Taskforce calls for new digitalisation delivery body

The Energy Digitalisation Taskforce has called for the creation of a new independent delivery body to drive the digitalisation agenda forward in a way that delivers in the public interest.

The taskforce, commissioned by government, Ofgem, and Innovate UK, has today (17 January) issued six recommendations to help develop a modern and decarbonised digital energy system which will be necessary to unlock whole system flexibility.

The recommendations focus on achieving two key principles – building customer trust and ensuring whole system interoperability.

Taskforce chair Laura Sandys, speaking to Utility Week, said trust for both domestic and business consumers would be built by giving consumers control and through simplification of the whole customer journey.

This would be achieved by streamlining the asset registration process and creating a simple customer consent dashboard which allows customers to easily give or remove consent for the use of their data.

The taskforce’s recommendations to achieve whole system interoperability include the creation of a Digital Spine to maximise resilience in a distributed system and ensure customer money is spent efficiently.

This “spine” would involve the implementation of a basic and thin shared infrastructure across all assets in the energy system to enable critical operational data, financial reconciliation and price signals to flow across actors in the energy system as seamlessly as possible.

This digital spine would be considered a public interest digital asset as no commercial company has a vested interest in its creation.

The taskforce is also calling for the creation of a time limited delivery body to design, deliver and procure public interest assets such as a digital spine.

It would then allocate these assets to different parts of the system.

The recommendations in full are:

Recommendation one: Unlock value of customer actions and assets – Government and the regulator need to create policy, regulation, and digital infrastructure which enables industry to deliver the trust and assurance to unlock the value of customer actions and assets.

Recommendation two: Deliver interoperability – The sector needs to deliver interoperability through the development and deployment of key Public Interest Digital Assets including a Digital Spine solution.

Recommendation three: Implement a new digital governance approach and digitalisation entities – Digital Governance needs to be embedded as business as usual with a new Energy Digitalisation Delivery Body to develop the Public Interest Digital Assets and support sector-wide Digitalisation.

Recommendation four: Adopt digital security measures – Digital security principles and interventions need to be embedded throughout the sector to collectively enable safe digitalisation at scale.

Recommendation five: Carbon monitoring and accounting – Carbon emissions from energy production, storage and delivery need to be measured at source with data reported and shared in a standard format.

Recommendation six: Embed a digitalisation culture – A digitalisation culture needs to be embedded throughout the energy sector by promoting digital leadership, valuing digital assets, and focusing on whole system user experience.

For each recommendation the taskforce has put forward a range of actions split into three categories – quick wins which could be achieved in the next 24 months, iterative improvements which could be achieved in the next 36 months, and strategic interventions, which have an expected timeline of up to five years.

Sandys said that urgent action against the taskforce’s recommendations needs to be taken by the energy industry if the stability of the system is not to be put at risk.

She added that the taskforce hoped that both government and Ofgem will be able to reveal within the next two or three months what element of the report they wish to deliver.

She said: “Digitalisation is no longer a nice to have – it’s essential in decarbonising Britain’s energy system, and will need deeply embedding into our energy system if we’re to meet our ambitious and legally-binding net zero targets. Without digitalisation the system will not be able to manage the growing complexities of a decarbonised system.

“The Taskforce’s recommendations aim to accelerate the journey to a digitalised, flexible and affordable energy system, and will unlock new business models, change existing functions and should deliver customers a new experience of energy.

“While many other industries are ahead in embedding digitalisation, the energy sector now has an opportunity to build on best practice and innovate with reduced risk and uncertainty. It’s critical we capture these opportunities to unlock the opportunities and innovation that digitalisation can offer – as we have seen in other sectors.”

Energy and climate change minister Greg Hands said: “By harnessing the power of smart and digital technologies we can modernise our energy system, helping improve customer experiences and deliver a net zero future.

“This report helps us better understand how a digitalised system can benefit consumers and the economy as well as the steps needed to get there.”

Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said: “This report is exactly the evidence we need to further this crucial agenda. We’ve seen the impact on everyone’s bills from a reliance on fossil fuels, which have highly volatile global prices. If we can use our innovative digital skills to make the energy system more seamless when it comes to creating the right infrastructure in order for net zero to thrive, we’ll see more clean energy and a more resilient energy market. I look forward to the next steps in making this a reality.”