ESG hosted its annual Smarter Energy Insights Forum on Friday 24th January 2025, bringing together over 100 industry experts at The Brewery, one of London’s most historic venues.
The event facilitated vital discussions on the future of the UK energy market, exploring evolving industry roles, energy pricing, flexibility, and the balance between innovation and regulatory intervention.
This year’s forum marked the 10th anniversary of the event, featuring a lineup of speakers from key industry organisations, including:
- Victoria Moxham, Director of Customer Code at Elexon
- Joseph Cosier, Senior Policy Manager at Ofgem
- Naomi Baker, Senior Policy Manager at Energy UK
- Mark Coyle, Director at Coylenergy
- Kate Mulgavy, Consultant at Cornwall Insight
- Ed Rees, Senior Policy Manager at Energy UK
The event provided a platform for discussions on the imminent rollout of Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS), highlighting both the compliance challenges and the opportunities for innovation and enhanced customer outcomes. The key themes included:
- Innovation and Flexibility. The UK’s energy market is evolving rapidly, with a focus on greater consumer flexibility enabled through the integration of distributed energy technologies, and emerging strategies to optimise the energy system supported by AI. However, balancing these advancements with regulatory requirements and system-wide needs remains a critical challenge.
- The Evolving Role of Energy Tariffs. With the shift to Market-Wide Half-Hourly settlement, the tariff landscape is transforming. Emerging models, such as time-of-use tariffs, offer opportunities for smarter energy consumption but should be combined with measures to inform and protect consumers as enacted through regulatory frameworks.
- Inclusivity in the Energy Transition. Ensuring that the benefits of the smart energy transition are accessible to all consumers-particularly vulnerable groups-remains a priority. The success of Clean Power 2030 will be a balance of market reforms, infrastructure planning and consumer engagement.
- Sustainable, Long-Term Solutions. Temporary price caps and market interventions introduced during the energy price crisis are not enduring answers and will requirement replacement long-term with an enduring energy market that works for all consumers and achieves lower bills inherently through the new technologies and commercial models as they scale in adoption.
“This event was a great opportunity to connect with so many industry experts, customers, and partners for a truly thought-provoking day on the UK energy market and where it is heading. A huge thank you to our speakers for sharing their insights on the most impactful and emerging topics shaping our industry. We look forward to continuing the conversation and exploring these key themes further.” – Steve Roche, Managing Director at ESG
Shaping the Future of the Energy Market
The forum reinforced the importance of markets for consumer flexibility, data sharing based on consent, and turning technology into cost and emissions saving consumer benefit as part of a sustainable and inclusive energy future. The event speakers emphasised the need for continued collaboration between stakeholders, policymakers, and consumers to ensure that the UK’s energy market remains competitive, adaptable, and equitable while advancing the country’s long-term energy and environmental goals. While organisations have their own delivery priorities, engaging in the emerging changes and delivery programmes will help shape them to deliver the benefits described in a way that reflects their needs.
For more information on how ESG can support your energy business through the energy transition, contact us via www.esgglobal.com