The UK Government has responded to the digital spine feasibility study published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), making six commitments that work towards establishing a data sharing infrastructure in the energy sector.
When the study launched in late 2022, the creation of a “digital spine” had first been referenced in a response to the Energy Digitalisation Taskforce report, released by Ofgem, Innovate UK and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) earlier that year.
A digital spine is data sharing infrastructure, which will be critical to the digitalisation of the energy sector, a process that, upon the study’s launch, the BEIS claimed would improve energy security and help deliver net zero by 2050 at a lower cost to the consumer.
The feasibility study was funded by the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) and was undertaken by a consortium of Ove Arup, Energy Systems Catapult, and the University of Bath.
It sets out a blueprint, in the form of three recommendations, to progress work on a secure, interoperable data sharing infrastructure for the UK’s energy system: it calls for a minimum viable product (MVP) to be built, the launch of a task group, and for government to publish a decision on next steps.
Ofgem has been building momentum to improve the visibility of assets across the system, but common, comprehensive approaches have not yet been established. As such, sector-wide collaboration will be necessary; the government’s response acknowledges that the study sets a considerable challenge around the long-term functions, governance, and delivery model needed to deliver a scalable, system-wide data sharing infrastructure.
Also, according to the feasibility study a core pillar of any data sharing infrastructure in the energy sector must be security, with the risks and impacts understood in detail and appropriate mitigations designed in from the start.
Developing an MVP
The government says that the study has provided it with confidence in the feasibility of a digital spine for the energy system, but that until an MVP infrastructure is launched and delivers benefits for a tangible use case, it will remain abstract to most stakeholders.
The UK energy system operator (ESO) has led digitalisation efforts in the sector, launching a Virtual Energy System in 2021 to develop the common mechanism needed for data sharing, described as ‘an ecosystem of digital twins’.
The socio-technical challenge was aligned with the Nation Digital Twin Programme (NDTP), which is working on development of a sector-agnostic, open source, distributed data sharing infrastructure, called the Integration Architecture (IA).
The government is supportive of the collaboration, adding that the initial work should focus on areas that contribute to strategic priorities: the ESO to take forward initial development of a data sharing infrastructure, first through a pilot, and then through the development of a minimum viable product.
Strategic planning is a high priority item for the government. As such, the first commitment it makes is that the ESO will deliver a pilot data sharing instrastructure based on an outage planning use case.
It also commits to the delivery of an MVP in 2025, by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) that the ESO is set to become.
Due to the importance of security in data sharing, the government commits the ESO—and NESO, when it transitions—to following guidance from existing regulatory requirements in the sector, such as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Cyber Assessment Framework, in developing its MVP.
The government’s fourth commitment is to assess the landscape of data standards in relation to the use cases described in the digital spine feasibility study, identifying any areas where further development is needed.
Establishing a task group
The government agrees with the feasibility study’s finding that an authorised industry group responsible for coordinating the development of a data sharing infrastructure could have an important role as the delivery mode.
It also recognises the importance and progress of existing groups in the sector, touching upon the Energy Network Association (ENA)’s Data and Digitalisation Steering Group and Ofgem’s Data Best Practice.
However, a task group, as described by the study, would require more scope and authority than those groups in order to govern the developing digital spine. Thus, the fifth commitment is that in Winter 2024, Ofgem will publish a further consultation on data sharing infrastructure governance, setting out their view of an enduring governance structure.
Long-term delivery and a published decision
The response released yesterday (19 August) only sets out initial steps, with the government stating that the long-term delivery model will require detailed understanding of the different phases of implementation, associated governance approaches, regulatory and financial enablers, approaches for adoption, and the role of the government, Ofgem and industry throughout.
To provide the necessary clarity to the industry, the government agrees with the study that publishing proposals, decisions and clear plans throughout the digitalisation process will be necessary.
The government’s sixth and final commitment is to publish a progress update against its commitments in 2025.