Regulators and policymakers have acknowledged that more work is needed to deliver an effective, secure, digitalised energy system, but called on industry to also play its part.
Industry regulator Ofgem, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK issued a joint response yesterday to last month’s Energy Digitalisation Taskforce report, which reported earlier this year that digitalisation of the energy system was key to managing its “growing complexities”.
That report established six key recommendations and a number of actions for BEIS and Ofgem, alongside those for industry stakeholders, in order to spur on digitalisation of the UK’s power system.
In a response to the report published yesterday (19 July), Ofgem, BEIS and Innovate UK note the progress made on those recommendations so far this year, but also acknowledge that more work is needed in order to deliver on the taskforce’s goals.
It makes reference to digital infrastructure and smart enabled energy assets in particular, stating that BEIS is working towards taking powers to regulate such assets and establishing requirements in the areas of interoperability, data privacy, grid stability and cyber security.
Broader interoperability is also a key aim for regulators moving forward, and BEIS is to commission a study to explore the opportunities, risks and prospective architectures of a so-called ‘digital spine’ for the energy system, further assessing how it could interact with a data sharing system or systems.
Additionally the letter states that the three stakeholders are to further examine the development of a consumer consent dashboard in regards to energy data.
Digital security was a key area that the taskforce’s report examined and both BEIS and Ofgem have committed to continue working with industry to strengthen cyber security practices across the board.
The letter also confirms a number of steps that are to be taken in the coming months, including but not limited to;
- BEIS coordinating the NZIP Flexibility Innovation Programme
- Innovate UK managing the Prospering from the Energy Revolution challenge
- Ofgem is to organise a number of industry workshops this summer to establish priorities for the taskforce’s recommendations