DESNZ Future Opportunity: Panel of Technical Experts – Electricity Market Reform

The Panel of Technical Experts (PTE) is an independent advisory group, members of which are appointed by government to advise on technical aspects of Electricity Market Reform. The role of the panel is a technical function and not a forum for policy commentary or for advising the government on its objectives for the capacity market or wider policy issues. They have a particular focus on providing scrutiny of the analysis in National Grid’s annual Electricity Capacity Report (ECR), which provides a recommendation on the target capacity for capacity market auctions. A report with their findings is published annually following the publication of the ECR and the Secretary of State’s decision on the target capacity.

We are considering appointing the following panel roles:

1. Economist
2. Mathematician, Econometrician, or Statistician
3. Operational Researcher, Decision or Management scientist
4. Electricity Industry Specialist
5. Capacity Adequacy or Electricity Demand Forecasting Expert
   (note – this role is a new requirement replacing the Electrical Engineer/Physicist role of previous panels)

We will also invite one of the panelists to take on the extra responsibility of Chair in addition to the panel member role as advertised.

Specialist skills and experience for each of the five panel members could include, but is not limited to:

1.  The specialist role for an Economist is to have, for example: a background in applied microeconomics and experience of applied energy economics.
2. The specialist role of Mathematician, Econometrician or Statistician is to have, for example: experience of quantitative techniques to future decision-making and making decisions under conditions of uncertainty in the context of electricity markets in GB and beyond.
3. The specialist role of Operational Researcher, Decision or Management Scientist is to have, for example: experience of applying quantitative techniques to model electricity markets, including the GB electricity markets, to inform future decision-making under uncertainty.
4. The specialist role of Electricity Industry Professional is to have, for example: extensive and varied experience of working in the GB electricity industry and be able to provide a stakeholder’s perspective to panel discussions.
5. The specialist role for an Capacity Adequacy or Electricity Demand Forecasting expert, is to for example: provide understanding of the GB electricity system and issues associated with meeting the physical challenges of the system operation both now and in the future.

We would also expect the Chair to take on some additional tasks, for example coordinating report writing. An additional requirement for those applying for the position of chairperson will be knowledge of Chairing.