Insights

We introduced the students to the world of economic consultancy and shared insights into some of our key sectors - energy, water and global health.

Utilities Policy, a leading peer-reviewed journal for the utilities community, has published a paper co-authored by CEPA Senior Advisor, Darryl Biggar.

Earlier this week, the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a joint government and Ofgem technical decision document, which confirms details of the long duration electricity storage cap and floor scheme and how it will operate.

CEPA was engaged to prepare a report on the regulation of one-off or upfront charges that are typically triggered by the creation of a new connection – or the upgrade of an existing connection – to a distribution network.

CEPA is pleased to have supported the economic regulator for electricity in Northern Ireland, which has approved an investment package for Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIEN) of £2.23 bn in its seventh regulatory price control for NIEN, which will run from April 2025 to March 2031.

We are delighted to welcome eight new members of the CEPA consulting team in London, with two directors, two consultants and four economists adding to CEPA’s expanding pool of people to support our clients.

The research article "Marginal curtailment of wind and solar PV: Transmission constraints, pricing and access regimes for efficient investment", written by David Newbery and Darryl Biggar, has been published.

Consultancy UK, the online platform for the UK's advisory and consulting industry, has once again awarded CEPA a platinum-level ranking.

AEMO Services commissioned CEPA to provide independent advice on appropriate assumptions on the WACC. CEPA’s report has been published and is available from AEMO Services’ website.

CEPA’s Darryl Biggar accepted an invitation to present at the Australian Energy Market Commission’s recent Connecting Policy and Research Forum.

CEPA’s Australian office was engaged by the Commerce Commission to estimate productivity changes in New Zealand’s electricity distribution sector.

CEPA Senior Consultant Charlotte Hallam joined the panel for the Women in Economics event, along with female economists from the Bank of England, KPMG and the Fraser of Allander Institute.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has launched its second consultation about the ongoing Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA).

CEPA is proud to have been part of the Smith Square Partners' Consortium that acted on the £666 million completed transfer of Moray East offshore wind farm transmission link.

Energy Systems Catapult has published a report, prepared with input from CEPA and Ovo, that developed and tested innovative retail propositions against a range of 2030 market scenarios to identify how to best elicit flexibility.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator, has published its decision about Gas Networks Ireland’s (GNI) current price control, which sets out the revenues GNI can collect from its customers over a five-year period.

Ofgem has announced its confirmation to grant an offshore transmission licence to ETEPCO (a consortium of Equitix Ltd & TEPCO Power Grid Inc).

Managing energy security of supply while transitioning to a low carbon, renewables-led energy system is one of the critical challenges facing Irish policy makers.

Join us in congratulating Tom Cochrane and Kaveri Kumar on their recent promotions to the firm’s partnership. They join CEPA’s existing global Partners to lead a growing team of more than 50 economic, public and financial policy consulting experts.

CEPA’s energy sector consulting team was pleased to take part in an interactive knowledge-sharing session.

Our reports on Irish gas network revenues and incentives have been published by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

CEPA, as part of Smith Square Partners Consortium, acts as financial adviser to Ofgem on the £1.14bn completed transfer of Hornsea Two offshore wind farm transmission link from Ørsted to Diamond Transmission Partners.

CEPA is seeking an exceptional individual to join the firm's London office as a Director, supporting its work in the energy sector.

As an interested stakeholder, CEPA is pleased to make submissions on the Gas Distribution Network Tariffs Review Issues Paper.

One of the most talked-about market reform options being considered by the GB Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation.

CEPA thanks those clients, industry leaders, associates and future economists for the feedback they provided to Consultancy.uk, resulting in the firm’s high-level, 2023 ranking as one of the “Top Economics consulting firms in the UK”.

CEPA is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Darryl Biggar as a senior advisor in its Australian practice.

Onshore electricity networks will play a critical role in achieving net zero and that requires transformation at unprecedented scale and pace.

We are pleased to have supported another cohort of students undertaking the Capstone Course at the London School of Economics (LSE). 

We were commissioned by the Hinrich Foundation, to help them understand if global trade will be essential to sustain the transition to reach the International Energy Agency's target of Net Zero by 2050.

We are grateful for the continued positive feedback from the market, which has led to CEPA retaining its position in the Financial Times' ratings.

