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National Energy Research and Policy Conference
The role of the regulator in the transformation of the
electricity sector
Commissioner Aoife MacEvilly
Commission for Regulation of Utilities
Protecting the Public Interest in Water, Energy and Energy Safety

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Mission
Protecting the public interest in Water, Energy and Energy Safety
Vision
Energy supplied safely
A sustainable, reliable and efficient future for energy and water
Empowered and protected customers paying reasonable prices
A secure, low carbon future

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Low Carbon Solutions through Market Design
Wholesale Market Design – SEM
• Climate Action Plan – 70% by 2030
• Capacity markets and DS3 support increasing
renewables, flexible generation units, flexible
demand and storage
• Evolution of DS3+
• Efficient use of interconnectors
• Market based approaches to renewables: RESS,
Clean Energy Package - balance responsibility

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Low Carbon Solutions through Market Design
Empowering Customers
• The Smart Meter programme will:
Provide customers with better information to
make better choices
New products: smart bills, comparisons, time of
use or dynamic tariffs, interruptible contracts
Facilitate microgeneration, smart EV charging
Facilitate new smart home technologies and
innovation
Encourage energy efficiency

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• 5 year network price controls
Incentives
Innovation
• Interconnectors
• Enduring Connection Policy – ECP
Delivering for Offshore Wind
Enabling Community Energy
• Decarbonisation of transport & heating
• Future role of Gas
Renewable gas
Power to gas
Low carbon solutions through well-regulated networks

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The Role of Research in the Regulatory Process
• Supports CRU policy development and decision-making
Consumers - Behavioural Economics (Case Study)
Best practice - e.g. ESRI “Lessons from Cross Country Studies”
Future models, scenarios and policy inputs
• Regulatory Sandbox
• CRU Network Innovation Funding / Incentives
Funding for specific trials (EV Charging, CNG Fuelling etc)
Money at risk and reputational incentives
Importance of demonstrating impacts – embedding outcomes of R&D, trials
into real changes and better outcomes for consumers

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The Role of Research in the Regulatory Process –
Behavioural Economics Case Study
2016
• ESRI PRICE Lab: An Investigation of Consumers’
Capabilities with Complex Products
2017
• CRU Review of Competition in the Electricity and Gas
Retail Markets
2018
• ESRI “Price transparency in residential electricity:
Experiments for regulatory policy“
2018
• CRU implements new retail policy rules to “nudge”
customers – 30-day notice, and Estimated Annual Bill

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Research Gaps
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Understanding and influencing consumer decision-making –
behavioural economics insights and “nudges”
Distributional impacts of increasing network charges, support
schemes, microgen
“70 x 30” – understanding how our electricity and gas markets
look in 2030 and beyond – sector coupling
Community Energy Schemes – cross country studies

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Policy Needs
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Policy
InsightsClear
Key
Messages
Collaboration
Data
AccessTimely

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Protecting the Public Interest in Water, Energy & Energy Safety