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Energy Strategy Director Chris Clarke leads Wales & West approximately a third of the UK’s
Utilities’ Future of Energy work, including industry first carbon emissions.
While supporting green energy has
projects like 2050 Pathfinder and Freedom Project. Here, become another string to our bow,
he outlines how the role of gas distribution networks has heating homes – our raison d’être for
evolved, and how they’re essential to deliver net zero carbon much of the last century – has also
emissions by 2050 evolved. Decarbonising heat, two words
all too often prefaced with “the thorny
issue of…”, would remove a further
f a gas engineer from 1919 spoke to Since then, while the gas engineering third of the country’s emissions.
a gas engineer from 2019, the remains consistent but evolving, the But we can’t just focus on the macro
chances are they’d have a lot in nature of what we do and how we issues where the future of energy is
common. The pipes may now be operate has changed irrevocably. And, concerned, or get too wrapped up in
I made of a different material, the gas as the country heads towards a net zero technology. It’s important to make sure
is different, and the work is far safer carbon future, it is these changes that that decisions on the future of energy
and more mechanised, but the will help deliver a reliable, low carbon, are taken from a customer’s point of
principles that underpin the delivery of and affordable whole energy system. view. So to underpin our work, we
a safe and reliable supply of energy to It’s not just the energy sector where developed an industry first whole
customers across towns, cities and there are historical parallels. In the late system energy simulator that forecasts
villages remain consistent. 18th century, the UK kickstarted the future energy supply and demand. The
And, up until 20 years ago, there industrial revolution, and in June 2019 model has already been used by a
would have been other similarities too. became the first major economy to number of external organisations, as
Gas entered local networks at high enshrine the net zero target in law. In well as by WWU, to assess future
pressure and was stepped down the gas industry, while we’ve been decarbonisation scenarios, but also the
through a series of pressure tiers before practicality and cost of implementing
entering homes for a range of domestic We’ve already helped to these, most importantly. The first two
uses: central heating, warm water, and significantly reduce carbon interrelated outcomes were that pure
cooking. When I started my career in electrification – long seen as a panacea
the early 1980s, this was how gas emissions from the generation by some to decarbonise heat – was not
networks across the UK were operated. of electricity. Wind, solar, hydro feasible from a cost, reliability or
Natural gas had replaced the and nuclear power – alongside disruption point of view, and that a
manufactured towns gas, and for the ‘mosaic’ approach, using the best of a
first time a national network had been the replacement of coal with range of technologies was preferable.
built, connecting local networks for the gas – have all helped to make This could see towns and cities heated
first time. However, the way the Britain’s electricity supply one differently from suburban and rural
network operated remained the same. of the greenest in Europe areas, with different solutions preferred
That similarity stretched from the in different parts of the country.
1970s into the early 2000s, through the This regional approach was recently
disintegration of British Gas into working hard to reduce our impact on endorsed by the Pathways to Net Zero
focused specialist business units and the environment, that gives us impetus report, commissioned by Energy
privatisation. Through that period, gas to go further, faster. Networks Association and
distributed networks continued to be We’ve already helped to significantly independently reviewed by Imperial
essential for home heating, while the reduce carbon emissions from the College. The report sets out a detailed
‘dash for gas’ increased gas’s generation of electricity. Wind, solar, plan to deliver a zero carbon gas grid,
contribution to electricity generation hydro and nuclear power – alongside with clear technical, operational and
from five per cent in 1990 to 28 per cent the replacement of coal with gas – have regulatory actions that need to take
in 2002. But crucially, most of these all helped to make Britain’s electricity place to achieve it. You can read more
power stations – over 30 were supply one of the greenest in Europe. about the report in this edition of Gi on
commissioned in the 90s – were On average, more than 50 per cent of pages 28-29.
connected to the national transmission electricity is generated by gas, including Two key actions that the report sets
system. At gas distribution network in large, efficient combined cycle gas out are trials of hybrid heating and
level, we saw very little dash – more like turbine power stations that provide green gas. Hybrid heating makes the
a slow and steady plod as we continued baseload power. As gas distribution most of existing heating systems fitted
to deliver for the over 80 per cent of networks, our contribution has been to homes and pairs them with a smart
homes that rely on gas. with smaller, flexible peaking plants control panel and a new air source heat
In 2005, a journey which first began that support renewable energy. These pump. Easily retrofitted to existing
with nationalisation in the 1940s came plants can generate electricity very homes, the smart control switches
full circle. National Grid Transco sold off quickly – when the wind doesn’t blow between the existing gas boiler and the
four regional networks, including Wales or the sun doesn’t shine. They act as heat pump, based on cost and carbon.
and the West. Launched as Wales & virtual batteries, enabling increasing Already demonstrated in real homes in
West Utilities (WWU) on 1 June in that amounts of renewable energy to be Bridgend, South Wales, this exciting
year, we picked up the baton from connected to the grid. Across Wales and project has demonstrated significant
Transco, British Gas, and the tens of South West England, over 30 peakers savings in carbon and cost. It provides a
predecessor companies that helped give are connected, with the vast majority of ‘no regrets’ low cost solution to
Wales and South West England one of those supporting generation since significant carbon reduction, while at
the most diverse gas networks in the UK. 2013. Power accounts for the same time minimising disruption

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