Elexon readies IT infrastructure for smart meter rollout

Elexon is preparing for an increase in data caused by the imminent smart meter rollout by moving its IT operations into cloud computing.

Elexon said the move to smart metering means it requires a “flexible and scalable” core IT infrastructure.

The electricity balancing and settlement company has therefore contracted CGI for three years to operate, maintain and manage all of Elexon’s core applications while migrating them into to CGI’s cloud.

The company is facing an increase in data it must handle due to a switch from the current estimated model of electricity settlement to one based on near real-time data recorded by the new meters.

The current half-hour settlement period may also be shortened to 15 minutes as European regulators are considering new rules.

Elexon already settles 5,700 daily wholesale electricity trades, 1.25 million daily meter readings and settlement of over £1.4 billion of customer funds annually.

Elexon chief executive Mark Bygraves said: “The UK electricity market is undergoing critical changes that mean we, as a key partner to the wholesale industry, need to invest in our core IT infrastructure to continue delivering outstanding service.”

“This outsourced agreement with CGI provides significant expertise, capability and a modern, scalable infrastructure at highly competitive rates.”

“We will save over £1 million annually in our fixed IT running costs, which is great news for our customers and demonstrates Elexon’s ability to continue to deliver value for money to the industry.”

The move follows fellow energy market infrastructure company Electralink who earlier this month announced it had modernised its 17 year old data transfer service ready for the increase in data brought by the smart meter rollout.