As part of the MW dispatch project, UK Power Networks provides DER Unavailability Reports to ESO in planning timescales. These reports include DER unavailability due to any distribution network outages, faults or conflicts.

The reports apply the Primacy Rules for Dispatch as outlined in ENA’s Open Networks (ON) Primacy Product (P5). To enhance coordination, we will proactively share a three-weeks ahead view of DER Unavailability on a weekly basis, as well as a day-ahead view daily.

The daily report is shared twice daily, in the morning and afternoon, ensuring alignment with the ESO’s system requirements and DSO day-ahead flexibility service scheduling.

The ESO will leverage this data for strategic planning and day-ahead DER scheduling, exemplifying our commitment to a coordinated and efficient energy dispatch process.

The Collaboration Plan is part of a suite of tools called the Smart Optimisation Output (SOO). This plan describes how we collaborate and partner with stakeholders, at all levels, and how we factor their co-developed plans into our own strategic network planning and smart optimisation activities. It shows how we actively participate in the development of strategic regional projects, plans and Net Zero strategies led by others and how we make ourselves available for these collaborations.

The Collaboration Plan demonstrates our approach to boundaries and interfaces with adjacent licensees, IDNOs, other utilities such as water, gas networks, Electricity Transmission Owners (TOs) and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) and how we are working across different energy vectors, including heat and transport, to facilitate whole system optimisation. It will explain how the activities from our DSO, LRE and Digitalisation Strategy and Action Plan interact with one another and interface with the Smart Optimisation Output (SOO).

Sensitivity factors represent the marginal impact of generation or demand at one point of the network on another point. This data allows users to study the impact of existing or planned sites on key constraints, such as lines or transformers.
Sensitivity factors will enable data users to run detailed network studies considering how future connections will impact key network constraints.

Curtailment is playing an increasingly important role in how we operate the network. The Curtailment Dashboard will serve developers, energy operators and the public with a transparent view of curtailment. It will provide insights into our historic curtailment rates across our licence areas and grid supply points, a view of current network conditions, and forecasts of future curtailment.

The 33kV network transports power across our region between grid and primary substations. The DSO will release the historic power flow data at 30-minute resolution for all monitored 33kV circuits within our licence areas. The dataset will include active power (MW) and current (Amps) flows from 2021 to last month.
To make the data more accessible and interoperable, the cables can be linked with the equivalent naming in the Long-Term Development Statement Publication (LTDS).

Annual half-hourly profiles for various demand types, including: Industrial, Commercial, Domestic, EV Charging Stations, Bus Charging Depots, Data Centres and Railway sites. This dataset is used in curtailment estimates to model customers yet to be connected to the network. To create specific demand profiles for each technology type, relevant data for each demand type was used, from various internal data sources, such as: SCADA monitoring, meter settlement data, aggregated smart meter data, where applicable. Data for individual sites was normalised based on the peak MW value and combined with data from other sites from the same type. This dataset provides a comprehensive overview of the different demand type technologies behaviour across every half hour of a sample year.

Annual half-hourly profiles for various generation types, including: Solar PV, Wind, Storage, Gas, as well as combined sites (e.g., Solar PV and Storage). This dataset is used in curtailment estimates to model customers yet to be connected to the network. To create specific demand profiles for each technology type, relevant data for each demand type was used, from various internal data sources, such as: SCADA monitoring, meter settlement data, where applicable. Data for individual sites was normalised based on the peak MW value and combined with data from other sites from the same type. This dataset provides a comprehensive overview of the different generation type technologies behaviour across every half hour of a sample year. Annual profiles of combined technologies are calculated by using the maximum of the two individual profiles for every half hour. Gas profiles were updated in April 2024 to reflect the operation of gas generators more realistically and will be used by UK Power Networks for network modelling going forwards.

The DSO Curtailment Insights app generates curtailment estimates for grid connection applications that trigger distribution and/or transmission constraints. Its primary goal is to provide a detailed view of the expected level of curtailment a site might face during operation over a sample year. This empowers customers to assess curtailment risks, optimise connection strategies, and make well-informed decisions.

The self-service tool allows customers to conduct their own calculations using UKPN’s established methodology while incorporating their own assumptions and scenarios. Customers can also run more complex studies by combining different scenarios, increasing the value of the curtailment estimates and reducing speculative applications that place demands on network planning resources.

The app provides enhanced curtailment reports, which include estimated levels of curtailment, a breakdown of curtailment by constraint, information on constraint ratings and limits (e.g., seasonal ratings), and visibility of the connection queue for the site being studied.

A key figure provided by the tool is the energy lost (in MWh) due to curtailment, relative to the site’s expected annual energy production, based on technology-specific profiles.

The data provides a simple mapping from postcodes to UK Power Networks’ Flexibility Zones – which include all day-ahead and long-term opportunities for flexibility. This enables potential flexibility service providers to quickly determine their eligibility for revenue from flexibility, without sharing any sensitive personal or commercial information. Please note that even if your asset is within a postcode listed in this dataset, the flexibility procurement process will require validation to ensure that the individual meter point (MPAN) is electrically connected to the Flexibility Zone.