Meet the players: 40+ organisations mapped
By the end of this module you will be able to:
- Identify the six groups of organisations in the GB energy data ecosystem
- Describe the data roles of DCC, Elexon, RECCo, and ElectraLink
- Explain how data flows bidirectionally between government, networks, code bodies, and market participants
Think about it - The invisible organisation chart
Over 40 organisations handle your energy data every single day.
Module 1 showed you the scale of GB energy data. But data does not flow by itself. Behind every meter reading, every SCADA sample, and every settlement run, there are organisations with specific legal responsibilities for creating, transporting, processing, and governing that data.
The GB energy data ecosystem involves over 40 distinct organisations, but they fall into six clear groups. Understanding these groups - and the data roles within each - is the key to navigating everything that follows in this course.
When your smart meter sends a half-hourly reading, it passes through DCC, reaches your supplier, flows to Elexon for settlement, and may be used by your DNO for network planning. Who are all these organisations, and how do they fit together?
With the learning outcomes established, this module begins by examining six groups, one system in depth.
2.1 Six groups, one system
Every organisation in the GB energy data landscape falls into one of six groups. Each group has a distinct role, and each generates, consumes, and governs data differently.
Group 1: Government and regulators
Three organisations set the top-level rules. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) sets policy direction - including the 2035 clean power target and the Energy Act 2023 that created NESO. Ofgem regulates the industry, issues licences to networks and suppliers, and publishes the Data Best Practice Guidance that governs how energy data must be managed. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) enforces UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, determining when energy data constitutes personal data requiring consent.
Group 2: System operation
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) was created by the Energy Act 2023 and became operational in 2024. NESO balances supply and demand in real time across the electricity and gas systems, plans the future network, and runs the Electricity System Operator functions previously held by National Grid ESO. As an independent public corporation, NESO has a unique data position: it needs visibility across the entire system to fulfil its balancing and planning roles, making it both the largest single consumer and one of the largest producers of operational energy data.
Group 3: Networks
The physical infrastructure is operated by multiple network companies. On the electricity side: three transmission owners (NGET for England and Wales, SPT for southern Scotland, SHET for northern Scotland) operate the 400/275/132 kV supergrid. Six distribution network operator (DNO) groups hold 14 licence areas, managing everything from 33 kV down to the 230 V supply entering your home. On the gas side: National Gas Transmission (NGT) operates the National Transmission System, and four Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs) deliver gas to consumers. Each network company is both a major producer of operational data (SCADA, asset registers, loading data) and a consumer of market and metering data.
Group 4: Code bodies
Four organisations administer the industry codes and operate the critical data platforms. Elexon administers the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC), operates the Data Integration Platform (DIP) which went live in August 2025 and has already processed over 1 billion messages, and serves as the domain coordinator for the Flexibility Market Arrangements Review (FMAR). RECCo administers the Retail Energy Code (REC), operates the Central Switching Service (CSS) which went live in July 2022 and reduced switching time to 5 working days, and is building the Consumer Consent Service (CCS). DCC operates the smart meter communications infrastructure connecting 40 million meters across two WAN regions, and is transitioning from 2G/3G to 4G while launching VWAN in 2026. ElectraLink has operated the Data Transfer Service (DTS) for over 25 years using D-flow formats, and administers the DCUSA code.
Group 5: Industry bodies
Industry bodies coordinate across the sector without holding regulatory powers. The Energy Networks Association (ENA) coordinated the Open Networks project, which concluded in July 2025 after producing foundational work on flexibility markets and data sharing. The British Standards Institution (BSI) hosts the CIM Advisory Group (PEL/57/1), which works on the Common Information Model standards (IEC 61970/61968) that enable interoperability between network data systems.
Group 6: Market participants
Suppliers, generators, aggregators, and flexibility providers are the commercial entities that use energy data day-to-day. Flexibility providers are a rapidly growing category - the market is projected to grow from 2.5 GW to 12 GW by 2030 as distributed energy resources (batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps) participate in local and national flexibility markets. Every market participant is both a producer and consumer of data, submitting meter data and receiving settlement results, publishing generation forecasts and consuming price signals.
“No person shall generate, transmit, distribute or supply electricity except under and in accordance with a licence granted under this section.”
Electricity Act 1989 - Section 6(1)(c)
Section 6 is the foundation of the GB energy market. Every organisation in Groups 1-6 either holds one of these licences or is directly regulated through them. Data obligations flow down from these licence conditions, which is why understanding who holds which licence is prerequisite to understanding who is responsible for which data.
Which organisation operates the smart meter communications infrastructure connecting 40 million meters?
Mapping the six groups gives you the organisational landscape. But the four code bodies deserve deeper attention because they operate the platforms that physically move energy data across the system every day.
2.2 The code bodies you need to know
The four code bodies deserve deeper examination because they operate the platforms that move energy data across the system. Each has a distinct technical stack, governance structure, and data domain.
