By the time, the roll out is complete we are forecasting almost a billion messages a day. This is why I say we are the data centric company. We process, distribute and store messages on our secure system, the Smart Meter Infrastructure Platform, or our IoE (Internet of Energy) platform as I call it.
We track the capacity and utilisation of our core infrastructure, the compute and storage of our systems. The smart meter network is a mesh of inter-connected systems provided by many different partners. We monitor the performance of these core service partners to ensure they are meeting their service level agreements. It’s the end-to-end system data analytics that provide a macro view of the country’s energy usage enabling a smarter, more flexible grid. All the while, our security team looks at the complete landscape of cyber threats looking for anomalies on the infrastructure to keep our system secure and your data protected.
In the future the energy system will be a complex mix of consumption, (Household Demand, Electric Vehicles, Heat Pumps, Home Energy Storage and Home Energy Distribution including the export of home energy back to the grid). The consumption data from these systems will need to be delivered back to customers so usage is balanced against a mixed energy generation system. This data journey along the smart meter system will be made more reliable by monitoring services that deliver many different system alerts. Operators will see the health of the network, and can be provided with early insights to power outages, system voltages at end points.
The system data as a whole will also enable retailers to settle their energy transaction costs in a significantly shorter time through a new programme from OFGEM called Market Half Hourly Settlement (MHSS) – something that has never seemed more relevant given the last few weeks of energy retailer challenges.
Early in 2021 we published our Data for Good white paper, where we outlined our goal to maximise public benefit from our unique data sets. Our network evolution programme will ensure we enhance our platform, combining modern secure data management, enhancing our data analytics capability and delivering dynamic data access through Application Programming Interfaces. Our goal is to share data for good, using a balanced but robust set of controls and permissions that reflects and respects the sensitivity of the data being shared in a secure safe way.
DCC stands for the Data Communications Company. But we’re more than just a conduit for data. We are a Smart Data Centric Company, driven by one goal – connecting Britain so we can all lead smarter, greener lives.
5 min read
15.11.2021
