Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has publicly released its Near Real-time Data Access (NeRDA) portal and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for widescale use.
As electricity demand is expected to increase by at least 50% by 2035, an increasing number of technologies – such as electric vehicles (EVs) – are operating flexibly to help balance grid load.
By providing real-time network usage data to stakeholders, SSEN’s NeRDA portal aims to help manage the effective operation and implementations of projects containing these technologies.
The NeRDA is also set to share data that is more granular than other distribution network operators (DNOs), due to the latter’s reliance on data down to high-voltage level but not including low-voltage feeders.
Moreover, as the data is available via a ‘full API’, stakeholders will receive automatic updates and no longer be required to manually request them, helping to inform local plans, products and services in their regions.
“NeRDA’s public release opens up new levels of transparency by sharing detailed, granular information about how our networks are being use in near real-time. A smarter more flexible electricity network is key to a cost-effective and efficient transition to net zero. As we decarbonise heat and transport and move towards low carbon technologies, knowing real-time demand on the electricity network will help to enable new opportunities for low carbon technologies and flexibility,” said Nigel Bessant, head of network operations at SSEN.
“Data sharing is playing a crucial role in the net zero journey. We are excited to be expanding this project for all stakeholders. This data is publicly available and we will continue to work alongside the households, businesses, and communities we serve to deliver a fair, cost-effective and secure transition to a net zero future.”
Flexibility will play a major role in creating and maintain a net zero grid and a number of flexibility services are emerging and re-emerging within the UK market. For example, alongside the National Grid ESO’s confirmation that it’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) will re-launch this winter, National Grid also announced it will introduce Short Term flexibility procurement to grow domestic participation in flexibility.
