Overview
Thomas joined the Energy Policy Group in 2017 after securing EPSRC funding for his PhD: Re-designing Electricity Markets for a high renewable future.
Currently in his second year of his PhD, Thomas has contributed to Exeter University’s Energy Policy Group’ research. His work has been publicised via submission to consultations, and his output has been presented at conferences as well as to external shareholders from the industry interested in the future of the electricity markets.
In addition Thomas has liaised locally with various groups such as the Falmouth Energy Partnership and the ExeterEnergy initiative.
Broad research specialisms
Electricity market design, re-design, governance, transitions
Qualifications
2017: MSc Sustainable Development
2016: BSc (Hons) Geography
Links
Research
Research interests
Thomas is interested in the role of the UK’s current energy governance (policies, institutions, networks, market designs) and the role that these could play in transforming the energy system to one that is more sustainable.
Within this broad spectrum, Thomas is specifically interested in the role of our electricity market design - the interwoven policies and rules which dictate the how electricity can be traded - and the associated revenue streams. A key aspect of any transition is the financial viability of the new system. To promote increased deployment of variable renewable generators, Demand Side Response and battery storage, an electricity market design which rewards these assets is required.
Research projects
PhD: Re-designing Electricity Markets for a High Renewable Future
With the increased deployment of renewable variable generation there is a clear need for the transformation of many aspects of the current energy system in order to achieve the UK’s decarbonisation goals. Thomas specifically focuses on the role of the UK’s electricity market design within this shift and he is currently re-designing the current trading rules for electricity to better reflect high variable renewable generation which also places consumers at the heart of the electricity system.
If you are interested to hear more about Thomas’ proposal for a new electricity market design in the UK please read the blog series below, or email Thomas at the link above.
Grants/Funding
EPSRC
Research Outputs:
Thomas Pownall
Electricity market redesign: a typology of interventions
October 2019 | Presentation at the I-REMB Conference, Copenhagen | Slides
Thomas Pownall
An electricity market design for a renewable, storage and energy efficient electricity system
October 2019 | Presentation to the Department of Planning, Copenhagen | Slides
Thomas Pownall
Market Design Issues for a smart, flexible, sustainable and secure energy system
July 2019 | IGov Blog Series
Blog 1: Setting the scene
Blog 2: The ‘rules of the game’ and why they no longer work
Blog 3: The institutional glue to link markets and networks
Blog 4: Proposed design
Blog 5: Summary of blog series
Catherine Mitchell, Rebecca Willis, Richard Hoggett, Thomas Pownall, Richard Lowes and Jessica Britton
New Thinking: The IGov institutional framework for energy governance
July 2019 | IGov New Thinking | Link
Rachel Bray, Thomas Pownall, Catherine Mitchell and Bridget Woodman
Submission to ENA Future Worlds: Impact Assessment Consultation
May 2019 | Submission to ENA | PDF
Thomas Pownall
Electricity market design for a sustainable, secure and efficient electricity system in the UK
January 2019 | Presentation to Energy Systems Catapult, Birmingham | Slides
Catherine Mitchell and Thomas Pownall
Consumer participation and market design issues
November 2018 | Presentation to OIES, Oxford | Link
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Pownall T, Soutar I, Mitchell C (2021). Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources.
Energies,
14(4), 1124-1124.
Abstract:
Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources
The design of electricity markets determines the technologies, services and modes of operation that can access value, consequently shaping current and future electricity landscapes. This paper highlights that the efficacy of Great Britain’s electricity market design in facilitating net zero is inadequate and must be reconfigured. The rules of the current electricity market design are remnants of an electricity sector dominated by large-scale, centralised, fossil fuel technologies. Therefore, routes to market for the provision of necessary services to support net zero, not least flexibility, are largely inaccessible for distributed energy resources and, despite their benefits to the system, are thus undervalued. Based upon a review and consolidation of 30 proposed electricity market designs from liberalised electricity sectors, this paper proposes a new electricity market design for Great Britain. This design is presented alongside a new institutional framework to aid in the efficient operation of the market. Specifically, this paper proposes a new local balancing and coordinating market located at each grid supply point (the transmission and distribution interface). This is realised through the implementation of a distributed locational marginal pricing structure which is governed by the evolution of the current distributed network operator, known as the distributed service provider (DSP). The DSP also operates a local balancing and ancillary market for their geographical area. The wholesale market is reconfigured to coordinate with these new local markets and to harmonise the actors across the distribution and transmission network.
