Climate Intelligence for Energy Forecasting Associate (CIEFA)

This 30 month project offers the exciting opportunity to explore the benefits of state of the art S2S forecasting techniques across a range of business areas, working within one of the largest energy companies in the UK. As the project progresses, it is anticipated that the Associate will become a recognised authority and change-leader within the business regarding innovative use of S2S forecasts.

The Associate will:
• work with the Energy Demand Forecasting team to identify areas within British Gas and the wider Centrica group where S2S forecast tools can provide a strategic decision-making advantages;
• quantify where, how, why and to what extent skilful S2S forecasts can be used to create “user value” in the energy-sector;
• work with British Gas and Centrica stakeholders to incorporate S2S forecasts into their day-to-day business practices;
• promote understanding of S2S forecasting across British Gas and the wider Centrica group so that these tools can be used with skill and confidence;
• learn about the energy industry and the residential energy market, with a focus on the impact of S2S forecasting;
• take ownership of the project development plan, ensuring all tasks are completed in a timely manner; and
• disseminate project findings to internal and external audiences via conferences, workshops and publications in leading academic journals.

The project’s goal is to explore the use of sub-seasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) climate forecasts in decision-making at British Gas. Utilising outputs from a new state-of-the-art hybrid machine-learning forecast system, the Associate will develop tools, methods and
understanding of how S2S information can be used to provide actionable market intelligence, embedding this know-how into day-to-day business operations and decision making.