UK’s largest gas distribution network selects Opendatasoft public data marketplace solution
Opendatasoft, the leading data marketplace solution provider, has announced that its technology has been selected by the UK’s largest gas distribution network, Cadent, to underpin its new open data portal, which went live in just three months.
Cadent’s dedicated self-service portal contains an expanding range of data, covering the company’s gas pipeline infrastructure and other assets, along with demand and other useful information. Available via an intuitive interface, data can be accessed as tables, via drill-down maps, and downloaded through APIs and in common file formats. Before being added to the portal, data is triaged and is available through either open or shared licenses, depending on its sensitivity.
The new portal is designed to drive increased collaboration with stakeholders across the energy ecosystem, including local authorities creating Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs), consultancies and academics. It enables Cadent to meet the data sharing requirements set out by regulator Ofgem, while significantly reducing time spent manually responding to requests and supporting a resilient, agile, and data-driven business.
Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network, responsible for bringing gas to 11 million homes and businesses. It manages a network of more than 82,000 miles of pipes, most of them underground, which transport gas throughout the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England and North London.
The company chose to work with Opendatasoft because of its complete functionality, ease of implementation, strong support, and the company’s comprehensive expertise in the energy market. Opendatasoft already works with other major players including UK Power Networks (UK), GRDF, GRTgaz (both France), the US Department of Energy, Endeavour Energy (Australia), Fluvius (Belgium), and Hydro-Québec (Canada).
“At Cadent we are at the forefront of the energy transition and understand the importance of transforming the data landscape in support of this. This involves sharing and integrating with a wider ecosystem of users to drive innovation and collaboration,” said David Mayne, Open Data Specialist, Cadent. “Thanks to Opendatasoft’s support, we launched our portal in record time, delivering an effective, efficient and intuitive experience to all our users, which we aim to build on moving forward.”
Future plans for the portal include the addition of new data assets, including demand forecasts and environmental data, as well as increasing the ability to combine different data assets and expanding the range of available visualisations. At the same time, Cadent is looking to increase automation across portal administration and roll-out further Opendatasoft features, such as contact forms to collect user feedback.
“Cadent’s rapid success demonstrates the potential of data sharing to drive collaboration across the energy ecosystem,” said Jean-Marc Lazard, CEO and co-founder of Opendatasoft. “Not only is our data marketplace technology enabling Cadent to increase innovation, but it is boosting efficiency and providing a powerful platform for the future.”
The open data portal can be accessed at https://cadentgas.opendatasoft.com/pages/welcome/
