The role of the Big 6 utilities in the transformation of the UK power system
Abstract
Since the early 2000s, the UK policy landscape is said to favour a transition typology to a low carbon system in which incumbent actors incrementally adapt and are able to resist challenge from new entrants. However, the response from the incumbent actors has been under-explored.
Ioanna will present UKERC’s recent study exploring the strategies of the large vertically integrated energy companies in the UK power system, i.e. the ‘Big 6’, between 2008 and 2016. The talk will look at how much the Big 6 firms still dominate the ownership of electricity generation assets and domestic market share, their responses to the transition challenge and the influx of newer firms and their ability to capture market share.
Biography
Ioanna has been working in the low carbon sector for almost a decade. She has a background in engineering, holding degrees in civil engineering and sustainable building technology. She initially worked in the built environment sector and in consultancy, focusing on low carbon buildings.
She joined the UK Energy Research Centre in 2012 and currently works as a researcher, as well as the Centre’s coordinator. Her research focuses on analysing the implications of distinct future pathways for the UK energy system and identifying the synergies and trade-offs between different choices and options.
Recent research includes the implications of different futures for national energy security, the effects of potential disruptive or continuity based changes on the UK energy system and the implications of the transition to a low carbon power system for incumbent utility companies.
Venue
The talk will be held in Room 611 of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (building 16 On the campus map). The room is known as the Gabor Suite.
If you are entering the building from Dalby Court/through the building’s main entrance take the lift to the sixth floor, turn right through the double doors and it is near the end on your left hand side.