School of Social and Political Science

Dr Helen Poulter

Research Fellow

Helen Poulter profile picture
h.poulter@ed.ac.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/Helen Poulter/
https://twitter.com/@hkpoulter/
Chisholm House
High School Yards
Edinburgh
UK
EH1 1LZ

Research interests

Energy & Sustainability Energy, environment and sustainability Environment and energy Governance & Democracy

energy regulation, customer engagement, social value in energy, decentralistion, energy governance, sustainability, climate change and energy policy, behaviour change interventions, energy justice

My research is primarily concerned with the governance of local and regional energy systems. I am investigating the role of regulation in meeting the UK net-zero target which will require an increase in trust from customers towards the energy industry and institutions to ensure a fair and just transition.

Current projects

UKERC Theme 2 - Local and regional energy systems: Investigating regulatory governance for decentralisation

Completed projects

IGov2 - Innovation for future energy systems (PhD funding)

UKERC mini project - Governance for disruption and continuity

Background

I am an interdisciplinary research fellow with a background in energy governance, renewable energy engineering and land management. I am currently working on a UKERC project investigating the use of customer engagement strategies in the regulation of monopoly energy networks and how customer engagement may need to be framed for an increasingly decentralised energy system.

Publications

Poulter, H. 2020. Australia: from central electricity to solar/storage systems. In: Burger, C et al (eds.), Decentralised Energy. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bcf.c

Judson, E., Fitch-Roy, O., Pownall, T., Bray, R., Poulter, H., Soutar, I., R. Lowes, P.M. Connor, J.Britton, B.Woodman, Mitchell, C. (2020). The centre cannot (always) hold: Examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109499

UKERC. (2019). Disrupting the UK energy system: causes, impacts and policy implications, (June), 40.

Works within

Publications by user content

Publication Research Explorer link
Poulter H, Bolton R. The Case for the Regional Energy Strategic Planners UK Energy Research Centre. 2024.
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Britton J, Poulter H, Rattle I, Bolton R, Webb J, Taylor P. Governing local energy and industrial decarbonisation in Britain: Planning innovations and implications for net zero GHG emission goals. In Governance innovations for climate and energy transitions in cities’ ECPR Joint Sessions. 2024
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Bolton R, Poulter H. Low Carbon Technologies and the Grid: Analysing Regulation and Transitions in Electricity Networks. UK Energy Research Centre, 2024. 15 p.
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Bolton R, Bell K, Poulter H, Webb J. Strategic planning of electricity networks: Playing the long game. In Review of Energy Policy 2023. UK Energy Research Centre. 2023. p. 23-25 doi: 10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000967
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Poulter H, Bolton R. Embedding broader values in the regulatory model: An analysis of Ofgem's consumer value proposition for the natural gas distribution sector. Utilities Policy. 2023 Feb;80:101470. Epub 2022 Dec 9. doi: 10.1016/j.jup.2022.101470
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Poulter H, Bolton R. Remaking the regulatory model? Taking stock of ten years of customer engagement in Britain’s energy networks. Energy Research & Social Science. 2021 Nov 29;85:102389. Epub 2021 Nov 29. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102389
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Poulter H. Australia: From central electricity to solar/storage systems. In Burger C, Froggatt A, Mitchell C, Weinmann J, editors, Decentralised Energy: A Global Game Changer. 1 ed. London: Ubiquity Press Ltd. 2020. p. 25-46 doi: 10.5334.bcf.c
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Hoggett R, Willis R, Mitchell C, Britton J, Poulter H, Pownall T et al. Getting Energy Governance Right: Lessons from IGov. University of Exeter, 2019. 23 p.
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Helen Poulter's Research Explorer profile