By Paul Linnane, Chief Data Officer, ElectraLink
For a select few energy market devotees, energy data has been available for the past 10 years and a number of highly successful companies have been leveraging it to improve the sector. More recently, a massive transformation is occurring in the UK energy market and its data-sharing ecosystem to make data more visible to a wider group of participants. However, after attending PropTech Connect in London recently, I was keenly reminded that, unless you work in data operations or governance within an energy business, most people in organisations that interact with energy data don’t need to know the details of the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) programme, nor the DSI, CSS, DCC or CCS. This is just “inside baseball,” to use an American term.
The programme becomes relevant for folks from other sectors when considering how tech enablers are adapting their approaches and systems to a new world of data sharing. Energy data was once confined to closed systems to serve a small number of energy-related purposes. However, organisations like ElectraLink have leveraged historical connections to unlock energy data for any organisation that can meet governance requirements and has a sustainable business model that harnesses data-driven processes.
Precedent in unlocking energy data
For years, retail energy market data was rarely used outside of the energy sector and as such the focus was on usage and bills. Now that whole-system decarbonisation is mature, and digitalisation is endemic across almost all customer journeys, organisations have found a widening array of valuable uses of this data.
ElectraLink has been contributing to this for at least 13 years. We initially aimed to make energy – particularly usage – data accessible to enhance competition and lower barriers to entry (and costs) within the retail energy market. The data we have offered for that time has come from the regulated, centralised arm of ElectraLink’s business – the Data Transfer Service (DTS) – which is mandated by industry rules to transfer data between electricity networks, suppliers and metering agents. ElectraLink was given permission to copy and store all the data flowing across the DTS for the benefit of households and businesses as energy innovation matures, especially since the smart meter rollout started in 2011.
Access to this data and a solid governance model has enabled the development of a range of services. With data solutions like QuoteRight and MeterReader integrated via API, and file transfer solutions like 5Sites, a mix of business models have been empowered to digitalise processes for end user convenience and decarbonisation journeys.
ElectraLink also has a strong relationship with the UK Government through our provision of EMPRIS – an energy data insights platform – to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), which uses the data to understand trends and outcomes for end consumers. Our existing ties with DESNZ have served as useful avenues to learn and test new use cases for the data we hold, alongside building a reputation that supports early access to valuable data.
With many successful projects and collaborations on our books, we have since expanded into other industries, such as banking, real estate, tech and sustainability.
ElectraLink and its brilliant data experts are now adapting to changes emerging from the MHHS programme. This will ensure data access continues and improves for businesses looking for a competitive edge.
Extending access through new and old relationships
In a few years’ time, once the MHHS programme is complete, there will be more data than ever providing granular insights into energy usage behaviours for every home and business premises in Great Britain.
However, like with any transition, the bit in the middle is messy. To support our customers and ensure this data remained accessible as the data moved home, ElectraLink worked with central players in the energy market and signed agreements to collaborate to continue to make this huge volume of data available through our systems. In this way, the effects of digital transformation on our customers are minimised and improved.
Again, at various conferences we are reminded that for those outside energy there is always a need for diligent organisations to navigate the governance, access, technical jargon and make it easy for other sectors to add the data to their value stack. The more this happens, the greater impact the energy digitisation will have on end consumers, whether that be the tariff of their bill, the performance of their home battery, the interest rate they pay on their mortgage or comfort of the building that they work in.
Opening access to energy data provides opportunities for new business models and propositions. From understanding energy usage habits, homeowners can reduce their bills and contribute to flexibility schemes. Businesses can calculate and reduce their carbon emissions, upgrade their facilities with industrial-scale, low-carbon technologies and buy energy further in advance at lower prices. This data also helps with valuing real estate assets as well as modelling risk on loans and mortgages with green finance features.
Adopt early and lead
With this data now available on a commercial basis, being the first to access it is critical to moving ahead of the competition. We have seen in many industries how those who tap in early become leaders in their own right – it is no different with energy data.
While a little known but widely consequential digital transformation programme had the potential to squeeze existing data availability, ElectraLink has improved the types of data on offer that can be surfaced for customer-facing apps and interfaces as well as consultancy-level reporting and insights.