Open Banking success inspires UK energy sector’s digital transformation
A warm welcome for energy smart data
The UK Government has this week said it wants to mirror the “huge innovation and economic growth in the banking sector” driven by the Open Banking transformation, in the energy sector.
At Procode, we have been at the forefront of democratising access to the rich data coming from the UK’s 30 million+ smart meters and welcome the announcement.
On Monday this week, Minister for Energy Michael Shanks announced a call for evidence running until 10 March as part of a roadmap “to repair Britain’s broken energy market and put billpayers back at the forefront of the sector’s priorities”.
The Minister said, “Data and digitalisation will be an essential foundation of our mission to deliver a zero-carbon electricity system by 2030. Reforms will help consumers and businesses to benefit from the new era of clean power.
“Following the world-leading example of open banking, energy smart data could help consumers find the best tariff based on their actual consumption, providing personalised solutions, better services and greater choice, whilst saving them money.
The UK will not be the first to offer smart data in the energy sector
A similar scheme, called the Consumer Data Right for Energy, has been operating in Australia since November 2022. This allows the sharing of data such as customer account details, billing, meter usage, meter identifier, tariffs and products, and distributed energy resource information (e.g. batteries and solar panel installations).
At the heart of establishing such a scheme will be establishing a robust trust framework. This would allow customers to share their data with companies in exchange for services but also for the company to securely and safely share that data with authorised third parties who could then also offer the customer relevant products and services.
However, the British public is divided on whether smart data schemes can be trusted. In 2021, the government carried out research into public attitudes to smart data schemes. Around a quarter of 2,000 people surveyed were unsure about the trade-off between benefits and risks of such schemes in finance and communications. It is unlikely that attitudes in energy would be any better.
A trust framework could also make it easier for data to be securely shared between different sectors, such as energy and banking, to offer customers a wider range of services.
As well as offering customers more personalised products and services, smart data sharing will be crucial for decarbonising the British economy, giving consumers better understanding of their energy usage but also making it easier to switch to green or flexible tariffs.
Allowing customers to have better access to their data will help stimulate competition in the energy market which will drive growth, productivity and innovation.
Already, there is evidence that the rollout of smart meters has enabled consumers to save 3% on electricity and 2.2% on gas bills. The savings can be even more impressive.
Loop: The free smart meter app
The call for evidence references the energy saving app Loop, launched in 2017, which has helped more than 150,000 customers with smart meters to reduce their energy consumption by an average of 15%, by monitoring their energy consumption and tracking their costs more easily. Procode acquired Trust Power, makers of the Loop app, in 2024. The company’s new AI-powered service, , is one of the first in the emerging home battery optimisation market, allowing households to maximise returns from their equipment through dynamic and automated management of import, export, and tariffs.
Apps like Loop use third-party access to smart data. Procode has an established track record as an accredited provider of smart data, meaning we have passed the stringent privacy and security audits required by the Smart Energy Code.
In the Minister’s plans, he outlines how the Open Banking smart data scheme is now regularly used by over 11 million consumers and businesses. It has enabled 82 firms, including fintech startups such as Revolut, Starling Bank and Monzo, to raise more than £2 billion in funding.
At Procode, we have already started to see how smart data and secure information sharing can benefit both customers and energy companies. If the energy sector can follow the success of Open Banking, it will also provide a welcome boost for the UK economy.
To find out more about how Procode works with energy companies and its Smart Datastream product, contact us today.