Utility Week

30 | DECEMBER 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Analysis Breaking down trust barriers in the data revolution Convincing customers their data is safe is a key challenge for utilities, and one that is explored in a new report by Utility Week and AWS. Here we look at two areas where utilities are working together to overcome challenges relating to both data and consumer trust. W hile utilities oen cite the challenge of winning consumer trust around sharing data, industry experts point out that lessons can be learned from other quarters. In the view of Eric Brown, chief technol- ogy officer at the Energy Systems Catapult, consumers are far from reluctant to share even the most personal information in other areas. "People are already sharing on Facebook much more sensitive data than would be interesting to an energy company. A distribu- tion network operator [DNO], for example, would be interested in knowing if you had an EV [electric vehicle] or a heat pump. Con- sumers are sensitive about sharing that but happy to share pictures of a three-year-old's birthday party. "Overcoming those sensitivities is ulti- mately about making consumers understand the benefits of doing so." The smart meter rollout is oen used as an example of a campaign that didn't quite manage to sell these benefits to the public. With market-wide half-hourly settlements (MHHS) coming in from 2025, there is an opportunity for this valuable real-time data from smart meters across the country to play a key role in the energy transition. Steven Gough, Scottish and Southern Electricity Network's (SSEN's) distribution systems operator (DSO) technical authority, points to the need to learn from other sectors about how to communicate with the public about data sharing. He says: "Our interaction tends to be us sharing our data with other people rather than the other way round. "I think we need to take a leaf out of con- sumer electronics, mobile phone providers, the likes of Google, Microso, even Netflix have got the right idea. They are organisa- tions coming to the customer with solutions and they get a better personalised and tai- lored experienced." Under its privacy plan, SSEN is allowed access to aggregated data down to a mini- mum of five customers but is not permitted to see fully granular data. Gough points out that the further the net- work can drill down, the more responsive it can be to a flexible energy system. "The amount of load increase across our network is going to be unprecedented over the next price control period, so being able to understand that uptake in more detail is pretty fundamental." Gough stresses that it is not only DNOs than would benefit from MHHS data being more widely shared. "We would be interested in seeing data relating to connections and flexibility – peo- ple who want to connect with our network and why they want to connect and under- standing what sort of services we can provide and where constraints in the network are – that's a big area of growth that can be coor- dinated across the energy industry all the way up the electricity system operator (ESO). "If we understand the intricacies of all this new stuff connecting to our network bet- ter then we can make better decisions and avoid at-risk spend and be able to make more detailed analysis to ensure we are investing in the right markets and where we have to reduce costs." Using data to understand how to protect customers On a pan-utility level there has been much debate over the barriers to coordinating vulnerability databases. However, there are signs that the vision of a shared prior- ity services register (PSR) may finally be within grasp. The PSR is a list held by each utility com- pany holding the details of all customers con- sidered vulnerable, so they can be supported in the event of their service being cut off. While the benefit of sharing such infor- mation with sister utilities, local authori- ties, emergency services and other bodies is clear, a shared register has been hampered by conflicting systems and lack of a coherent understanding of exactly what information companies can share under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). Despite this, UK Power Networks (UKPN) and Thames Water believe their collabora- tion on their Essential Sharing Network may prove a model for wider dissemination of vulnerability data. The partnership followed a link-up last year between Thames and London Fire Bri- gade, which began with 3,000 customers per month being added to Thames' register. This was underpinned by a move away from the system of explicit consent towards a "substantial public interest model". This allows third parties to add someone to the list on their behalf. Thames head of consumer propositions Peter Cotton explains: "It's moving from ask- ing people to do the right thing and making sure there is transparency to the customers. "By taking away explicit consent we can do the right thing and share their data in a positive way." Cotton says the company hopes to use the same approach with other services inter- acting with vulnerable customers. Thames asked not-for-profit organisation Auriga Ser- vices to build a system and hopes to be able to use it to share information to benefit vul- nerable customers. He says: "One of the biggest barriers to data sharing has historically been a nega- tive perception, so there needs to be a shi in language. "There's a cultural barrier we have to nor- malise, maybe not 'data sharing' but 'service-

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