Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has joined Great Britain's other network operators in publishing a new System Wide Resource Register (SWRR)' informing stakeholders and customers of opportunities on the network. The register is a key deliverable of the Energy Networks Association (ENA) led Open Networks project, that is seeking to make the energy industry more transparent, accessible and support the delivery of a smarter, flexible energy system.
The energy system is changing, to accommodate a proliferation of low-carbon technologies (LCTs) and to deliver on the UK's 2050 net-zero emission ambitions. This transition is creating opportunities for the communities SSEN's serves to take an active role in the energy system through providing flexibility, generation, storage and other energy services. In this new system, access to easy-to-understand data will be crucial to ensure opportunities can be identified, seized and maximised.
The SWRR will detail all generation, storage and flexible demand resources that are providing services, are equal or greater than 1MW in capacity and are connected, or accepted to connect, to SSEN's network. It enables customers and stakeholders to understand opportunities and constraints in the network, to assist in informed decision-making and support innovation. The registers will be updated monthly, and registration is not required for users to access the registers.
The Open Networks project has had a critical role in bringing GB DNOs together to publish data in a similar format to improve the customer engagement experience with the SWRR. Open Networks is a major industry initiative that is transforming how energy network operate, underpinning the delivery of the smart grid.
SSEN believes that open data can be a catalyst to change, empowering customers and service providers and enabling economic decision-making across the energy ecosystem. In December, SSEN published its digitalisation strategy outlining how data can deliver value to its customers, and its role in making the energy system more efficient and reliable.
Stewart Reid, SSEN's Head of Future Networks, welcomed the publication of the SWRR:
"The publication of SWRR is an important step forward in the transition to a smarter, open, and more flexible energy system that creates opportunities for the communities we serve. As an industry, we are acting now to ensure access to data and maintain a dialogue with our stakeholders to understand how we can continue to improve access and make opportunities easy to understand."
SSEN's SWRR (Now named the Embedded Capacity Register) is available online: here
The Digitalisation Strategy, which SSEN is seeking stakeholder feedback on, is available to download at www.ssen.co.uk/DigitalStrategy