With unemployment set to soar in the UK following the Covid19 pandemic, alongside an eco-friendly economic recovery to fight climate change, a retired engineer is continuing to lament the fact that successive Governments since 2010 have not adopted his innovative Smart Grid solution.
Hugh Smeaton’s system, which has been patented recently in the UK (Apparatus for Monitoring Electricity Supply System) – could see the UK, and particularly Scotland (were Smart Grid to be controlled by the devolved administration) become the market leader in the Smart Grid technology race, selling Smart Grid to the developing world in a $500 billion market.
In a 50-year career which saw him responsible for many thousands of man hours in the Scottish engineering marketplace, Mr Smeaton is a former winner of the Queens Industry Award for exporting, and Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Electronics Technical Group.
Having taken his case to both the Parliamentary Ombudsman & Ofgem, he has believes a major expose is needed into why it has not been adopterd before it is too late. He says he is able to demonstrate unequivocally that he met the brief set by him by the Coalition Government in 2010 to develop a Smart Grid.
“We are about to experience a crisis in employment in the UK,” said Mr Smeaton. “My system would create many jobs at home and abroad in the engineering sector. The other side to this is climate change which was a hot topic before lockdown.
“Cleaner air and less pollution were celebrated during lockdown, but when the economy fully re-boots, the same issues will come back, along with the UK’s continuing flood risks.
“There has been talk of a green recovery as we come out of this, so the Government has to come up with a clear plan of how to achieve this. We have to ask why the UK’s current smart grid system, rolled out to consumers at huge expense, and claiming to help the environment and provide cheaper bills, is not fit for purpose.”
Mr Smeaton argues that the UK’s current system does not comply with the vote taken at the 2015 Paris Conference on Climate Change to reduce avoidable carbons.
‘The most important thing for me at this time is to know that my patented technology has a chance of being used in the future’
He claims the UK’s big energy companies have declined to use his technology which has left energy prices higher than they need be. The consumer is the loser, along with the environment,” he says.
“Network losses are higher in the energy systems of developing countries, so my application has huge scope there and could provide jobs for Scots engineers abroad.
“The Scottish devolved Government does not have Smart Grid under its jurisdiction, it’s all controlled by Westminster – such a missed opportunity.”
Mr Smeaton, who was recently cured after being hospitalised with Coronavirus, added: “I am seeking acknowledgment, validation, and indeed some compensation for pioneering the technology, which has now been adopted in China and other parts of the World.
“The most important thing for me at this time is to know that my patented technology has a chance of being used in the future to benefit the Scottish or UK economy.
“I welcome anyone from the world of business, science or the environment, getting in touch with me to lend some support or funding to widen my patent as I continue my fight.”
This article is published under the terms of the DB Direct service
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