Elexon: settlement and the DIP
Elexon administers the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC), which governs how electricity is traded and settled in GB. Their most significant recent development is the Data Integration Platform (DIP), a cloud-native event-driven architecture that went live in August 2025. The DIP has already processed over 1 billion messages, replacing legacy file-based data flows with real-time messaging for half-hourly settlement data. Elexon also serves as the domain coordinator for the Flexibility Market Arrangements Review (FMAR), positioning it as the facilitator for emerging flexibility markets.
RECCo: switching and consent
RECCo administers the Retail Energy Code (REC) and operates two critical platforms. The Central Switching Service (CSS) went live in July 2022 and reduced the supplier switching process from weeks to 5 working days. RECCo is now building the Consumer Consent Service (CCS), which will provide a standardised mechanism for consumers to grant, manage, and revoke consent for their energy data to be shared with third parties - a key piece of the puzzle for resolving the consent vs system need tension from Module 1.
DCC: the smart meter network
DCC operates the smart meter communications infrastructure, the largest machine-to-machine network in GB. Over 40 million smart meters are connected across two Wide Area Network regions: VMO2 provides cellular connectivity for the south and central regions, while Arqiva operates a radio mesh network for the north. DCC is currently managing a major technology transition from 2G/3G to 4G communications (as mobile operators retire legacy networks), and is launching the Virtual Wide Area Network (VWAN) in 2026 to provide additional connectivity options.
ElectraLink: the data backbone
ElectraLink has operated the Data Transfer Service (DTS) for over 25 years, making it the longest-running energy data platform in GB. The DTS uses D-flow file formats to transfer data between market participants, handling everything from meter registrations to change-of-supplier flows. ElectraLink also administers the Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA), giving it a unique position bridging distribution network data and market data.
Understanding the individual code bodies is useful. But the real insight emerges when you step back and see how data flows bidirectionally across all six groups at once.
2.3 Why this matters for data
The critical insight from mapping these 40+ organisations is that every single one is both a producer and a consumer of energy data. Government produces policy and regulatory decisions; it consumes compliance reports and market data. Networks produce SCADA telemetry and asset data; they consume metering data and settlement results. Suppliers produce billing data and demand forecasts; they consume meter readings and wholesale prices.
Data flows bidirectionally through this ecosystem, not just top-down from government to industry. A smart meter reading flows up from your home to DCC, across to your supplier, through to Elexon for settlement, and the settlement results flow back to inform network planning at NESO and investment decisions at the DNO. Policy decisions from DESNZ flow down through Ofgem's licence conditions, but operational data from networks flows back up to inform those same policy decisions.
Compare this to the Nordic approach. Norway's Elhub acts as a single hub: meter data goes in, and every authorised party can access what they need from one place. GB's fragmented landscape - with 5 or more separate platforms - means the same data often needs to be sent to multiple destinations, in different formats, under different governance frameworks. The Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI) concept aims to connect these platforms, but as of early 2026, governance and funding remain unresolved.
“The Balancing and Settlement Code governs the activities of parties in relation to the balancing of the transmission system and the settlement of imbalances.”
Elexon, Balancing and Settlement Code - Section S
This defines the BSC's scope precisely: it governs the data flows required for settlement, including metering data collection, supplier volume allocation, and imbalance calculation. Every organisation in Groups 3-6 that handles electricity settlement data is a BSC Trading Party subject to these rules.
What is the key difference between the DTS and the DIP?
Common misconception
“Energy data flows top-down from government to consumers through a single pipeline.”
Data flows bidirectionally across six groups of organisations using 5+ separate platforms. A smart meter reading flows from your home through DCC, to your supplier, to Elexon for settlement, and the results flow back to inform NESO's system planning and DNO investment decisions. Government policy flows down, but operational data flows back up to inform that policy. Nordic countries use a single hub (like Elhub), but GB's ecosystem is inherently distributed.
Key takeaways
- The GB energy data ecosystem comprises 40+ organisations across six groups: government/regulators, system operation (NESO), networks (3 TOs, 6 DNO groups, 4 GDNs, NGT), code bodies (Elexon, RECCo, DCC, ElectraLink), industry bodies, and market participants.
- Four code bodies operate the critical data platforms: Elexon (DIP, 1bn+ messages since Aug 2025), RECCo (CSS for switching, CCS for consent), DCC (40M smart meters, 2 WAN regions), and ElectraLink (DTS, 25+ years of D-flow data).
- Every organisation is both a producer and consumer of energy data - flows are bidirectional, not top-down from government to industry.
- GB's fragmented 5+ platform model contrasts with Nordic single-hub approaches (like Norway's Elhub), creating complexity but avoiding single points of failure.
Standards and sources cited in this module
Ofgem, 'Energy System Data: Best Practice Guidance' (October 2024)
Annex A: Energy Data Ecosystem Map
Provides the authoritative mapping of organisations and their data roles across the GB energy system.
Elexon, 'Data Integration Platform (DIP) - Programme Update' (2025)
Platform Architecture and Volumes
Details the DIP's cloud-native architecture, go-live timeline, and message volumes exceeding 1 billion.