Combined DER & Connections Customer Forum – 26 September 2019
On 26 September 2019, at Prospero House, Borough High Street, London, we held our Autumn Customer Forum bringing together both DER and Metered Demand stakeholders and industry experts. The agenda included:
- A review of current performance and priorities with Mark Adolphus
- An update of our 2019/20 Service Development Plan & an initial conversation about proposed initiatives for the 2020/21 Service Development Plan
- Presentations about the transition from a DNO (Distribution Network Operator) to a DSO (Distribution System Operator)
- The latest on the subject of Electric Vehicle uptake and impact for the electricity network and what we, at UK Power Networks, are doing to support this, and
- A range of subjects aimed at either the DER or metered Demand stakeholder groups through two breakout sessions covering ‘Heat, Planning for the future’, ‘Greater London Authority, Utilities / Developers Process’, SWRR (system wide resource register) and ‘Outage planning tool’
The event was well attended with stakeholders agreeing it was a useful and informative session. The presentations are available to view below.
If you were in attendance and have any feedback or would like to discuss attendance at future events, please contact Antony White, Stakeholder Engagement & Account Manager at antony.j.white@ukpowernetworks.co.uk
Competition workshop - Competition Customer Forum – 12 September 2019
On 12 September 2019, we held the 29th Competition in Connections customer forum. A range of topics were discussed including a presentation on Electric Vehicles and transitioning from DNO to DSO. The event was positively received by our customers and the presentations can be viewed below:
Connections Customer Forum – 7 March 2019
On 7 March 2019, during our Connections customer forum at Prospero House, Borough, London, we covered a range of subjects including;
- A review of current performance and priorities with Mark Adolphus
- An update of our 2018/19 Service Development Plan & a conversation about proposed initiatives for the 2019/20 Service Development Plan
- Presentations on safety in UK Power Networks and Public Safety, Preparing for Brexit and Electric Vehicle update.
The event was well attended with stakeholders agreeing it was a useful and informative session. If you were in attendance and have any feedback or would like to discuss attendance at future events, please contact Antony White, Stakeholder Engagement & Account Manager at antony.j.white@ukpowernetworks.co.uk
Competition workshop - Competition Customer Forum – 12 February 2019
On 12 February 2019, we held the 28th Competition in Connections customer forum. A range of topics were discussed including an overview of operational activity and a presentation on Electric Vehicles. The event was positively received by our customers and the presentations can be viewed below:
G98/99 Customer workshop - 16 November 2018
Forthcoming changes to the process for the connection of generation to electricity networks are significant for customers and DNOs. We committed to hold a customer/stakeholder training event which was held at the ENA office.
Electric Vehicle Workshop – 6 September 2018 and 13 September
The workshops provided background on Electric Vehicles, market intelligence, our strategy to facilitate the Electric Vehicles uptake and how we’re preparing for the future. Customers also had a chance to share thoughts and feedback.
Connections Customer Forum – 13 September 2018
On 13 September 2018, during our Connections customer forum at The Grand Connaught Rooms, Holborn, London, we covered a range of subjects including;
- A review of current performance and priorities with Mark Adolphus
- An update of our 2018/19 Service Development Plan & an initial conversation about proposed initiatives for the 2019/20 Service Development Plan
- A presentation called ‘Open Networks; Future Worlds’ and ‘Flexibility Roadmap’ looking at the future of the Distribution Network – more information can be found here: http://futuresmart.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/wp-content/themes/ukpnfuturesmart/assets/pdf/futuresmart-flexibility-roadmap.pdf
- A presentation about development of large infrastructure projects in London by Steve Bradley, Head of Major Connections called ‘Powering London’s Infrastructure’
The event was well attended with stakeholders agreeing it was a useful and informative session. If you were in attendance and have any feedback or would like to discuss attendance at future events, please contact Antony White, Stakeholder Engagement & Account Manager at antony.j.white@ukpowernetworks.co.uk
Competition workshop - Competition Customer Forum – 11 September 2018
On 11 September 2018, we held the 27th Competition in Connections customer forum. A range of topics were discussed including, a Small Service Self Service demonstration, Electric Vehicles and Service Development (ICE) initiatives and planning for 2019-2020. The event was positively received by our customers and the presentations can be viewed below:
Metred Disconnections - Connections customer forum – 11 September 2018
On 11 September 2018, we held the ICP Metered Disconnections workshop. The event shared best practices and the workshop was positively received.
MPAN GUIDE - Service Development Plan 2018 /19 Initiative 10.18 – ‘Publish simple guide to MPANs including the management of MPANs associated with Disconnections’
The process surrounding the management of MPANs including their creation, and disconnection, can be confusing, the following link takes you to a guide that answers many frequently asked questions about the process.
Service Development Plan 2018 /19 Initiative 11.18 – ‘Publish a simple guide for the removal of an unidentified cable from site particularly in an emergency situation’
Where an unidentified cable is found at a customer’s site, there can be confusion of what the best process to follow is. The following link takes you to a guide that explains the process.
EHV Design and Commissioning Workshop – 19th June
The EHV Design and Commissioning workshop took place on 18 June where we shared best practices to improve design submission and commissioning requirements. The presentation can be viewed below:
DG Mapping Tool Workshop – 23rd May
The DG Mapping Tool workshop took place on Wednesday 23rd May which provided an opportunity to gather and prioritise customers’ ideas, so UK Power Networks can review each one and see which are viable or can be developed into the future.
Competition Customer Forum – 22 May 2018
