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Governance scenario

Smart Meter Data Access

DNOs request half-hourly smart meter data for network planning. Consumer groups raise privacy concerns. Suppliers argue competitive harm. Who gets access to what data, and under what conditions?

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This is a fictionalised teaching scenario grounded in real institutional roles, published reforms, and current public-source context.

Scenario player

Work through the decision path below. Each choice changes the route, the institutional trade-offs, and the metrics the scenario tracks.

Smart Meter Data Access

Step 1 of 2

NPG

DNOs want more data

Northern Grid Services says they need half-hourly consumption data at feeder level to plan for EV charging growth. Currently they only get daily aggregates. Suppliers say this data is commercially sensitive and reveals customer behaviour. Consumer groups say this is surveillance by another name. The DCC says they can provide the data but need clear regulatory mandate.

What is at stake

  • -Without granular data, DNOs may over- or under-invest in network.
  • -With granular data, privacy risks increase.
  • -Competitive harm to suppliers is a real concern.

What data access framework do you propose?

Current Metrics

System Security70
Affordability60
Net Zero Progress55
Customer Protection68
Operational Efficiency62
Stakeholder Trust60

Actors Involved

NPGSuppliersOfgemCitizens

Regulatory Context

Data Best Practice Guidance

Governance relationship map

View mode

Operating loop breadcrumb

Governance→Planning→Operations→Outcomes→Evidence

Current focus: Rules and accountability

Legend

Governance and policy

Rules, remits, and accountability

Planning and investment

Connections, queue progression, and delivery planning

System operations

Real-time balancing and network operation

Market and consumer outcomes

Prices, settlement, reliability, affordability

Evidence and learning

Telemetry, assurance, and continuous improvement

Glossary

  • Dispatch

    Real-time instructions to increase or reduce generation or demand so supply stays in balance.

  • Balancing

    The continuous process of matching electricity supply to demand while maintaining system frequency.

  • Constraint

    A technical limit in the network that restricts how power can flow under current conditions.

  • Industry code

    A formal rulebook that defines obligations and processes for specific market and network activities.

  • Connection agreement

    The formal agreement setting technical and milestone conditions for connecting a project to the network.

  • Settlement

    The process that turns metered and contractual positions into final market cashflow outcomes.

  • Conformance gate

    A quality checkpoint that verifies whether data or implementation meets agreed standards.

  • LTDS

    Long Term Development Statement publication requirements for distribution network data.

Guided tour

Step 1 of 8

Who sets the rules?

Start with governance: policy direction, regulatory oversight, licences, and code obligations.

Why it matters: Newcomers should first understand where authority sits before interpreting operational decisions.

Open Ofgem licence and code guidance

Preparing system graph…

Use this map to keep scenario decisions anchored to policy, coordination, operational delivery, and evidence feedback relationships.

Sources and methodology

How this page was assembled

Scenarios are designed as regulator-safe teaching runs. Institutional roles, programme context, and cited reform pathways stay grounded in current public sources, while event details and numbers inside the run remain fictionalised unless explicitly evidenced elsewhere. This scenario is framed against Data Best Practice Guidance.

Last reviewed 18 March 2026

Primary sources

Ransford's Notes