Energy data democratisation celebrated at the British Data Awards 2023

Democratising energy market data has been a prominent focus for ElectraLink over the past few years. Opening access to our industry data lake for a range of organisations – public and private – means better outcomes for energy users in homes and businesses, new services for energy efficiency and carbon tracking initiatives, and broader benefits for the UK’s energy system.

ElectraLink’s determination to make data more accessible was affirmed at the British Data Awards ceremony on 11 May 2023 in London. Among many leading organisations and teams pioneering innovative data uses in many sectors, ElectraLink took home the Data Vendor of the Year award and was shortlisted for the BI Solution of the Year Award. Other notable award winners in the room included Vodafone, Octopus Energy, the University of Edinburgh, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

CEO Dan Hopkinson said: “It was a great pleasure to win Data Vendor of the Year. The award means more than a recognition of the service and value we provide to customers; it also reflects the huge effort ElectraLink colleagues have invested in developing a stellar offering and a bold, supportive organisation that encourages trust and collaboration. ElectraLink is diverse in ideas and skills and we have pooled them to create purpose and shared values behind our work.”

The winning award submission focused on ElectraLink’s API solutions which feed data into customer systems to facilitate various market and business processes. Quoting energy prices and supporting the end-of-tenancy process are among several use cases for ElectraLink’s APIs. Users have reported time-savings, improvement in customer satisfaction, and increased revenue on the back of integrating with ElectraLink and accessing extensive datasets from the energy market, as evidenced through case studies.

Over 70 organisations from many sectors benefit from ElectraLink’s data provision across nine APIs. For example, utilities supplier Yü Energy procured QuoteRight and QuoteBusiness APIs to enable them to quote customers’ bills accurately and quickly. ElectraLink’s time-saving APIs allowed them to help more customers than ever before, leading to Yü Energy’s revenue increasing 95 per cent and profit increasing 400 per cent in the first half of 2022.

According to Chief Data Officer, Paul Linnane:

Being recognised outside of the energy sector for our work with data is a result that has exceeded our expectations. Our recent refocus to a data-first approach for our services has come about in line with demand for data-driven solutions for challenges in various sectors.

Energy market data has delivered huge benefits to energy organisations when applied creatively, but it also has value beyond the energy industry. We believe the Data Vendor of the Year award is a confirmation that our peers in data, tech and IT also see the value.

Xanda, ElectraLink’s long-standing digital partner, also attended the British Data Awards ceremony, having been involved in many projects and solutions which provide data services and insights to British organisations. The Xanda team’s market-leading technology and user experience practices have contributed significantly to ElectraLink’s drive for greater data transparency in the energy sector.

Alex Homans, Director at Xanda, said: “Celebrating ElectraLink’s achievement as Data Vendor of the Year reinforces our pride in partnering on the development of cutting-edge data platforms. The challenging work that Xanda and ElectraLink – determined to improve the energy sector – is partnering on is demonstrably motivating our combined teams to deliver more ambitious and successful projects. Looking forward, we are excited to strengthen our partnership further through developing AI solutions and machine learning enhancements to help modernise the energy market.”

The UK’s progress to a low-carbon energy system needs data to be accessible and secure for detailed insights and understanding. ElectraLink views winning the Data Vendor of the Year award as a commendation of its efforts to open data for wider business and end user benefits. Uncovering facts and insights enriches and accelerates the net zero transition.

ElectraLink’s full range of data-first solutions helps organisations with use cases around connectivity, communication, insight, innovation, customer success and positive change. Explore the rest of the website to learn more or reach out to us at [email protected].