Our mission is to continue accelerating the DSO transition by:
- Creating the capacity customers need to transition to net zero
- Enabling an easy-to-understand, accessible system that encourages everyone who wants to, to get involved.
- Using Flexibility Services to enable faster connections.
- Responding to immediate and emerging network needs quickly and innovatively.
Our focus areas
- We’re planning our networks for the long-term, taking the right steps at the moment to proactively and efficiently release capacity.
- We’re deploying our DSO toolkit, of strategic investment, access products and Flexibility Services.
- We’re demonstrating the effectiveness of our decision-making processes and how we ensure transparency.
- We’re giving access to transparent and accessible real-time data to enable whole-systems coordination.
Our 3-year plan
Our focus for the first 3 years of the current ED2 price control period, is to make changes and improvements quickly, while implementing the long-term programmes that will build essential new capabilities and systems.
This will see us working on long-term network design, and immediate capacity release through flexibility and strategic investment. We'll prioritise engagment in the communities hosting network improvements.
To achieve all this, we’ve set out a 3-year plan, which focuses on:
- Making real-time, granular network data and decision-making transparent to support coordination, further innovation, and trust in the industry.
- Providing sector-leading support for communities to help get to net zero, developing the strategic plans to release further capacity, before it's needed.
- Continuing to adopt a Flexibility First Approach, making participation in Flex markets more straightforward and transparent, through the publication of our product roadmap, and by our use of a third-party market platform to support procurement growth, in coordination with the national system operator.
- Ensuring inclusion, fairness, and transparency in the flexibility market, particularly for smaller businesses and vulnerable customers.
Our achievements so far
More flexibility procured – we’ve procured over 700MW of Flexibility in 2023/24. In January and February 2024 alone, 433.6 MW of volume was contracted. This is equivalent to the electricity that could power more than 350,000 homes.
New connections progressed – we’ve unlocked 7GW of additional capacity through the technical limits programme and ramping of new connections.
Data harnessed – we're the first network operator to publish full half-hourly smart meter data consumption datasets. This development means electricity demand can be modelled with greater accuracy and efficiency, which is critical in developing a fit-for-purpose future system.
Local energy planning – we've launched our Local Energy Net Zero Accelerator (LENZA) tool, which gives local authorities the visibility they need to make well-informed planning decisions, taking into account electricity usage patterns in a given area.
New Net Zero experts – We’ve appointed 12 Net Zero Advisors to support the development of Local Area Energy Plans across the communities we serve.
Vulnerable people protected – We’re the first network operator to enshrine care for our most vulnerable customers in our plans for the future electricity system.