On 22 May 2018, the Competition in Connections team hosted the second customer forum of the year. A range of topics were covered including new designs for the CiC section of the UKPN website, upgrades to our G81 technical library and a discussion on our technical standards. Our customers provided us excellent feedback on our plans. The presentation can be viewed below:
Connections Customer Forum – 13 March 2018
On 13 March 2018, during our Connections customer forum at The Grand Connaught Rooms, Holborn, London, we covered a range of subjects including;
- A review of current performance and priorities with Mark Adolphus
- A review and update of our 2017/18 Service Development Plan
- Proposed initiatives for the 2018/19 Service Development Plan
- An overview of how we manage growth on our networks called 'Laying the Groundwork for Sustainable Growth' that included the subject of Speculative Developments and
- An interesting presentation from the UK Power Networks Head of Innovation, Ian Cameron about how we are responding to the rapid uptake in Electric Vehicles and the associated demand for charging points
Electric Vehicle Presentation
Distributed Energy Resource Customer Forum – 27 February 2018
On 27 February 2018, we held the DER Customer Forum providing insights on the latest trends in renewable energy and providing updates on the work currently underway. The presentation can be viewed below:
Substation Workshop – 07 February 2018
On 07 February 2018, we held a Substation workshop to provide customers with the opportunity to understand more about our substation design and meet some of the team who are involved in the process. The presentation can be viewed below:
Competition Customer Forum – 25 January 2018
On 25 January 2018, the Competition in Connections team hosted the first customer forum of the year. A range of topics were covered including the CiC Code of Practice Review; Electric Vehicles and the Grid; Safety Update and Planning for 2018-19. The event was positively received by our customers and the presentations can be viewed below:
Joint DG Customer Forum hosted with SSEN – 19 October 2017
On 19 October 2017, at our DG Customer Forum in Old Windsor, we worked in partnership with SSEN and covered a range of subjects including; Flexible Connections and ANM; Transition to DSO; Storage; Statement of Work Appendix G and Network Planning. The event was positively received by our customers and the presentations can be viewed below:.
Connections customer forum – 14 September 2017
On 14 September 2017, at our Connections customer forum in Canary Wharf, London, we covered a range of subjects including; a performance review and update of our Service Development Plan, Overview of Substation Locations and 1.5mva transformers, a session about our transition to a Distribution System Operator and also a guest speaker from Transport for London, Rhona Munck, who shared an update about the Mayors Transport Strategy.
If you would like further information about the Mayors Transport Strategy, please visit their web pages here.
Connections customer forum - 9 March 2017
On 9 March 2017, at our Connections customer forum in Holborn Bars, London, over 60 customers joined us to hear about a range of subjects that included; Electric Vehicle and their impact on our network and Network Planning. Attendees also had the opportunity to meet with members of the UK Power Networks Senior Management Team and comment on our proposed improvement initiatives for the next 12 months.
eMaps requirements workshop
We met with a group of customers on the 30 June 2016 to gather their requirements for a new and improved eMaps service. This output has been used to collate a list of requirements that form the basis of the solution we will seek to implement, once a supplier has been selected.
We have a new webpage – to get the latest on flexibility services please go to smartgrid.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/flexibility-hub
Flexibility Forums
Smart Grid KPIs
Flexibility Services - Procurement 2019
To view the zones please visit picloflex.com.
Appendices
Flexibility Services - Procurement 2018/19
To view the zones please visit picloflex.com.
Appendices
Useful documents:
Flexibility Roadmap
Flexibility is the future for electricity networks. The UK Power Networks Flexibility Roadmap looks at radical proposals to drive the market for flexibility services and helping to reduce our customer’s bills.
We’re proposing to adopt a ‘flexibility first’ approach to delivering additional network capacity, which we believe will lead to lower costs and increased renewable energy on the network through more competition. We want to know what you think about our proposals and our consultation is open until 8 October 2018. Read our Flexibility Roadmap.
Flexibility Service Design consultation
These are exciting times for our industry. The nation’s journey to a low carbon economy is revolutionising the way we produce, distribute and consume electricity.
Whilst we continue to operate and invest in the network to maintain a safe, secure, and sustainable power supply to 8 million homes and businesses, we need to make use of smart, flexible, and innovative techniques to ensure delivery of our outputs, minimise the cost impact on consumers, and manage the increased complexity of this low carbon world.
At UK Power Networks, we believe that customer flexibility will be central to facilitating a smarter, flexible energy system.
Our flexibility programme is looking to utilise response from generators, demand side providers, and electricity storage resources connected to our networks to support efficient network planning and operations.
We are consulting to gather stakeholder views on a number of areas to shape the nature of the flexibility contracts we put in place, in particular:
- The design of the payment structures, including the use of availability windows;
- The compatibility with other system services, and the means of avoiding conflicts;
- The use of performance incentives, including the use of baselining;
- The treatment of new service providers, and in particular the interaction with the connections process;
- The timeline of procurement proposed for each tender round, and
- The approach to assessing received tenders.
At a time of unprecedented change in our industry and in society generally, it is more important than ever that we listen, collaborate and share. Engagement is central to UK Power Networks’ business strategy.
Please send all responses back using the response form to flexibility@ukpowernetworks.co.uk by 4 August 2017 - the consultation is now closed.
Ask the Expert
If you submit an enquiry via our Ask the Expert service, we aim to respond within five working days. Below are our actual response times.

