This annual report creates a picture of how the energy system might look by 2050. The analysis models different ‘drivers’ of change; like the uptake of electric cars, low carbon heating, renewable energy or changing consumer behaviours and how they are spread across our licence areas.

The result is four ‘scenario worlds’, each offering a different picture of the future. We publish this as an interactive summary, a technical report, and as interactive maps. We also publish the raw data so users can create their own analysis.

The DFES feeds into our strategic forecasting system so it influences our forecasts of demand and generation on every substation for the following year. However, the research isn’t just for our drive to lowering emissions. We want to share insights with local councils, regional planning authorities, businesses, or charities to help them create their own climate action plans.

The Daily Operational Plan shows all outages on the high voltage along with any DER unavailability. This day-ahead report gives DER operators and owners better visibility of UK Power Networks’ activities and transparency around all outages, helping them plan accordingly.

The delivery of this Daily Operational Plan is key to our commitment to transparency around our network activities as outlined in our ED2 business plan – a key objective of our newly established Distribution System Operator (DSO).

The NDP is published in addition to the Long Term Development Statement (LTDS), based on the network and equipment ratings in the most recent LTDS. The NDP looks ahead to developments in our best-view plan all the way up to 2050, in the context of unused substation capacity in our Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES). The full Network Development Plan is updated every two years and the Network Scenario Headroom Report tables within the NDP are updated by 1 May each year.

Benefits

This allows customers to self-serve to an extent on modelling the UK Power Networks Extra Hight Voltage (EHV) network for their connections and have an idea of where available headroom will be over time under different DFES scenarios.

Contained within our LAEP open data page are over 150 datasets: 10 of our own and 103 which are openly available.

The datasets cover electricity generation, land use and the environment, heat and buildings, social benefit and just transition, transport and mobility and economic benefits.

The online portal is free and open to all, and follows stakeholder engagement which told us what data local authorities need to deliver their LAEP plans.

We put local authority users at the centre of the digital tool development, partnering with design thinking specialists and other delivery partners under Project CLEO (Collaborative Local Energy Optimisation).

The LTDS for each of our licence areas report on a five year period, describing each distribution network with detailed tables, description and diagrams describing the assets on our networks and their loading. The LTDS is published at the end of May and November each year with a five-year view of load forecasts and network developments.

UK Power Networks uses forecasting such as our Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) to identify our future system needs and network capacity over the next five years. We then source all possible options to meet these needs, compare them and make a recommendation for the optimal solution, presented in the DNOA.

As part of the annual Distribution Network Options Assessment (DNOA) process, we publish two types of data – the methodology, which explains the process, followed by three documents containing the results for each license area.

This transparent framework helps UK Power Networks prioritise flexibility and reduce related expenditure by £410m by 2028, while meeting the future capacity needs across our network.

Your Local Net Zero Hub provides local authorities with data, tools and resources to inform and support their Net Zero planning. The hub includes guidance for learning about Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP), case studies, our Distributed Future Energy Scenarios (DFES), and how local authorities’ plans can inform our investment plans. Additionally, local authorities and their consultants can access our LAEP data page, which provides over 150 relevant data sets for achieving Net Zero objectives.

We are also developing a free geospatial energy planning tool, currently in Beta phase with participants from local authorities. We will be adding new participants each month, as we continue to develop the tool for formal launch in Spring 2024. If you are a local authority interested in joining the Beta program, you can register via the Your Local Net Zero Hub website following the links here.

Curtailment is where a generator is required to reduce its export capacity so that the network can continue to operate safely, reliably and securely. For example, if the reverse power flow across a transformer is above its allowed rating, we must secure the network by reducing it through curtailment.
This dataset is updated daily and shows all instances where flexible-connection customers have been curtailed by our DERMS system aggregated to the constraint.
Due to commercial sensitivities we do not share individual customer information, however, customers can have access to their own site-specific curtailment upon request.

We have consolidated data on each flexibility competition, previously in two places into one. This dataset has two key machine-readable tabs – providing eligibility by postcode and guidance on expected revenue. This makes it easier for Flex Providers with large numbers of assets to automatically evaluate their participation, without manual data-reformatting and matching.

To support all our flex providers, we have also retained the tabs which present the information in a more human-readable way. All our flexibility tender data can be found in the Flexibility Tender Hub.

The SVI is part of a suite of tools called the Smart Optimisation Output (SOO). The SOO brings together existing capabilities, principles and tools as a vehicle for more effective collaboration, making it easier for local stakeholders to access and extract data that can be integrated and overlaid with gas, transport, land registry, urban and other datasets, to inform local cross-vector whole system plans.

We have already developed several digital tools and strategic programmes that will feed into the SOO, such as heat maps, Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) and Long Term Development Statements (LTDS). By publishing bi-annual Network Development Plans (NDPs) and ongoing cross-sector work to align on use of a Common Information Model (CIM), we will continue to develop our data and digital capabilities in ways that will further support the principles of accessibility and transparency we committed to in our ED2 business plan.

SGTs are the boundary between the transmission network (National Grid) and distribution networks. Power from National Grid is received at a voltage of 400 kV and transformed to 132 kV as we begin the distribution of electricity towards the home.

This dataset contains the history at 30-minute intervals of voltage, current, active power and reactive power measured from 2021 until the previous day, where available. We also provide an aggregated view of the whole Grid Supply Point (GSP) that is derived should an SGT not be measured.

Super Grid Transformers (SGTs) are the boundary between the transmission network (National Grid) and distribution networks. Power from National Grid is received at a voltage of 400 kV and transformed to 132 kV as we begin the distribution of electricity towards the home.

This dataset contains the latest 30-minute measurement of voltage, current, active power and reactive power, where available. We also provide an aggregated view of the whole Grid Supply Point (GSP) that is derived should an SGT not be measured.