sophieyulebennett.bsky.social
Director of Policy and Governance at Energy Unlocked. Energy markets and competition lawyer working with NGOs and innovators on inclusive demand-side flexibility solutions. Governance nerd.
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Great episode but we missed you Luke! Wishing you a speedy recovery And looking forward to your hot takes! ๐งโ๐๐ฅ๐ณ๏ธ
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โก Carbon flexing can also be used to pool flex/carbon rewards for community benefit, e.g a hardship fund
More detail on the Trellick pilot and Energy Unlocked's wider 24/7 CFE modelling linked below. We'd love to hear feedback
Thanks for reading, live long and prosper!๐
www.energyunlocked.org 4/4
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โกStop data centre demand blowing national carbon budgets
โกIncentivise landlords/LAs to upgrade buildings and invest in smart #EV charging
โกBring flex benefits to excluded groups, e.g. heat-with-rent tenants
โกReward co-location of green generation with flexible demand now, ahead of market reforms 3/4
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Hourly matching of renewable generation with flexible electricity demand i.e. 'carbon flexing', or '24/7 carbon-free energy' - offers valuable applications as we decarbonise:๐ค๏ธ ๐ 2/4
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Wishing you a speedy recovery @lukemiddup.bsky.social! Weโll miss you this week, canโt wait to hear your hot takes on the whole #silo season ๐ณ๏ธ ๐งโ๐ ๐ฅ
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Energy Unlocked is a non-profit creating governance strategies to deliver smarter, fairer and more efficient energy and digital outcomes. We'd love to speak to those doing similar work or interested in applying a governance lens to their mission. Promise we don't bite ๐ง www.energyunlocked.org 5/5
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Informed choices and tailored services require transparency, communication, competition and interoperability.
HOW we proceed is as important as WHAT we are trying to achieve. This requires a strategy - listing 'good governance' as an objective is as meaningless as saying we want 'good policy'. 4/5
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Thankfully, when it comes to energy and climate policy, we still have the ability to meet people where they are, and safeguard the things that make our lives worthwhile. It's messy, frustrating and will require us to get a lot more granular about justice metrics and governance standards. โ๏ธ 3/5
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๐ When does the end justify the means? If we save humankind but sacrifice our humanity to get there, what are we fighting for?
๐ Desperate ruling classes invariably prioritise control and order over agency and dignity, having hesitated in the face of early warning signs. 2/5
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Bias in automatic fact checking and censorship may well be a problem, but the answer to that is surely more transparency so that the process can be scrutinised and improved, not returning to the wild west ๐ค 3/3
Yes I know that all my posts end with the same rec of transparency & better governance!
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It's time to place the onus of responsibility on tech giants whose algorithms peddle misinformation and hate - optimising for 'engagement' rather than pursuit of truth and understanding. We can keep moving platforms but the echo chamber danger is real. 2/2
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Salvador Quinn would make an excellent cat name too ๐โโฌ
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Oh no, over Thanksgiving too. Hope you both feel better soon! ๐ค #wherethefuckislucustho
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If course not! Would be great to hear other's insights ๐
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Also, don't mess with Rebecca Furguson - have we learned NOTHING from #dune? ๐ฆพโก
For fellow sci fi fans, highly recommend the Wool-Shift-Dust podcast and book clubs by @elysiacb.bsky.social @lukemiddup.bsky.social & @szegfu.bsky.social
redcircle.com/shows/339ca7... 6/6
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๐ฐ. ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฎ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป: Despite reproductive control & oppression, a covert group of "flamekeepers" keep hope alive over decades through stories, symbols & education. There will always be a minority ready to step into the unknown, push boundaries and risk great sacrifice to seek truth ๐ 5/6
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๐ฏ. ๐๐ด๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐น. The marginalised "down deepers" run essential services, without recognition or the same economic mobility opportunities as bureaucrats "up top". This leads to unrest, resentment and a fractured society, which threatens all lives in the silo ๐ ๏ธ 4/6
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๐ฎ. ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น. Sacrifice this and there is no backstop. In the show, Judicial serve the agenda of the executive though surveillance and arbitrary punishment, not the people they supposedly exist to protect. โโ๏ธ 3/6
