News
Smart meter roll-out to bring major opportunities
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Updated specifications for smart meters have been
published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which aim to help energy suppliers and manufacturers to prepare for a national smart meter roll-out between 2014 and 2019. DECC’s Smart Metering
Equipment Technical Specification (SMETS 2) looks in detail at both technical and commercial interoperability, crucial to future integration into national smart grids, and ensuring that if consumers change suppliers they do not lose any functions when they switch. SMETS 2 is being published in two parts. The first covers gas, electricity and in-home display (IHD) technical specifications, smart meter communication standards and radio frequencies for in-home networks (including communication between the meters and IHDs). DECC also
wants to see features that will allow later integration with a smart grid, and low-cost maintenance. Ideally, electricity meters should be able to manage electricity load, record usage in detail, and monitor the output from solar panels and other microgeneration. The document also covers
licensing requirements for energy suppliers, which may require smart meter data to be made available to consumers. ECA head of Business Policy and
Practice Paul Reeve says the benefits could be wide-ranging: ‘If they have the right functions, smart meters and IHDs will present more options for flexible, remote control heating and security systems, and remote energy performance management. If the specifications are right, smart meters should provide major opportunities for those who install or provide these products and services.’
INDUSTRY WELCOMES RED TAPE CUTS
The ECA and NICEIC have welcomed government plans to reduce the number of notifiable works, saying it will cut some of the red tape faced by industry. Both also say that the launch
of the Electrical Safety Register in November 2012 fits well with the government’s plans to work with external partners to promote the use of certified electricians. The government has declared
Part P to be a success and has announced plans to streamline and improve electrical safety. It has signalled its intention to focus notification requirements on higher risk jobs. This reflects the recommendation of the joint submission made by the ECA and NICEIC in response to the Building Regulations consultation in early 2012. Steve Bratt, ECA group
CEO, said: ‘While we await full details, we are delighted that the government has listened to industry. ‘A tighter focus on
notification requirements will maintain safety, while reducing the burden placed on electrical contractors. This is exactly what we need to ensure the regulations protect the public, while ensuring our sector can still benefit from vital work opportunities.’ The government has also
announced plans to bring forward regulations that will allow third parties, other than Building Control, to certify work carried out by DIYers. Bratt added: ‘There is no
uniform cost for certification by local authority building control, so this could create a new workstream for electricians.‘
BASEC tightens processes NET publishes AM2 tips n
With an estimated 20 per cent of cable product in the UK supply chain potentially unsafe or counterfeit, and even more so overseas, the British Approvals Service for Cables (BASEC) has responded with increased requirements on approved manufacturers. BASEC has been working
with trade organisations, user groups and industry initiatives across the world in identifying the source of problem cable, which could be unscrupulous manufacturers, importers or distributors. BASEC has revised and tightened up its own certification processes to make it more challenging for manufacturers to achieve and maintain approval and to make it more difficult for manufacturers to produce non- conforming cable, accidentally or intentionally, without this
being identified by them or by BASEC. Jeremy Hodge, chief executive
of BASEC, explained: ‘BASEC’s approval procedures are designed to check that each manufacturer has reliable and robust manufacturing and quality systems, but it is impracticable to check every metre of cable produced. ‘However, BASEC does have a
rigorous programme of sampled audits and testing, with visits made to each factory every few months. At each visit, BASEC selects a number of samples of cable from recent production for testing – up to 200 samples each year from every factory – and any test failures found are followed up immediately. BASEC imposes strict certification rules on manufacturers and all cable produced must be tested before release for sale.’
Electrical industry training charity NET has published
information on AM2 hints and tips and common candidate errors. Developed to underline how the assessment references the BS7671 Wiring Regulations syllabus, these include reasons why marks are lost during assessment, useful preparation tips and notes on post-assessment administration and queries. NET development manager
Stephen Plant said: ‘The specifics of the AM2 are protected so that the assessment can do its job of benchmarking all apprentice trainees coming through Level 3 training fairly and equally to the industry’s standard. However, what we have done is looked at the issues faced by parties to the AM2 and provided guidance around these to provide a better understanding of how the industry defines competence under BS7671.’ Operatives generally undertake
10 ECA Today March 2013
the AM2 towards the end of their training as they seek to qualify. Last year, 40 per cent of candidates passed the assessment first time, with results of 90 per cent or above. However, others still fail key tasks that they are expected to be competent in at this point, such as safe isolation, a fundamental of electrical installation and theory from the BS7671 Wiring Regulations publications. Plant added: ‘If candidates don’t
know key subject areas or where to find key information within the books they would use when working on a job, then they are not ready to qualify and work unsupervised. It all comes down to training and preparation – if they know their subject material, they will have nothing to worry about. By consulting the documents on our website, we hope to ensure candidates are comfortable with the areas covered in the AM2 before they are entered for the assessment.’
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