Quote lead times
You've asked us to monitor and improve the time it takes us to send you a formal quote. This includes quotes for diversionary estimates as well as capital works.
We continue to see a year-on-year increase in enquiries but have seen a modest improvement year-to-date in our quote lead times.




If you receive a quote from UK Power Networks it will be subject to a validity period that will be clearly explained within the quote. If this time period passes, the quote can no longer be accepted and a new quote or a re-quote will be needed.
Guranteed Standards of Performance (GSoP)
GSoPs were created to measure our performance in areas of metered and unmetered connection work (providing estimates or quotes, and delivery of work). In cases where we are not able to provide the service within the performance timescales we will make a payment to you after considering any relevant adjustments and exemptions - further information can be found here.
Our current performance against GSoP is set out below.

Disconnections
As part of our 2017 / 2018 Service Development Plan, we committed to improve the timescales associated with Disconnections. The below graphs show our achievement against each initiative since 01 April 2017.
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38.17 - For all stand-alone LV Service disconnections (non complex)* complete a site visit within 3 working days of application (applies to applications received after 01 April 2017)
Target: 80% of site visits completed within 3 working days of receipt of application

* * * * * * *
39.17 - For all stand-alone LV Service disconnections (non-complex)* generate a quote within 5 days of site visit (applies to applications received after 01 April 2017)
Target: 80% of quotes generated within 5 days of the site visit

* * * * * * *
40.17 - For all stand-alone LV Service disconnections (non-complex)* complete work within 10 days of supplier flows (applies to applications received after 01 April 2017)
80% of disconnections carried out within 10 days, following receipt of the appropriate supplier flow and following the supplier notification period, subject to street work constraints

*for Initiatives 38.17, 39.17 & 40.17 the definition of (non-complex) is - an LV service cable up to 400amps fed from a passing main, or a mains cable up to 400amps (not fed direct from a sub station) and where the disconnection work is not associated with any other connections or diversion activity.