Graham Paul – Service Delivery Director
Graham leads service delivery, sales and marketing to enhance customer experience and scale TEAM’s carbon and energy services with a data‑driven, outcomes focus.
What’s Changing
The UK’s National Energy System Operator (NESO) has begun a major digital transformation programme that will shape how energy data, infrastructure and operations function across Great Britain. As NESO moves into full operation as an independent, publicly owned system operator, its role now spans whole‑energy planning, electricity system operation and gas system planning. Its newly published Energy Sector Digitalisation Plan sets out 16 priority actions to modernise digital public infrastructure and support delivery of Clean Power by 2030.
Alongside this, NESO is leading the creation of a Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI) formerly the “digital spine” to standardise and accelerate secure data exchange across the sector.
NESO’s Energy Sector Digitalisation Plan – the 16 Actions
In September 2025, NESO published the first Energy Sector Digitalisation Plan, developed with DESNZ, Ofgem, the Royal Academy of Engineering and industry partners.
The plan identifies 16 digital actions needed to support Clean Power by 2030. These span:
- Smart meter data access improvements
- Consumer data infrastructure & standards
- Device interoperability
- Market interface reform
- Asset visibility & integrated control room capabilities
- Data quality, governance and shared digital public infrastructure.
The plan is explicitly designed as an iterative framework, with future versions incorporating wider sector feedback and identifying organisations to deliver gaps.
For organisations, this means the expectations for energy data accuracy, interoperability and transparent methodologies will continue to rise quickly through 2026 – 2030
What Organisations Should Focus on Now
For UK organisations, these changes are reshaping how energy data is accessed, shared and used in operational, commercial and compliance decision‑making.
1. Strengthen energy data quality & governance
NESO’s digitalisation plan and the DSI both depend on accurate, consistent, and shareable data. Organisations should prepare for increasing scrutiny on methodologies, baselines, asset metadata and evidence trails.
2. Adopt systems that integrate & automate data flows
With interoperability and shared data infrastructure set to become the norm, digital energy platforms will be key to ensuring organisations can ingest, validate and publish trusted data into the wider system.
3. Link NESO digitalisation to sustainability reporting
NESO’s digital reforms strongly complement UK SRS (IFRS S1/S2‑aligned) and financial‑grade ESG requirements making energy data a foundation for reliable sustainability disclosure.