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Future Power System Architecture - Policy Briefing Paper

The first phase or FPSA (FPSA1) completed in April 2016 and was commissioned and sponsored by the then UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Energy Systems Catapult.

The current phase, FPSA2, is sponsored by Innovate UK. This report is a summary of a more comprehensive synthesis and six specialised reports on the component Work Packages within the project.

The main conclusions from FPSA2 are as follows:

  • Transformational change in the power system is in progress and will accelerate over the period to 2030.
  • The power system is becoming more complex and localised, with many new developments on the customer side of the meter, new service-based business models, and new real and virtual customer communities.
  • The conclusion of FPSA1 that thirty-five new or enhanced functions are required in the GB power system architecture has been tested and is robust.
  • A range of topics for research, development or innovation have been identified from the analysis of these functions and these would be useful to pursue in the short-term.
  • There are numerous barriers to delivering new functionality, including substantive governance, technical, regulatory and commercial issues.
  • EFs could provide a new approach. Developing the concept and implementing EFs in a systematic way could create a flexible, agile and inclusive approach to the development of the GB power system architecture and its functionality.