Carolina Tortora, head of digital transformation and innovation strategy at National Grid ESO, writes about the importance of improving data sharing governance as the ESO today (07 August) announces updates to its Virtual Energy System programme.
As the energy system continues to benefit from digital transformation, governance will be critical to ensure effective data management and sharing to put into action the government and Energy Digitalisation Taskforce’s call for a robust data-sharing fabric.
To accelerate change, ESO is developing the Virtual Energy System for the sector which will be a right-time digital replica of Great Britain’s entire energy landscape. As an ecosystem of connected digital twins, the Virtual Energy System will enable data sharing to drive innovation and advance sustainability progress.
The creation of the Virtual Energy System is a socio-technical challenge, requiring a collaborative and principled approach, aligned with the National Digital Twin Programme. To enable participation and data decision-making across several areas, the Virtual Energy System will require agreement upon an open framework based on existing standards. 14 key socio-technical factors have been identified as necessary to build out the Virtual Energy System. As part of this, six priority factors underpin the development of a sector-wide data sharing infrastructure and the creation of a governance model.
A secure and supportive governance model is crucial to ensure industry confidence to share data within the Virtual Energy System. With participants exchanging information and knowledge, the Virtual Energy System can accelerate both the sector’s digital transformation and decarbonisation efforts.
Why is governance needed?
The delivery and operation of the Virtual Energy System will require data to be shared with multiple actors across both the transmission and distribution networks, fulfilling a variety of needs. The governance of the Virtual Energy Synergy must provide a clear process for engagement between all stakeholders, without encroaching on the governance of the wider energy ecosystem.
A governance model will help unite different industry actors with competing priorities and interests behind a single unified data-sharing vision. It will act as a key enabler of the culture of collaboration we need to foster within the Virtual Energy System, and the wider energy sector, by explicitly defining how stakeholders should interact and engage with each other.
Building participant confidence
These rules of engagement will benefit the Virtual Energy System in a number of ways. Firstly, as new participants build use cases into the system, they will provide guidelines to support their development – facilitating accelerated growth of the entire digital system.
For example, a clear framework for handling data within the Virtual Energy System will provide data handlers with a structured and standardised method for organising, categorising, and exchanging data efficiently with others. Having a governed framework for this will ensure data is accurately and uniformly represented, allowing data teams to easily interpret and analyse information from a diverse set of sources with confidence.
To deliver an effective digitalised system and maximise the value of data, it has to be discoverable, understandable as well as secure and resilient. User confidence in how to effectively establish connections between different models and taxonomies will unlock the greatest possible benefits for the energy system.
Enabling distributed data sharing
Beyond fostering user confidence in building data into the Virtual Energy System, a strong governance model will also set out the path to make energy data visible, accessible, and shareable across the industry through a secure and scalable solution. It will consider how we can best steer and create alignment around data taxonomies and standards, driving data interoperability.
As part of a decentralised system, the locality of and ownership of the data will lie with organisations providing it, to not diminish its value. A distributed and regulated approach will offer additional benefits such as system scalability, accommodating increased data demands. Low latency can also help optimise the Virtual Energy System’s performance with faster data retrieval and processing, particularly in scenarios requiring near real-time data access.
A use case driven approach
As the Virtual Energy System develops, a use case driven approach will demonstrate the value of the system for different segments of the energy sector. Robust governance processes and agreements between stakeholders will enable the scale, ambition, and complexity of future use cases by establishing an effective data sharing infrastructure.
Operating within a secure system will allow energy actors to adopt best practices and principles, delivering new use cases in a more agile and collaborative manner. Use cases such as the Dispatch Optimiser Tool which will process large quantities of data, improving dispatch decisions within our transforming energy system, can aid the storage of data in a performant, secure and scalable way for analytical and simulation purposes.
Looking ahead
The Virtual Energy System has the potential to drive widescale progress across Britain’s energy system. With access to more of the data they need, decision-makers will be able to make faster, better decisions to drive efficiency, reduce costs and accelerate decarbonisation.
As the system grows, the impact of a sound governance framework will be critical. As more and more participants aim to build in new use cases, the clarity provided by clear ways of working and aligned objectives will dramatically reduce the barriers to entry.
Wider industry engagement and discussion with actors across the sector will be essential to further refine the governance model and ownership of the system. Taking action on this now will set the Virtual Energy System for future success. We must ensure the right conversations are happening now to align the industry towards a single goal and ensure that Britain’s energy system maximises the potential of digitalisation.