Chris Wilton, Sector Lead, Utilities, Ordnance Survey
The UK energy sector has faced mounting pressure in recent years to become more efficient and sustainable, particularly in light of the UK’s commitment to achieve net zero by the year 2050. Not long after making that commitment, the UK government launched its first energy sector digitalisation strategy, which aimed to bring the energy sector into the modern day and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of how energy is managed in the UK. With this in mind, the government hoped to improve the visibility of energy assets, lower costs for both businesses and consumers, use resources in the most efficient way possible and ensure consumers are satisfied. As the UK’s energy landscape continues to evolve, harnessing the power of digital technologies – namely through the use of digital twins – is key to ensuring the UK reaps the rewards of a more efficient, safe and innovate energy sector.
Digital twins as a critical tool
A digital twin – as the name suggests – is a digital model of a physical object using a large array of data to simulate real-world conditions, from maintenance records to design specifications. They are an important enabler of digitalisation across the energy sector, with a broad range of players, from energy generators to distributors, using the technology to not only map energy assets, but also monitor the potential effects of adjustments to optimise operations, and the impact of supply to end customers.
Creating a digital map of a network and its assets is particularly important for risk and efficiency modelling. The forecasted risks associated with assets – whether they be environmental risks, risks to consumers, or behavioural risks like theft or vandalism – can have a serious negative impact on the efficiency or service provided by the energy networks. For example, by drawing on digital twins, energy companies can look to assess vulnerabilities and forecast future issues by adjusting the technology’s parameters. This is important to avoid any unforeseen issues with assets that may cause a major incident, as was the case with the Wessington gas incident in 2022.
Similarly, companies could employ this technology to drive innovation by simulating changes. For example, using digital twins to assess how much more efficient a network can be if investments are made into specific assets, or through the consolidation of infrastructure, and evaluating the environmental and efficiency impacts as a result. This would ensure they are making informed decisions, providing actionable insight into the asset network and working towards the goals of the UK’s digitalisation strategy.
The role of location data in digital twins
To effectively leverage the power of digital twin technology, key players in the energy sector – across gas and electricity, and generation, transmission, distribution or supply – all need to have access to reliable and accurate data, specifically location data. As the UK’s national mapping agency, at Ordnance Survey we see key decisions being made every day on infrastructure and assets, all using Ordnance Survey’s authoritative location and addressing data. Our up-to-date geospatial data ensures that the representations of these assets and the surrounding environment is as accurate as possible. Combined with the ability to monitor asset performance, accessing the precise locations of these assets through OS location data will prove valuable in understanding possible threats or risks to efficiency and safety, such as encroachment and proximity risk.
UPRNs (Unique Property Reference Numbers) are the authoritative identifier of properties in the UK, but they are not limited to houses. Energy assets can be associated with UPRNs for easy location identification. They play an important role in ensuring any digital twins accurately represent and reference specific properties or objects within the virtual environment. Plus, knowing an asset’s specific location can also provide a foundation to layer other datasets onto, such as how crowded an area is, or how dense vegetation is, if there are nearby pipes or if the area is at particular risk of extreme weather events. All of these insights can be tied together with a common thread – the location. It is the combination of datasets brough together that makes a digital model so valuable for companies attempting to adapt their networks, allowing them to make informed decisions related to safety, efficiency and innovation.
As the landscape of the UK’s energy sector continues to evolve, digital twin technology is becoming increasingly more important for ensuring the energy sector is acting with the goals of the energy digitalisation strategy in mind. From optimising asset performance, improving risk management and driving innovation across the sector, equipping this digital twin technology with accurate, authoritative location data has serious potential to transform the energy sector, helping the UK on its way to achieving net zero by 2050.
This article appeared in the Jan/Feb 2025 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.