Abstract.
Judson E, Fitch-Roy O, Pownall T, Bray R, Poulter H, Soutar I, Lowes R, Connor P, Britton J, Woodman B, et al (2019). The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
118Abstract:
The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation
'Energy decentralisation' means many things to many people. Among the confusion of definitions and practices that may be characterised as decentralisation, three broad causal narratives are commonly (implicitly or explicitly) invoked. These narratives imply that the process of decentralisation: i) will result in appropriate changes to rules and institutions, ii) will be more democratic and iii) is directly and causally linked to energy system decarbonisation. The principal aim of this paper is to critically examine these narratives. By conceptualising energy decentralisation as a distinct class of sociotechnical transition pathway, we present a comparative analysis of energy decentralisation in Cornwall, South West UK, the French island of Ushant and the National Electricity Market in Australia. We show that, while energy decentralisation is often strongly correlated with institutional change, increasing citizen agency in the energy system, and enhanced environmental performance, these trends cannot be assumed as given. Indeed, some decentralisation pathways may entrench incumbent actors' interests or block rapid decarbonisation. In particular, we show how institutional context is a key determinant of the link between energy decentralisation and normative goals such as democratisation and decarbonisation. While institutional theory suggests that changes in rules and institutions are often incremental and path-dependent, the dense legal and regulatory arrangements that develop around the electricity sector seem particularly resistant to adaptive change. Consequently, policymakers seeking to pursue normative goals such as democratisation or decarbonisation through energy decentralisation need to look beyond technology towards the rules, norms and laws that constitute the energy governance system.
Abstract.
Chapters
Pownall T (2022). The rationale behind the trade-offs within the proposed electricity market design. In (Ed) .
Publications by year
2022
Pownall T (2022). Electricity market re-design in Great Britain: a proposed new design and lessons on implementation.
Abstract:
Electricity market re-design in Great Britain: a proposed new design and lessons on implementation
Implementing electricity market re-design within Great Britain is required to facilitate the goal of a net zero electricity system. The electricity market design as an institution determines the services which can access value and therefore the rules embedded within the design are an important influence on future investment decisions as well as current energy economics. A continuation of the current rules which reflect an outdated paradigm based upon large-scale, centralised, and predominantly fossil fuel thermal generating units hinders the UK’s policy objective of a net zero power sector by 2035. Therefore, electricity market re-design is essential to bring forward investment into the technologies, new modes of operation and user practices which are aligned with net zero ambitions.
Whilst multiple proposals for changes to the existing design exist, these focus on addressing particular aspects of the electricity market design and do not provide the holistic blueprint required by policymakers, nor do these offer guidance on the process of implementation.
To address this gap, the technique of modularisation was employed to identify where alterations to Great Britain’s electricity market design were required. Where issues had been identified, alternative arrangements were sourced from an extensive literature review of 49 papers with proposals for electricity market reform. This led to the creation of a strawperson proposal which was appraised and validated through 41 expert semi-structured interviews, presented at national and international conferences and through the process of academic peer-review. The proposed design provides a blueprint for policymakers which is an augmentation of the current design, aligned to net zero and addresses the issues identified with the current institutional setup.
