Ofgem’s data science team grows, regulator catches up with digitization

Ofgem’s data science team will grow to 50 people by the end of this year to improve monitoring and management of the energy watchdog’s ongoing digitalisation of the energy market .

This decision comes as the sector continues to digest the recommendations of the task force on the digitalization of energy, which it published in January. Among these were recommendations to develop a “digital backbone”, improve digital governance – and “embed a culture of digitalisation” in the energy sector.

Efforts to improve the efficiency and flexibility of the UK energy system – of which digitalisation is a key part – have of course become much more critical These last months.

But the transition from the traditional production and consumption model to a greater reliance on renewable energy and distributed generation has not been easy.

At an event in the Houses of Parliament highlighting the task force’s work this week, Doug Cook, deputy director of digitalisation and decentralization at Ofgem, candidly acknowledged that the regulator in the past “hasn’t – be not taken [digitalisation] as seriously as necessary.

“I am delighted that now we are doing it” he hastened to add.

“We recognized the magnitude of the change. I have a direct mandate from our cascading board through our CEO, Jonathan [Brearley]to ‘take digitalization and decentralization seriously’,” Cook said.

“We recognized that we needed to recruit the skills and experiences needed to build this digital culture… to really bring digitalization to life. As a regulator, we are exposed to significant and changing risks.

“We need to improve our management [them],” he added.

See also: Digitizing the UK’s energy system: 5 key takeaways

Cook said Ofgem had “committed internally” by recruiting a team of around 30 digitization-focused data scientists, which he expects to grow to “around 50” by the end of 2022.

“[Ofgem] recognized that our skills and abilities have not kept pace with the speed of change in the industry,” said Cook The battery, adding that the regulator needed to improve: “I consider us as a referee on a football field. And like referees, you have to keep training and developing to keep up with the game.

The energy digitalization task force report earlier said Ofgem “should be congratulated” on the appointment of its first-ever chief data officer, Helen Crooks, who joined the regulator in December 2020.

The report further suggests that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) should also consider recruiting its own chief data officer.

“The government and the regulator should lead by example, incorporating the recommendation [to embed a digitalisation culture] in industry directions, ensuring that energy leaders have digital and data experience and introducing dedicated digital and data leadership roles within their organizations,” the report states. of the working group.

Cook, who joined Ofgem as head of strategy in June 2021 before taking up his current role in March 2022, said the decision to embrace digitalization at the regulator was “an ongoing process”.

“I think like anything you need to do, you have to change the culture and the mindset, the practical realities of the job, while you’re recruiting people, otherwise you end up creating an exogenous IT function that doesn’t fit well with the business and isn’t adding value properly,” he said. The battery.

He also made a heartfelt appeal to data-savvy people interested in reforming and decarbonising the UK’s energy sector to consider joining Ofgem’s data science team.

“I believe, I know, a lot of people in our space are driven by the opportunity to actually make a difference. If you’re going to work on these things somewhere, please come and work on them somewhere where you actually move the dial.