Energy Matters

Due to come into force by the end of 2026, Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement is being dubbed as the biggest transformation to the UK energy industry since privatisation and competition was introduced in the mid 1990s.But what exactly is it? And moreover, what will it mean for everyday energy consumers, and Britain's net zero carbon emissions ambitions more widely? In this special episode of Energy Matters, smart meter and energy data experts Richard Hill and Chris Mawer (Directors at SMS plc) discuss all of this, and ultimately, the huge challenge standing in the way of the UK's energy suppliers to deliver the change. Find out more about how SMS is supporting energy suppliers with Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement: https://www.sms-plc.com/solutions/data/half-hourly-settlement

Imagine a sustainable community of UK schools that prepare young people with the skills needed for a net zero future, and in turn help actively reduce carbon emissions through a programme led by the children themselves... Well, that is exactly what's happening through the Energy in Schools initiative  (energyinschools.co.uk) -- a revolutionary new platform being rolled out by two leading energy solutions companies, SMS plc and MyUtilityGenius.In this episode of Energy Matters, Tom Woolley chats to Guy Thompson, Chief Product Officer of MyUtilityGenius about how -- through expertly developed educational resources and smart technology -- the programme is helping schools reduce energy bills and environmental impacts, whilst empowering schoolkids to lead this change from the front.Find out more at: energyinschools.co.uk SMS plc: https://www.sms-plc.comMyUtilityGenius: https://www.myutilitygenius.co.uk

Matthew Roderick, the founder of ground-breaking energy data company, n3rgy, speaks to Tom Woolley for the first ever episode of Energy Matters.Together with host Tom, Matt discusses the essential role that energy data plays in global efforts to decarbonise. A role which has only recently been made possible through the ongoing digitalisation of energy systems worldwide due to new smart metering technologies. They explore how improved accessibility to energy data (which can tell us exactly how much, where, and when we consume energy) is today empowering consumers and businesses to not only lower their costs and carbon emissions, but also enable profitability, productivity and innovation across new markets outside of traditional utilities. n3rgy (www.n3rgy.com) is an innovative Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that aims to make energy data accessible to all, in turn enabling the growth of new business models whilst also empowering consumers by providing free services for data transparency and control.Energy Matters is a podcast produced by SMS plc (www.sms-plc.com), the UK's leading smart energy infrastructure company. Through its range of solutions and network of carbon reduction assets, SMS aims to make our energy system  greener and more sustainable for everyone.Episode Chapters:00:00 Introductory trailer01:26 Backgrounds of Matt Roderick & Tom Woolley03:31 History of energy data and why it’s so important for our future?06:18 Democratising energy data09:32 How do we get the best out of digital energy?15:03 Challenges confronting the smart energy system 19:22 How data is enabling demand flexibility 23:37 How secure is digital energy?25:02 Growing consumer engagement with energy consumption 30:27 Using an in-home display to lower your usage 33:54 How energy data is enabling efficiency and decision making for new markets 40:44 The role of energy smart appliances and time-of-use tariffs 48:56 Manual behavioural change vs intelligent automated control 59:58 What’s next for smart energy data?56:47 Enabling innovation and engagement within the SME market01:02:49 The future: engaging children through digital energy and climate change Episode Producers:Aled Bryon & Mario MacanEpisode Host:Tom Woolley, Smart Energy Director, SMS plcRecording & EditingGraeme Mill

In the week that the world's leaders gathered in Glasgow for the UN COP26 summit on climate change, Energy Matters sat down with SMS's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Mortlock, to discuss the UK Government's strategy for reaching net zero carbon emissions, and how the private and public sectors can work together to make it happen.Energy Matters is presented, produced, and edited by Aled Bryon. You can read more about what we discussed in the episode at the following links:UK Government's Net Zero StrategyReFLEX OrkneyProject DORIC (Aberdeen City Council) SMS's UK Energy Storage projectsSolopower solution for social landlordsSMS's Net Zero 2030 target 

In our latest episode, we chat about battery storage — or energy storage as it is otherwise known — to understand the essential, if relatively underappreciated role that the technology is playing in efforts to decarbonise energy systems globally. With interviewee John Flaherty (Managing Director at SMS plc), we find out the difference between behind-the-meter and grid-scale energy storage technologies, how they are vital to supporting the increased use of renewable power, and why these assets — as well as being environmentally-friendly — also make for an appetising investment proposition.  Presented, produced and edited by Aled Bryon.www.sms-plc.com/podcasts

What exactly is net-zero carbon? And what will it take for our economies and businesses to make such ambitious environmental targets a reality in the face of climate change?In this episode, we talk to senior sustainability professional, Charlotte Gregory, about what 'net-zero' means and look at the strategies being deployed by forward-thinking and socially responsible organisations who hope to achieve the milestone within the next decade.Charlotte specifically discusses SMS's 'Net-Zero 2030' programme and how the phased rollout of business-wide green technologies and energy efficiency measures will be key to reaching the goal. Created, produced, and presented by Aled Bryon.Find out more about SMS's 'Net-Zero 2030' roadmap here.

In this first ever episode of Energy Matters, we set about tackling  one of the energy industry's — and indeed one of society's — biggest issues: fuel poverty. More than 10% of households in the UK today cannot afford to pay their energy bills or heat their homes, a situation which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk to renewable energy expert, Killian O'Connor, about how fuel poverty is defined, some of the Government policies aimed at alleviating the problem, and how — importantly — technology-led and finance-backed solutions might just hold the answer. Killian talks about one such solution on the market: SMS's Solopower, which offers smart battery storage and solar generation to social housing landlords and their tenants at zero upfront cost. Created and presented by Aled Bryon.For more information on fuel poverty, visit our blog.To find out more about Solopower, click here.