The Transmission and distribution network is creaking, struggling under the onerous challenges of distributed generation, renewable energy and increasing demand. These are all challenges for which the grid was not designed: its strengths lie in bulk transmission of power from huge, decentralised power stations through 400kV lines stepping down through 132kV, 11kV until it reaches the domestic consumer at 400V. That scenario is now a model that is well past its sell-by date.