In this third installment of the 2023 REthink Energy series, co-organised by the IIEA and ESB, Laura Sandys, CBE, describes the architecture of the new, decarbonised energy system: distributed in nature, disruptive in character, and requiring a new way of delivering stability, resilience and cost reductions for consumers. She speaks about the digitalisation that lies at the heart of the new energy system, and what this means for system operators, generators, networks, and retailers. She also focuses on a new player in the modern energy system, which she says is its most important component: the customer.

About the Speaker:

Laura Sandys, CBE, is the former Chair of the UK Government’s Energy Digitalisation Taskforce, and the current Chair of both the Green Alliance and the British Standards Institute Advisory Board on Net Zero. She is also on the board of the Energy Systems Catapult, Ohme Global and Highview Power. She was Chair of the Northern Ireland Expert Panel on Energy Transition and was a member of the Advisory Panel for the Government’s Cost of Energy Review, and is on the Ministerial Council for Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. She is the founder of the Food Foundation, co-founder of POWERful Women, and former Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency. She was previously a Member of Parliament for South Thanet, and was described by The Times as ‘one of the sanest of all MPs’ and as ‘lateral-minded, original and free-thinking’.