New Tech: How Smart Is the Smart Energy System?

The Bottom Line

The UK's power grid is undergoing a huge shift towards renewable energy, but running homes and businesses solely on this new form of electricity will be a delicate balancing act and will pose new choices for consumers.

Evan Davis and guests discuss the challenge of matching supply - from wind and solar - with an increased demand from electric vehicles and homes using heat pumps rather than gas boilers.

Part of the solution could be consumers themselves - homes with EVs, solar panels or battery storage could act like mini power plants, sending energy back to the grid, as well as taking from it, and getting paid in the process. But that two-way exchange could bring harder decisions - would you let your energy company switch off your fridge for an hour to ease pressure on the grid?

Evan is joined by: Cordi O’Hara, president of UK electricity distribution, National Grid; Hamish Phillips, net zero business development director, Centrica; Jordan Brompton, co-founder and chief marketing officer, Myenergi.

Production team: Producer: Simon Tulett Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Jonny Baker and Tim Heffer Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge