Ofgem has opened consultation on the governance of the data sharing infrastructure (DSI), seeking views on an interim governance framework for the minimum viable product (MVP) of the DSI.
In its Future Systems and Network Regulation Decision, published in 2023, Ofgem committed to developing a pathway to the delivery of a DSI. This consultation, which will run for eight weeks and end on 20 September, sets out the regulator’s vision for who will oversee DSI from the consultation until 2028.
The need for a DSI comes as the energy sector transitions to renewable generation sources, meaning its operation, planning and dispatch will be more complex. Ofgem is focused on improving access to sensitive data that cannot be shared openly but must still be available across the system.
This is not to say that data is not already shared across the industry. Indeed, data relevant grid security and grid infrastructure is regularly exchanged between energy sector participants to fulfil their roles in the energy system. However, it is Ofgem’s opinion that currently dataset sharing is a “manual, inefficient and uncoordinated process”.
That process currently requires complex legal agreements on an organisation-by-organisation basis, resulting in data siloes and inconsistent data standards, as well as an increased risk of duplicated or misaligned information.
It is important that data standards employed in the DSI do not deviate from internationally recognised data standards to ensure interoperability and adoption. Work is ongoing to build a DSI Pilot and MVP, and we are coming closer to the reality of a DSI in the energy sector.
Ofgem proposes an Interim DSI Coordinator as the central body in the governance structure. Its responsibilities will include overseeing the evolution of the DSI architecture from MVP to steady-state, including extensions of governance areas, and producing a forward-looking statement on staffing levels.
Its preferred option is to appoint National Grid ESO as the interim coordinator, given that it is already responsible for developing the DSI pilot and MVP. In the consultation, Ofgem proposes that the initial governance of the DSI should involve:
- Establishment of provisional rules, roles, and mechanisms to facilitate initial data sharing activities during infrastructure development.
- Annual generation of reports on existing and proposed use cases of the DSI.
- Production of a report on the platform’s evolution based on its initial two years in operation.
- Accumulation of key information and knowledge on managing and establishing use cases on the DSI.
- Conducting a forward-looking technology assessment to maintain a future-proof platform.
Improving market access to energy data will contribute towards security of supply, ensure properly functioning energy markets through flexibility provisions, encourage greater energy efficiency and increase opportunities for new green industries.
An Energy Digitalisation Taskforce Taskforce was established by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, DESNZ’s predecessor, Ofgem and Innovate UK in 2021. Its report, published in January 2022, highlighted how a DSI would enable seamless data integration, making different datasets interoperable, streamlining processes in the energy sector.
In response, BEIS at the time stated it would commission a study to explore the opportunities, risks and prospective architectures of the “digital spine” to further assess how it could interact with a data sharing system or systems. It described a digital spine as “a thin layer of interaction and interoperability across all players which enables a minimal layer of operation critical data to be ingested, standardised and shared in near real time”.
Once a decision is made from the consultation, Ofgem intends to publish further information on an enduring governance structure in the near future, putting forward its proposal for an enduring governance structure for energy sector digitalisation projects.
