The Future Power System Architecture (FPSA) programme was undertaken by Energy Systems Catapult and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (2015 to 2018) to identify the additional capabilities, or functions, that the power system will need by 2030 to meet the anticipated challenges that it could face.

FPSA was conducted in a series of distinct phases:

Power Network Joint Vision – while not formally part of the FPSA programme, this is the initial statement of the issues that FPSA subsequently addressed.  This comprised a main report Electricity Networks Handling a Shock to the System and an assessment of how other sectors have responded to the challenge of whole-system integration.

• FPSA1 – identified the new or subsequently enhanced functions that the GB power system would need to meet the targets set for it by 2030.
• FPSA2 – re-tested and modified the 35 functions, looked at the barriers to delivery and the challenges to the industry governance processes.
• FPSA3 – developed proposals for reform of the industry governance processes.

Review of FPSA functions – looked again at the functions in the light of the move to a net zero emissions target and considered the urgency of delivering each function.  Functions were considered urgent if they either:

• Were implied by specific government targets (e.g. no new Internal Combustion Engine vehicles from 2030), or
• They were identified as being particularly difficult to deliver.

Key points

The main findings from the FPSA2 report include:

• The need for a whole industry vision, including consumers, communities, the traditional industry, and new players bringing innovative technologies and business models at the grid edge – all with their different perspectives and needs from a transformed system – something the work has explored in some depth.
• A stream of innovation and research and development topics needed to allow the transformation to take place effectively.
• The complexity of delivering the new or enhanced functions identified in FPSA1 within current industry governance.
• The need for new governance models that are agile, flexible and inclusive of all stakeholders, if we are to enable rather than frustrate the transformation, and an urgency to start on that journey given the discussions now underway to frame RIIO2 – the price controls for electricity transmission and distribution through most of the 2020s.
• Initial but detailed thinking on radically new industry-led governance models that deliver agility, flexibility and inclusivity, that now need intensive engagement and development by government and the whole industry.
• The need for industry to take hold of the need for change and start driving it, with the full support and enablement of government.