Thursday, November 7, 2024
Infrastructure and TechnologyLatestNews

ESB Networks partners with Advanced Infrastructure

ESB Networks has partnered with spacial analytics and software company Advanced Infrastructure to pilot self-screening of connection applications by demand customers.

Advanced Infrastructure’s joint innovation project with ESB Networks, Ireland’s Distribution System Operator (DSO), is designed to improve and enhance the connection application experience for customers.

The pilot project seeks to provide local authorities, electric vehicle charge-point developers and other medium voltage demand customers with an online screening tool to self-assess their demand connection requirements against available network capacity, estimated connection timeline and cost information.

This will enable customers to refine their connection requirements in advance of any formal connection applications. In this way, the volume of applications requiring processing and analysis by ESB Networks can be rightsized by applicant customers to those most likely to result in connections to the electricity network. 

ESB Networks, a subsidiary of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), selected Advanced Infrastructure for this pilot project through the Free Electrons Programme, which connects leading utility companies with innovators. 

Advanced Infrastructure will build on the success of its existing Net Zero planning tool, Local Area Energy Planner Plus (LAEP+), which already serves 50% of UK DNOs. LAEP+ currently includes a self-service connection feature that allows local authorities to design and submit grid connection requests autonomously.

Ciaran Geaney, Innovation Manager, ESB Networks, said: 

“ESB Networks is implementing self-serve, data driven solutions to enhance our capacity screening service and make it more convenient for our customers to interact with us.

“We welcome working on this innovation pilot with Advanced Infrastructure to provide insights and learnings to enable us to enhance the connections journey and tailor what we need in terms of an enduring self-serve solution for our customers.”

Lily Cairns Haylor, Co-Founder and Head of Product at Advanced Infrastructure, said: 

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to demonstrate the transformative power that a digital tool can bring to the pre-screening process for customers’ connections requirements. The need for an efficient, digital approach is urgent and this project with ESB Networks addresses this challenge head-on.

“We have already seen the success that LAEP+ has achieved in speeding up Energy Transition planning across UK DNOs and we’re excited to work with ESB Networks to develop and pilot a solution that works for its customers.”

Image courtesy of Advanced Infrastructure

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