Smart meter installations will start to proliferate in AMP 8 (2025 to 2030), therefore an approach needs to be developed within this timeframe to allow stakeholders to plan how they will share granular data. A fundamental aspect of the NHH metering roadmap is to make granular consumption data available to all who need it. The extent of smart metering roll-out plans in the NHH sector is becoming clearer as Ofwat publishes the final business plan determinations for water companies in December 2024. There is some urgency to develop a preferred solution as wholesalers and retailers need to invest in systems development as their smart meter roll-out programmes progress.
This study has identified three potential options for sharing granular consumption data:
- Organic growth – Wholesalers store customer data in their systems and develop individual data sharing processes, with ‘light touch’ governance, as necessary.
- Central data hub – a single, central data ‘hub’ is developed by a third-party, in which all consumption data is held and shared with the relevant parties.
- Peer-to-peer sharing – data is shared based on an agreed set of rules (i.e. a ‘trust framework’ similar to on-line banking).
The key recommendation is to continue with a stream of work to develop specific areas common to each of the options, and to facilitate a decision on the most appropriate option in a timely manner. There are two broad areas to address:
- Governance, to identify the rules and needs around who needs access to what data, what permissions are needed, GDPR and legal requirements, interoperability and open data needs.
- Develop two use cases (one on sharing data to support water saving and one to support smart or innovative tariffs), to test the rules and needs on specific use cases, and to develop a better understanding of whole life costs.
In the meantime, Option 1 should continue to be used to allow stakeholders to explore how sharing granular consumption data can deliver specific benefits.
These areas should be developed before the end of 2024. The findings from these can then be combined with the outcomes of the final business plan determinations, and the continued learnings from the current systems for sharing data to recommend a preferred solution for sharing granular data.