Lessons on implementation were gathered from an additional literature review and insights from the same semi-structured interviews. This led to several key findings. First, there is widespread support for electricity market re-design across the majority of interviewees and within the literature. Second, divergences emerged in how electricity market re-design should proceed; via small-scale incremental changes or a largescale implementation akin to the New Electricity Trading Arrangements. This thesis argues for the latter. Compounding these debates on implementation is the increased diversity of market participants who offer innovations in how the institution operates, but only if
4
their ideas are listened to, which under current framings will be difficult due to the scale of regime resistance.
The implications of this research provides policymakers, regulators and fellow actors involved within the field of electricity market design with a case for change and an appraised, holistic blueprint design and lessons on implementation.
Abstract.
Pownall T (2022). Review of the 49 papers with proposals for electricity market reform.
Pownall T (2022). The rationale behind the trade-offs within the proposed electricity market design. In (Ed) .
2021
Pownall T, Soutar I, Mitchell C (2021). Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources.
Energies,
14(4), 1124-1124.
Abstract:
Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources
The design of electricity markets determines the technologies, services and modes of operation that can access value, consequently shaping current and future electricity landscapes. This paper highlights that the efficacy of Great Britain’s electricity market design in facilitating net zero is inadequate and must be reconfigured. The rules of the current electricity market design are remnants of an electricity sector dominated by large-scale, centralised, fossil fuel technologies. Therefore, routes to market for the provision of necessary services to support net zero, not least flexibility, are largely inaccessible for distributed energy resources and, despite their benefits to the system, are thus undervalued. Based upon a review and consolidation of 30 proposed electricity market designs from liberalised electricity sectors, this paper proposes a new electricity market design for Great Britain. This design is presented alongside a new institutional framework to aid in the efficient operation of the market. Specifically, this paper proposes a new local balancing and coordinating market located at each grid supply point (the transmission and distribution interface). This is realised through the implementation of a distributed locational marginal pricing structure which is governed by the evolution of the current distributed network operator, known as the distributed service provider (DSP). The DSP also operates a local balancing and ancillary market for their geographical area. The wholesale market is reconfigured to coordinate with these new local markets and to harmonise the actors across the distribution and transmission network.
Abstract.
2019
Judson E, Fitch-Roy O, Pownall T, Bray R, Poulter H, Soutar I, Lowes R, Connor P, Britton J, Woodman B, et al (2019). The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
118Abstract:
The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation
'Energy decentralisation' means many things to many people. Among the confusion of definitions and practices that may be characterised as decentralisation, three broad causal narratives are commonly (implicitly or explicitly) invoked. These narratives imply that the process of decentralisation: i) will result in appropriate changes to rules and institutions, ii) will be more democratic and iii) is directly and causally linked to energy system decarbonisation. The principal aim of this paper is to critically examine these narratives. By conceptualising energy decentralisation as a distinct class of sociotechnical transition pathway, we present a comparative analysis of energy decentralisation in Cornwall, South West UK, the French island of Ushant and the National Electricity Market in Australia. We show that, while energy decentralisation is often strongly correlated with institutional change, increasing citizen agency in the energy system, and enhanced environmental performance, these trends cannot be assumed as given. Indeed, some decentralisation pathways may entrench incumbent actors' interests or block rapid decarbonisation. In particular, we show how institutional context is a key determinant of the link between energy decentralisation and normative goals such as democratisation and decarbonisation. While institutional theory suggests that changes in rules and institutions are often incremental and path-dependent, the dense legal and regulatory arrangements that develop around the electricity sector seem particularly resistant to adaptive change. Consequently, policymakers seeking to pursue normative goals such as democratisation or decarbonisation through energy decentralisation need to look beyond technology towards the rules, norms and laws that constitute the energy governance system.
Abstract.
Thomas_Pownall Details from cache as at 2023-06-10 06:24:00
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Teaching
Thomas has taught at undergraduate level and to international summer school students.
Thomas has also co-led on both national and international field trips contributing to the teaching of the energy aspects on these courses.