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๐ญ. ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ: Silo authorities use practical & psych methods (no elevators, taboo, limits on research) to restrict comms & knowledge accumulation, while deploying propaganda and distractions like public holidays. Transparency & learning from the past =๐ to democracy & progress.๐ 2/6
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As you once said, pricing is JUST the icing. It's the cost of serving energy needs over time that impacts bills. Granular elec pricing must be twinned with the ABILITY (technologies, services, offers, agency) to shift energy uses into low cost, low carbon periods in an easy, stress-free way โก
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@energyunlocked.bsky.social CarbonFlex pilot explores how cities can incentivise building/asset upgrades by rewarding CO2 reduction while ringfencing ยฃ savings for tenants. Temp was controlled as per RAP principle that flex must not force cost vs comfort choices. www.energyunlocked.org/sifcarbonflex
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Absolutely! Elec hot water/heating charging in housing blocks = untapped source of flex value. Tenants paying for 'heat with rent' aren't direct energy customers so can't switch tariffs to access savings. We need to overcome agency barriers to unlock value w/o sacrificing cost predictability 1/2
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The paper on the new energy poverty alleviation framework I mention in the podcast is here.
www.raponline.org/knowledge-ce...
As an update, I have also included the consumer protection measures in the gas package in the diagram below.
I hope it is helpful.
@regassistproj.bsky.social
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We now engaging with energy retailers, local authorities and potential funders to co-design socially inclusive CarbonFlex value propositions and pilot the service design on a much larger scale. Contact us to find out more. https://bit.ly/EnUContact (1/11)
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The pilot was funded by the @Ofgem @innovateuk Strategic Innovation Fund R3, building on 24/7 CFE London analysis for the Greater London Authority. Partners were @UKPowerNetworks, @rbkc, PeerCo, Connected Response and @energyunlocked.
Full report https://bit.ly/SIFCF (10/11)
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Key Qs for a future Alpha stage:
โก๏ธWhat signals - alongside price - can align optimisation for environmental/social outcomes with energy market value?
โก๏ธHow do we integrate the building owner needs with grid decarbonisation needs?
โก๏ธWhat new services/techs can best deliver these? (9/11)
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The pilot did, however, confirm that there remain structural barriers to flexibility markets for low income and vulnerable households and local authority landlords. Retail market value flows are a particular challenge, especially for tenants paying for heat with rent (8/11)
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There were no major conflicts with local demand flexibility calls. A comparison of the CarbonFlex service signals with DNO system data showed that trial turn-down times were aligned with peak times. This could be valuable to a system operator in a grid-constrained area (7/11)
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Tenants provided generally positive feedback, most felt no impact on their heating or hot water outputs. Tenants and RBKC also noted further benefits such as social cohesion through working as a community. Many were interested in customising the service to specific household needs (6/11)
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15% CO2 savings were achieved across 24 participating flats (10-15% predicted). Annual building-wide estimated savings = ยฃ7.5k (UK Green Book). If scaled to the 8k social housing flats in UK Power Network's area, CO2 savings = 10,000 tonnes annually, appraised carbon value ยฃ2.68m (5/11)
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We engaged with residents though in person events and written consultations. A telephone helpline, onsite support and face-to-face onboarding and debriefing events were provided. No resident actions were needed to shift the charging schedules but we sought feedback at the end (4/11)
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Referencing research by @energyunlocked.bsky.social @regassistproj.bsky.social, @citizensadvice.bsky.social, @louisesunderland.bsky.social amongst others.
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Had no idea about the coolant, thanks for sharing! Weโve had a few issues with โzombie modeโ(stuck in N) requiring us to get out of the car, lock it, and get back in. Still way more reliable than our old oil-leaking ICE though and no more Sunday night petrol station trips feeling vulnerable. ๐๐ฝ
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We were also v impressed with the ease and speed of French charging points, all mapped out on the KiaCharge app. Plus MUCH superior cheese toastie than would ever be found in a British service station! ๐ง