLL) by customer segment, technology, and contract type.
· Planning Standards (network-facing): modernize P2 by updating group classifications, reassessing the dominance test limiting DG/ES/DSR contributions, and moving towards probabilistic standards that better capture risk and uncertainty.
· Operating Standards (network-facing): introduce real-time operating standards defining flexibility use, operational security margins, and coordination with the System Operator. Develop standards for DG, storage, and demand-side services including firmness and interoperability.
· Whole-System Alignment: align distribution and transmission standards, integrate planning, operating, and output standards, and clarify limits of network capabilities to guide customer responses to extreme events.
Full list of lessons learnt is available here: https://commercial.nationalgrid.co.uk/innovation/projects/future-of-security-of-supply-for-electricity-distribution-initial-research-future-sos
