Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 27 Customers Market view W ith energy prices set to rise rather than fall in the future, how can consumers make the best choice in energy provider and secure the right deal? Data is part of the answer. In July 2018, Ofgem announced it would work with government and industry on a new data standard for the energy sector. This is the next step in implementing the 'Midata' energy project and was put forward in response to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's (BEIS's) call for evidence. Standards are an important element of our local, national and global data infrastruc- ture. They are a set of reusable agreements that make it easier for people and organisa- tions to publish, access, share and use better quality data. Standards can help to change markets, create open ecosystems and imple- ment policy objectives. The development of this standard is the first step towards giving consumers more control over their energy data, and the creation of innovative energy services, for example, those that help people move to a cheaper energy supplier or find suppliers that use renewable energy sources. In a letter to energy suppliers on 27 July 2018, Ofgem interim director Philippa Pick- ford wrote: "Access to good quality data is essential if we are to have a retail energy mar- ket which works for consumers. Not only will this support consumers in making informed choices about their energy supply but, cru- cially, it enables the innovation we need for an energy market in the digital economy." The work is being led by Ofgem in col- laboration with BEIS, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the Government Digital Service, among others, and supported by the Open Data Institute. The current data challenge The Ofgem letter explains that consumer data in the energy market today is held largely by suppliers. The quality of data varies and accessing it is typically a slow process. For example, consumers must manually input data about themselves to a third-party inter- mediary website or an app to make a price comparison or complete a switch online. This can lead to errors and inaccuracies. It is no surprise then, that opportunities to innovate with energy data have been stunted. Consumers oen see switching supplier as difficult and time-consuming. By allow- ing their energy provider to share data about their usage with third parties, consumers can manage their energy needs more efficiently, switch suppliers more quickly and find better deals. This in turn makes the suppliers work harder for custom. The precedent for transforming sectors with data We believe that data should help individuals, communities, businesses and government to make better decisions, and we're really pleased to see this latest development in sec- tor transformation. In 2017, we responded to the government's industrial strategy suggesting that the gov- ernment "create[s] a body, or give[s] authority to an existing body, for the sector to represent all stakeholders and work to make [energy] data as open as possible while respecting privacy". We also advocated the adoption of open standards for data as a first step. Open Banking and OpenActive are two examples of initiatives already transform- ing sectors by redefining how they approach customer data. Open Banking enables more open approaches to banking data, including customer account data being shared between customers, banks and other providers. A gov- ernance model is embedded into Open Bank- ing with the aim of retaining trust and control over who is allowed to access the data. In 2015, the Open Data Institute (ODI) set up a working group, which developed the Open Banking Standard to help bank cus- tomers share data about themselves with third parties in a simple and safe way. This means consumers can manage their finances more efficiently and access better services – for example, being able to check the best rates from multiple banks simultaneously to help find the most suitable mortgage. Open Banking also paves the way for the crea- tion of financial management tools to help consumers identify spending patterns and budget more effectively. The ODI also stewarded OpenActive, a project that uses open data to help people get active. Part of our role was to help build data literacy and develop a data standard for phys- ical activity providers, ensuring data about when and where activities happen is in a con- sistent format. In turn, services can be devel- oped that help people find local activities. What about GDPR? We have done a lot of work in this space over the past few years, particularly in the run-up to, and the implementation of, the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018. This legislation puts more onus upon companies to manage data that they hold about individ- uals. However, it also gives individuals more rights to use the data that a company may hold about them as they wish. As part of our thinking about how the new rights under GDPR and open standards come together, we worked with Projects by IF to carry out research into open APIs in the telecoms sector. These design provocations were made to demonstrate that sharing data in a controlled and trusted way could deliver better and more customer-centred services. Perhaps telecoms could be the next sector to follow banking, sports and energy? Working with Ofgem In this project we will help to shape an effec- tive open standard for energy sector data and act as a 'critical friend', using our knowledge and experience to challenge and support the project efforts. Ofgem's aim is to develop a robust open standard for data with the sector before implementation in 2019. To deliver on the potential for develop- ing a more consumer-centric energy market, the whole energy sector will need to work together to build a strong data infrastructure that uses open standards. This will help to foster a thriving ecosystem of organisations that build services using that data to help consumers make better decisions. Mike Rose, head of business development, Open Data Institute An open approach to data Development of an open data standard for the energy sector will give consumers and organisations greater control over their data and enable them to make better decisions, says Mike Rose.

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