Data sharing across the energy industry is vital to driving both Net Zero goals and energy innovation.
Whilst the energy industry has rich sources of data, there are numerous challenges when it comes to utilising it, as it is stored across a variety of systems with a host of different rules for access and usage.
Challenge one: Different processes are in place across the energy network
The disparate types of data and systems held by the industry has led to different rules for access emerging. As a result, organisations wishing to use data insights to drive new services – such as those that want to identify the demand for renewable energy usage – have to work their way through this patchwork of rules to get access to the data they need.
Challenge two: Terms and definitions are not harmonised
Data termed ‘commercially sensitive’ or ‘confidential’ can be seen in different ways by industry operators, based on their risk appetite. Organisations such as Open Innovations and UK Power Networks, are concerned with the sharing of network data due to the risk that vulnerable points in grids could be made public. These weaknesses could then be used to target cyber attacks at critical network systems. To remedy this issue, Open Innovations argue for an energy ‘Data Spectrum’ to be used across industry, that would classify different types of data based on its sensitivity.
Challenge three: Data sharing rules can be confusing
Industry bodies have also voiced their unease around the lack of clear or common governance rules for sharing data. The Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) and Data Communications Company (DCC), who issued a paper in October 2023 titled ‘Data For Good’, suggested a central body is needed to manage access to data and govern the various data access rules across the industry.
Challenge four: Clear and tested practices for sharing aggregated data are needed
Some concerns with sharing personal data could be solved by giving access to more data in an aggregated or anonymised form.
- Anonymised data, under the UK GDPR, is “personal data rendered anonymous in such a manner that the data subject is not or no longer identifiable”. This means that single consumers can no longer be identified by the data.
- Aggregated data is data from many premises, which is grouped together and expressed in a summary form. This means it can be used for statistical analysis.
Three common principles for data sharing
To solve these challenges, Gemserv believe that the adoption, by regulators and industry, of a set of three ‘common’ principles is needed. These should be supported, where appropriate, by specific local practices used by code managers and data owners, that can be applied to different data sets and that do not contradict these central rules.
- Common framework: A common trust framework should be further defined by regulators such as Ofgem.
- Common catalogue: Gemserv considers that information must be easy for users of the data to understand. This can be achieved from a common data catalogue, including guidance and definitions of key terms.
- Common sense: The framework should also be supported by suitable local rules for different energy systems – allowing for common sense limits on sensitive data they hold.
