Talking Heads

Stewart Dawson

Stewart Dawson is managing director of Vattenfall Network Solutions UK

A service to give peace of mind

A new business model promises to reduce the risk and network management workload associated with high-voltage infrastructure, says Stewart Dawson

If the events of 2020 have told us anything, it’s that nothing can be taken for granted. Unexpected ‘Power as a Service allows businesses to events have the potential to impact concentrate more significantly on individuals, companies and governments – sometimes firmly on their core in ways that could take years to address or activities ’ rectify. Contingency planning is likely to be much higher on the priority list from now on.

The energy sector might actually be one or two steps ahead of many others as concerns about consistency of supply have been widely discussed for several years now. In the UK, an ageing electricity network and insufficient investment in new infrastructure – with some proposed upgrade projects being cancelled outright – recently led the CEO of the National Grid, John Pettigrew, to voice his fears about the likelihood of more regular apace across huge swathes of industry, the after-effects of power blackouts: “The risk of a loss of supply interruptions are only going to become more complex. increases as a result of not spending as It’s no wonder, then, that interest in services that aim to minimise much on asset health, because the assets energy-related risk is growing. New models which deliver ‘Power are deteriorating as they age.” as a Service’ (PaaS) are coming to market, which are specifically

Decaying infrastructure is by no means designed to provide peace of mind for major electricity users – such the only source of concern. Security as customers in manufacturing, industry, transport and commercial specialists have been expressing fears about property – while freeing up financial capital. the disruptive possibilities of cyber-attack It’s important to note that Power as a Service is quite distinct from on energy systems for a long time, while Energy as a Service (EaaS) – a model that has become widely utilised, the increase in extreme weather events due but which generally refers to energy efficiency-related business to climate change presents another huge models or subscriptions. By contrast, PaaS applies exclusively to potential challenge to energy resilience. major energy users who own, or are looking to invest in new, high There are also personnel issues to consider; voltage electrical infrastructure. for instance, during the early days of the Managing and planning energy usage is becoming an increasingly pandemic, the National Grid urged readiness complex – and time-consuming – task. PaaS addresses this head-on for blackouts with energy companies by removing all client responsibility for high voltage networks. suspending non-essential work and The idea is that the service provider takes on ownership and anticipating a shortfall of engineers caused compliance in return for a fixed monthly fee. All of the associated by sickness and quarantines. concerns – including regulatory and environmental issues – are also

There’s no question that power outages accommodated within the PaaS model. can be devastating. Not only are they Recent experience in Sweden and elsewhere confirms that the detrimental to productivity, loss of power model is resonating particularly strongly now because it allows can also have serious consequences for businesses to concentrate more firmly on their core activities. equipment and systems when spikes Especially now, energy is such a fast-moving sector, and keeping in power levels are involved. With tabs on the latest developments is challenging for any business. digitalisation and automation continuing Partnering with a specialist allows the entire area of responsibility

Dawson: 'contingency planning is likely to be much higher on the priority list from now on'

to be removed, freeing up personnel and resources. For instance, in the case of technical staff, it could mean they have significantly more time to focus on other core technology issues, such as the maintenance of IT networks.

Moving forward into what promises to be a more unpredictable future (on just about every level!), PaaS also provides guarantees regarding system breakdown. So if an asset should fail during the timeframe of the contract, the service provider will repair or replace the asset at its own expense.

In such challenging times, it should come as no surprise to hear that the ability of PaaS to release CAPEX back into customers’ core businesses has prompted a great deal of interest in the service. But with many businesses also needing to refocus on their core operations to ensure they remain viable, Power as a Service allows companies to take one major source of worry out of the equation altogether. And with continual innovations to reduce the carbon impact of energy services, a customer who gets onboard today can expect to benefit in even more ways in the future. 