National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) customers will now be able to more easily apply to move their electricity supply and meter thanks to a new online tool.
The new self-service tool will allow customers who need to move their electricity supply and meter during building, renovation or demolition work to apply online for a permit to do so in less than 15 minutes. Users will be able to upload documents and photos to support their application and will be able to track the progress of their application once it has been submitted. Clients using the tool will also have opportunities to speak to a planner and ask questions about the application process.
Once the application has been received, NGED will check to find out if moving the location of the electricity supply will require access to neighbor’s land to carry out the work and if so, they will gain the relevant permissions.
Amanda LeBrocq, NGED’s director of connections, said: “This new self-service tool will speed up the connections journey for customers and reduce our response times considerably.
“It will enable them to find information about the meter-moving process more easily and will deliver a more efficient service for customers overall.”
NGED works with Octopus, launches DFES
As well as introducing other online tools for customers seeking to install EV chargers at home or connect heat pumps or solar panels on their property, NGED has been working to improve the future of the grid.
Last month, NGED published its Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES), a series of predictions and recommendations that lay out the how it expects demand and generation to grow up until 2050. The predictions were built on data secured in partnership with market analyst Regen, and NGED states that the DFES will allow it “to understand the significant impact that the growth in low carbon technologies, generation and storage will have on our network.”
Meanwhile, the end of 2024 saw NGED join forces with the UK’s largest energy supplier Octopus Energy and other industry partners at an industry event in an effort to speed the grid connection process. NGED has been collaborating with Octopus Energy and Octopus’s technology partner Voltquant to develop an AI tool for testing grid connectivity solutions.
Voltquant’s AI tool uses a large language model to evaluate the potential success of solutions to grid connection delays. The tool identified several key issues in the grid connections space, including managing risk and difficulties in accessing data, and the future work of the industry partners at the event will focus on addressing these challenges.
