In November, we reconvened the Steering Group for Open Energy. The Steering Group comprises a wide range of industry leaders and subject matter experts spanning the commercial, regulatory and government landscapes. The Steering Group plays a critical role in Open Energy’s development, providing a sector perspective that ensures that Open Energy is designed for and with the energy industry.
Date: 25 November 2025 11:00-12:30 GMT
Location: Online
Co-Chairs: Sara Vaughan & Gavin Starks
Secretariat: IB1
Meeting Aims
- Understand the reactions to the Architecture coordinator open letter
- Update on Open Energy activities and webinar
Summary:
- It was noted that:
- A number of the Q4 goals are complete or in progress, and the IB1 team are working to realign those remaining to create a new plan for Q1 and Q2, which will be shared with members in January 2026.
- There was good engagement and attendance at the webinar in October, with poll results revealing that uncertainty around sector-wide alignment is a major confidence barrier, with participant discussion reinforcing the need for a coordinated approach.
- Driven by the Data Use and Access Act, data sharing initiatives are starting to form across the economy.
- As one of the more mature sectors for data sharing, the energy sector is experiencing concerns over misalignment that will likely play out in other sectors, and it has an opportunity to demonstrate how the co-ordination function should operate.
- It was agreed that:
- Without further clarity on the venn diagram of roles within the industry, and who should be at the helm, the industry faces a significant financial risk of duplication and over-spending, leading to this transformation costing much more than it needs to; and
- There is fragmentation across the industry with a lack of coherence around the venn diagram of roles, and who should be coordinating, orchestrating and determining the future developments.
- Developing a Market Architecture would help to shape the governing process along with who the relevant actors are and what their contributions should be, providing clarity to the industry.
- This does not have to be a single body, it could be a community of actors working together within some sort of governing body. A not-for-profit could be used to bring this together.
- It was noted that:
- There are competing views on the value of a use case-based approach. However, many members feel that use cases are essential to be able to work on achievable priorities within the industry and make informed decisions about data protection and security.
- It’s important to take note of the work that RECCo is undertaking, particularly what trust framework RECCo provides and how that is then used by the broader market. This highlights the decisions that need to be made and where there is a requirement for a coordinating function.
- The question of ‘who is the final arbiter?’ that was posed during the last meeting, is yet to be resolved.
- It was discussed that:
- While NESO holds the interim DSI role until 2028, it would be challenging for them, at least until then and possibly beyond without a change in the skills and capability of the organisation, to take up the role of a single, accountable organisation for digital co-ordination of the sector – although, in principle, this was the sort of role they should be fulfilling.
- Other industries have placed an independent non-profit at the centre of their data-sharing arrangements, setting a successful precedent for the energy industry to follow.