Public interest advisory group on access to smart-meter energy data recommends the Smart Energy Research Lab is continued and expanded.

PIAG Phase 2 report

The Smart Meter Data Public Interest Advisory Group (PIAG), convened by the two charities Sustainability First (SF) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), has concluded its Phase 2 and has made a number of recommendations for the future direction of SERL in its final report, including identifying the project as a key player in the future use of smart meter data for public interest research and policymaking.

PIAG includes representatives from many influential bodies in the energy sector including the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS); the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG); the Scottish Government; Citizens Advice; Which?; Ofgem; the Energy Saving Trust and the National Grid. At the PIAG report launch event on 16th June several of the partner organisations also praised the pioneering work of SERL in opening up access to smart energy data for accredited researchers.

A unique resource

The report highlights SERL as a unique resource in the field and recommended that it be extended beyond the end of its current funding phase (August 2022) so that it can continue to collect data for its Observatory panel of c13,000 GB homes with the hope to expand it and increase representativeness to the general population. PIAG also felt that a key future goal of SERL would be to look at appropriate ways to make the SERL data available to a wider range of appropriate stakeholders conducting approved research.

Recommendations are also made for the project to work with BEIS and other stakeholders to use the SERL infrastructure to test and develop models that are being used to project levels of energy demand based on characteristics and broad demographics. The use of smart meter data could help evaluate the effectiveness of interventions made to increase energy efficiency in homes, for example, thus creating more accurate inputs to refine existing and future models.

SERL response

The launch event was attended by SERL’s Eoghan McKenna and Simon Elam. Eoghan praised the work of PIAG in providing a forum which has helped in SERL’s development, and noted the value of the PIAG process and publications in systematically building the case for policy recommendations.

Eoghan went on to say that the SERL team were keen to act on the recommendations in the report, in particular extending SERL beyond 2022; making the sample more representative; and making the data more accessible to a broader range of accredited researchers conducting public-interest research. He finished by thanking PIAG for their strong endorsement of the SERL project and for allowing SERL colleagues to be part of the PIAG process.

PIAG background

PIAG was originally convened in November 2017 by Sustainability First and the Centre for Sustainability Energy to look specifically at how smart meter data could be used to support policymakers while at the same ensuring the privacy concerns of the consumers – the owners of the data – are respected. The Smart Energy Research Lab (SERL) was an original funder of Phase 1 of PIAG and has continued to have an active role in the PIAG workshops and the publication of several papers and reports.

Phase 1 of PIAG focussed set out recommendations for how smart meter data could be used for statistical and research purposes and Phase 2 has built on these recommendations particularly in recommending the use of aggregated/anonymised smart meter datasets for policy makers.