Introduction: The scope of the project is limited to customers with smart meters (residential, small commercial, business and local authority) and thus, likely to be expected to play an important part in the future of deployment of smart Grids. As a team member SPEN would have the opportunity to provide guidance on key issues and strategic areas and thus influence the focus and direction of the project.

Objectives: An International Energy Agency Project commenced in June 2012 with four international participants, namely, Korea, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to investigate the role of consumers in delivering effective smart grids. EA Technology has been appointed to lead a UK team which SPEN has been invited to join. The team will include DNOs, Energy Suppliers and others and, to date, EON, Electricity North West and National Grid have committed to the UK project team. The UK project will run from November 2012 to December 2013.

Customers have a key role to play in ensuring the successful transition to a smart grid environment with energy production and demand integrated, whereby on-demand response to end users is no longer provided, and renewables optimised whilst minimising fossil fuelled generation and network reinforcement. As a consequence customers will be required to adopt to new approaches to the way they consume electricity.

The objectives of the project are to understand a smart grid from a customer perspective with respect to energy market structures; interaction with applicable technologies (electric vehicles, heat pumps, micro generation, energy storage etc.; risk and reward identification, tools to minimise the risks and maximise rewards; regulatory options, practice and consequences.