Consultation on a smart and secure electricity system

Views sought on the blueprint of a smart electricity market that consumers can engage with confidently.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has launched a consultation on new standards for energy smart appliances and organisations which provide demand side response services or can remotely control electrical load.

The Smart Secure Electricity Systems (SSES) Programme is designed to create the technical and regulatory frameworks to enable the untapped flexibility from small scale devices, such as domestic electric vehicle charge points and heat pumps. It should contribute to electricity system decarbonisation in a way that protects consumers and the electricity system.

The consultation questions are split into sections over three documents:

• The Energy Smart Appliances (ESA) paper sets out proposals on:
  • a set of minimum standards for ESAs that adhere to the principles of interoperability, cybersecurity, data privacy and grid stability
• Licencing Regime paper sets out proposals on:
  • the type of organisations that will require a load control licence
  • requirements around consumer protections, data privacy, consumer switching, management and financial controls
  • a framework and design principles for cyber security and technical requirements in the licence
• The Time of Use Tariff paper sets out:
  • the scope of a tariff data standard for energy suppliers to meet so energy smart appliances can easily receive and respond to tariff information from different energy suppliers
  • the proposed regulatory and delivery solutions (which are intertwined)

The consultation is open to anyone to respond, but will primarily be of interest to:

• energy and technology companies
• energy smart appliance manufacturers
• consumer and environmental groups
• innovators, and third party intermediaries in energy and / or other sectors

Find out more about the consultation and how to respond.

First published 4 June 2024