Power Purchase Policy Advisor

POWER PURCHASE POLICY ADVISOR

£300+ Ltd per day, Central London, 2-3 months

Conditions faced by independent renewable generators have deteriorated recently, with the terms of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) deteriorating. This has led to a concern that independent renewable generators will not be able to fund important investment, which is needed to support the Government's decarbonisation objectives and the legal commitments on renewable generation. In particular, there is a concern that the replacement of the RO by the CfD may not address all of the issues faced by independents, and/or that the transition between the RO and CfD will prompt a hiatus in investment, as developers and financiers are unfamiliar with the new arrangements.

The team is undertaking two workstreams:

1) - "Easing the Transition" to the CfD, by working with market participants to increase understanding of the arrangements and to take practical steps to ensure that when the CfD goes live, that there is an active PPA market and options as to how independent generators can market their power at reasonable cost. This includes work on codes of conduct, commitments from the Big 6 and on model PPA contracts.
2) - "Understanding and Exploring Alternatives" to the current design of the CfD. Working with market participants to understand the scale of the problems that might continue under the CfD (notably the difficulty in managing and pricing imbalance risks) and to identify modifications to the CfD support mechanism (or other changes) that will address these issues. These options include somewhat radical departures from the current CfD mechanism to changes to the CfD contract terms (and perhaps other options, as yet unidentified).

Policy analysis and development: assessing the relative merits of changes to the CfD design, and evaluating alternative options (including the industry-sponsored 'Green Power Auction Market', or GPAM). This would involve managing consultants to understand the size of the anticipated problems (including uncertainty on imbalance exposure, and concerns over weak competition amongst the Big 6 for independently generated power), and working with industry to understand the costs and benefits of different proposed remedies.

Thsi is a high-profile role, and there is considerable and ongoing interest from all of the ministerial team. The Secretary of State has taken a significant interest in the issues faced by independents. The roles will be supported by the existing Wholesale Markets team (within EMR/Energy Market Design), and we would seek to be flexible so as to accommodate any individual who could bring useful skills to the team.

Person Specification:

- Understanding and communicating complex information in a concise, accurate way that promotes understanding amongst colleagues and stakeholders.
- Using project management techniques to monitor progress and deliver timely outcomes. Coping with a fast-moving environment in a flexible and well-organised way.
- Quickly assimilating and analysing information from a variety of sources, and developing appropriate policy recommendations.

To be considered for this contract, please send your most recent CV. I look forward to receiving your response.

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