A consortium, consisting of CEPA and four other leading advisory firms, is acting as financial adviser to Ofgem for the OFTO Tender Round 10 process.

We are proud to have been working with Ofgem on important elements of the RIIO-ED2 price control, which will run from April 2023 to April 2028.

We were engaged by the Australian Energy Council to consider whether a relatively high market price cap and other market settings, in the presence of a capacity mechanism, would result in double payment for capacity at unnecessary customer cost.

We are pleased to have supported Elexon with an impact assessment of BSC Modification P415, designed to allow independent aggregators of demand side response to trade customer flexibility directly.

We are supporting a major public consultation about the security of energy supply of Ireland’s electricity and natural gas systems, being undertaken by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

We are pleased to once again be attending the conference on 29 and 30 June in Dublin, for an event that aims to bring together key stakeholders in the Irish energy sector.

The Council of European Energy Regulators has today published our recommendations for how energy regulators can best deploy ‘dynamic regulation’ tools – exemptions from the standard regulations that are limited in time and scope, which aim to foster learnings for future regulatory reforms.

Following another year of providing high-quality advice to our clients across our core sectors, we are grateful for the positive feedback from the market, which has led to CEPA’s inclusion in the Financial Times’ independent ratings report.

Continuing our co-operation with other specialist advisors in a consortium, we are pleased to provide further expert financial and economic advice to Ofgem under a new four-year contract for offshore electricity transmission assets.

CEPA and Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) have been appointed by BEIS to carry out a study on energy price signals, exploring what an alternative system of network and policy price signals might look like. CEPA and ESC held a webinar when the initial findings were presented.

Ofgem, the GB energy regulator has announced the identity of the preferred bidder for the offshore wind transmission asset connecting the Triton Knoll wind farm to the Lincolnshire coast.

The Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) has published a report, for which we undertook the identification and analysis of the business models and supporting case studies.

A short note that proposes a greater role for deliberate policy experiments to help policy-makers and regulators identify the solutions that will best support decarbonisation at the lowest cost.

Working with energy networks specialists TNEI, we have produced new research for Energy Systems Catapult on the role of locational energy prices in facilitating the decarbonisation of Britain’s energy system.

The Australian Energy Regulator has published our independent evaluation of a trial, to deliver better outcomes for consumers through network consumer engagement and regulatory innovation.

We set out some important considerations to support Ofgem’s Interconnector Policy Review.

The AER asked us to advise on the approach to estimating the Market Risk Premium (MRP) for the 2022 review of the Rate of Return Instrument. Specifically, we were asked whether there is a relationship between the risk-free rate (RfR) and MRP.

CEPA and the Energy Systems Catapult have been appointed by BEIS to carry out a study on energy price signals, as part of BEIS’s Alternative Energy Markets programme.

Ofgem publishes consultation under the Access and Forward-looking Charges Significant Code Review with our Quantitative Analysis and Methodology reports alongside.

Working with international partners, we have delivered a cost benefit analysis of proposed arrangements for day-ahead trading of capacity on electricity interconnectors between GB and other markets following the UK’s departure from the EU.

The Innovation Link is Ofgem’s main support programme for innovators looking to launching novel propositions. It offers regulatory guidance as well as trials and derogations, contributing to an enabling and adaptive regulatory environment to benefit consumers and support the UK’s transition to net zero.

CEPA’s analysis of the impacts of proposed modification P379 has helped the industry to better understand the merits and drawbacks of introducing electricity meter splitting. Our findings led to the proposer withdrawing the modification.

Impact Assessment: Consideration of adjustments to the NTS Charging Regime

The independent European think tank, CERRE, will host an event on 16 March to launch its Energy and Climate report, “Electricity and gas coupling in a decarbonised economy”.

We have been supporting Ofgem with its review of the responses to the Draft Determinations for the electricity and gas transmission and gas distribution sectors, and the electricity system operator.

Consumers, policy makers and private businesses are focusing on decarbonising economic activity to limit the impact of climate change and to secure an environmentally sustainable future.

AfDB and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa commissioned a consortium led by CEPA, to assess the availability of local currency finance for sustainable energy projects and the obstacles developers face in tapping into local financial and capital markets.

CEPA appointed as part of Smith Square Partners consortium to advise Ofgem on the TR7 auction of offshore electricity transmission assets.

Speaking at DCUSA Ltd’s 2020 Strategy Day, Patrick Taylor set out his views about the future of electricity charging in GB.

Calls are made for improvements to the governance framework for the Australian Energy Market Operator to support investment efficiencies, manage growing customer costs and achieve national energy goals.

We are pleased to be assisting Ofgem with economic and financial components of its Revenue=Incentives+Innovation+Outputs (RIIO-2) process.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) asked us to peer review a cost of capital update for electricity generation, storage & demand side response technologies.

Reports published as part of the draft determination for Ireland’s 2021-2025 price control.

The Australian Energy Market Commission engaged CEPA to identify options that could improve the integration of DER into the electricity system.

CEPA helps Ofgem, the GB energy regulator, to reach its Decision on the modification proposals relating to the gas transmission charging arrangements.

Ofgem, Great Britain's independent energy regulator, is seeking views on its 'minded to’ decision on the proposals for modification to the gas transmission charging arrangements.

UK Regulators Network publish a CEPA report on approaches to debt beta estimation and the link between debt beta and gearing levels.

CEPA Energy Modelling Ltd, a new subsidiary dedicated to meeting the increasing advisory needs of energy companies, regulators and governments across the globe is formed.

As a result of CEPA’s increasing work in South America, one of the firm’s directors, Attila Hajos, accepted the invitation to speak at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Colombian Energy Sector.

Increasing demand for CEPA's support and advice drives a growth in consulting team numbers.

Ofgem has published a consultation on the cost assessment tools and techniques it intends to apply in setting the RIIO-2 price controls.

The Australian Energy Regulator has published a second insights report that CEPA prepared for the ongoing evaluation of AusNet Services' trial of the New Reg process.

Ben Shafran, a consultant who specialises in energy policy and regulation, will feature as a guest speaker at the 2019 UKERC Annual Conference.

CEPA has been pleased to support a London School of Economics ‘Capstone’ project to explore impacts of digitalisation on the energy market.

The Utility Regulator (UR) in Northern Ireland has published the results of its first Consumer Insight Tracker Survey.

In this briefing note, we explore how successful technology-neutral auctions for electricity generation have been in the past and discuss some key lessons.

Our cost-benefit analysis for the electricity interconnectors demonstrated that increasing the interconnection of Ireland to other markets is expensive but the benefits are likely to outweigh the costs.

Since 2017, we have been the Capacity Auction Monitor (“Monitor”) for the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM) for the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM).

CEPA today welcomes Gary Keane as a director to the consulting firm’s London headquarters.

We were asked by the Agency for the Co-operation of Energy Regulators (ACER) to conduct a study on the estimation of the value of lost load (VoLL) for electricity supply in Europe.

Some of the key questions that stakeholders should be asking as part of the UK Government's much-anticipated review of the electricity capacity market are set out in a briefing note.

Read our briefing note to learn more about what the key issues might be in the next RIIO price controls.

Our analysis demonstrated that applying equal charging treatment at Bacton IP as for GB storage would further the interests of GB consumers through lower gas prices. 

Ahead of the RIIO-2 price controls, Ofgem wanted to gather insights on the outcomes of the RIIO-1 regulatory framework. At the end of 2017, the regulator commissioned CEPA to review the RIIO price control framework applied to the first set of RIIO price controls.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has today published a second insights report that CEPA has prepared for the ongoing evaluation of AusNet Services trial of the New Reg process.

In almost every market one can think of, people are talking about the application of big data analytics and machine learning. Energy and other utilities are no different.

In our briefing, we examine how the regulatory framework implied by Ofgem’s strategy would affect one of the main drivers of the change: electric vehicles (EVs).

Following the announcement of the results for Round 2 of the CfD auction, we explore in this briefing what they mean for the offshore wind energy sector and the deployment of renewable electricity generation.

As part of a consortium, CEPA advised on setting allowed revenues for Gas Networks Ireland’s (GNI) TSO and DSO businesses over the PC4 price control period.

We were asked by an economic regulator of the energy sector, to develop a framework for assessing whether their domestic retail energy market was delivering good customer outcomes.

The advice provided to a GB electricity distribution company in relation to smart networks and flexible energy systems helped our client advance their position with the regulator and government.