Ofgem has awarded network companies a total of £2.76 million for the successful delivery of five innovation projects.
Two of the projects secured funding through the Network Innovation Competition, whilst the remaining three were supported by the now discontinued Low Carbon Networks Fund.
Both schemes require network companies to initially contribute at least 10 per cent towards the costs of their projects. However, they can later apply to Ofgem to recoup this money as a reward for success.
National Grid Gas has been awarded £543,380 for its Customer Low Cost Connections (CLoCC) project, which aimed to reduce the time and cost of connecting customers to the gas transmission network by streamlining aspects of the process.
It will also receive £630,500 for its Graid project, which sought to develop a robot that can inspect underground gas pipes.
Antony Green, head of engineering and asset management at National Grid Gas, said: “In 2015, we set out to take a significant step forward in how our network is used. Through project CLoCC, we embraced technology and innovation to transform the connection process, making it faster and cheaper for new sources of gas connection.
“Four years ago, we invested in project Graid and set ourselves an immense engineering challenge to create a world-first robot that could go inside previously unreachable high-pressure buried pipelines.”
He continued: “We are pleased to have been recognised by our regulator, and through innovative gas transmission projects as these, we will continue to deliver the value they bring to our customers, stakeholders and the wider industry.”
Meanwhile, UK Power Networks has been awarded £381,527 for its Energywise project, which sought to engage fuel poor and vulnerable customers so they can benefit from energy efficiency and demand side response.
Giulia Privitera from UK Power Networks innovation team said: “Energywise showed us that in a time of huge disruption for the energy industry, it’s vital that we all work to ensure some of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach people in society are not left behind.
“It proved that an inclusive approach can make a real difference to the lives of people who may be struggling with their energy bills. We’re honoured that our regulator has recognised the success of this important project.”
And Electricity North West will receive £955,013 for its Smart Street project, which aimed to demonstrate the benefits of actively optimising the low-voltage network to reduce customer consumption and losses.
The company has additionally been awarded £251,216 for its Respond project. The scheme sought to use fault-level active network management to lower the cost of connecting customers to distribution networks by avoiding the need for reinforcements.
Steve Cox, engineering and technical director for Electricity North West, said: “We’re delighted to have received this recognition for these projects, which is great recognition of the hard work that our teams have put in.
“In particular, Smart Street has fantastic potential to deliver significant carbon and cost savings across the UK and we’re excited about its potential to deliver real benefits for our customers.”
The Respond project is the only of the five for which Ofgem has not returned the full 10 per cent contribution from the project lead. The regulator said it did not meet all of necessary criteria or follow the required reporting procedures and has therefore returned just 5 per cent.