The Transformation of Britain’s Energy System
With electricity production and usage evolving as the grid is decarbonised, energy providers need to be able to respond to changes in demand as well as accommodate new, weather and time of day dependent, electricity generation systems like solar and wind.
Previously, demand for electricity was estimated based on historical data but today the DCC connects data from over 22 million smart meters that have been installed across Britain. This data is transmitted via a highly secure network 24 hours a day, 365 days per year and represents over a billion transactions over the network each month.
Fundamental to the success of reaching net zero will be how DCC’s customers in the sector utilise the network, extracting social benefits that go beyond automatic meter readings and providing accurate energy bills.
For example, DNOs are responsible for the infrastructure that transport energy into homes and businesses. They manage the assets that make up local energy networks, extending them and fixing them when they go wrong. They also balance supply and demand, ensuring that there is sufficient power for everyday tasks such as boiling a kettle, or turning on lights. In addition, network operators connect millions of low carbon technologies, including solar panels, battery storage systems, heat pumps and electric vehicles, to the electricity grid. The DCC platform is central to all this.
“Success in achieving Net Zero will require that we use energy produced today more efficiently while we expand our renewable energy capacity.”
This highly secure network of smart meters are helping Britain save hundreds of thousands of tCO2 every year and are enabling customers to shape the energy market of tomorrow by maximising the use of renewable power.
The DCC also see themselves as key to enabling innovation in the energy sector.
They will have 53 million smart meters installed by the end of the programme to connect more people to a more flexible, smarter energy system.
About the Data Communications Company
Established in 2013, the Data Communications Company (DCC) was tasked with the creation of a highly secure data communications infrastructure that would connect smart meters to energy suppliers and distribution network operators (DNOs), across Britain.
When the DCC network is operating fully at scale, more than 30 million homes and small businesses across Britain will be connected. Enabling this transformation of the energy system through digitisation will be vital to our goal of meeting Net Zero by 2050.
Visit the DCC website