Utility Week

36 | DECEMBER 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Analysis Filling in the gaps A new Utility Week report, produced in association with Ordnance Survey, lifts the lid on the scale of the task in digitising asset data for utilities, and the size of the prize for whole system integration. A future is fast approaching in which our energy system must service demand from electric vehicles (EV) as the dominant form of consumer trans- port, where renewables and their fluctuating power levels form a greater share of sup- ply, and where diverse low carbon heating options are at play. For energy network operators, this pros- pect will undoubtedly entail an expensive overhaul of physical infrastructure. But upgraded and extended asset bases will also need to go beyond the siloed operations of the past with capability to respond to new trends in supply and demand, interactions between previously disparate systems and new commercial considerations as markets for energy flexibility grow. For dynamic system operation at distri- bution level to happen some major devel- opments in data are needed. While many networks have been working for years to dig- itise asset information, the availability and quality of data is still patchy with significant variations between companies. This variability can be attributed to a legacy of fragmented approaches to data col- lection and aggregation, and significant dif- ferences in the way older data sets have been digitised and adopted. Acknowledging this messy data herit- age, and in the knowledge that rapid system developments are on the horizon, all energy networks are striving to rationalise and improve their position on asset data. They understand the compelling need to become more adept and agile at leveraging data for new and emerging demands in system oper- ation, and that this will require coordination across the many internal organisational sys- tems in which data is held, as well as with external stakeholders. For many, though, there is also impor- tant foundational work to complete on asset mapping and filling gaps in their knowledge about the location and condition of assets. Notwithstanding question marks over the role of gas in the future net-zero energy sys- tem, it's this sector which has arguably been ahead of the game when it comes to digital asset mapping. The Health and Safety Executive's man- date in 2002 that all iron gas mains should be replaced by 2032 with plastic or composite alternatives, was a watershed for asset intel- ligence in the industry. Wales & West Utilities (WWU) asset strat- egy manager Ian Dunstan explains how both geographic information systems (GIS) and Enterprise Resource Planning tools – in this case provided by so•ware giant SAP – are being used together to offer both location and condition asset information to underpin the replacement works. While this digitisation of asset informa- tion may have been driven initially by a safety focus, Dunstan explains that it is now standing WWU in good stead as it looks to transform for the future. For instance, loca- tion and condition data is being used in innovation projects exploring the cost impli- cations of moving to a hydrogen network. For power networks, the growing demand for the connection of renewables and other distributed energy resources have created strains on capacity. Meanwhile, regulatory penalties for supply interruptions have also helped to focus minds on the importance of accurate asset location data. WPD's journey Western Power Distribution (WPD) digitali- sation and data manager Jonathan Berry is pleased to say that the network company's asset mapping campaign is now "relatively complete". In a bid to help other infrastructure owners improve the efficiency of their field operations, and also to support transparency and efficiency in connections requests, WPD has taken the leap to making asset location data "open". This means it is hosted on a portal that can be freely accessed by third parties such as water companies or housing developers. In terms of data gaps, Berry observes that most networks have a good understanding of where their assets sit when it comes to higher voltage levels. But accuracy and understand-

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