Interoperability by Design: NESO's Data Sharing Infrastructure at Innovation Zero

The Energy & Grid Forum at Innovation Zero World 2026

At Innovation Zero World 2026 last month, Sasha Shipulina, NESO’s Head of Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI), joined the “Interoperability by Design: Aligning the UK's Digital Energy Future” panel alongside fellow panellists Marzia Zafar (Ofgem), Sam Mathew (Microsoft) and Laura Sandys CBE (Green Alliance / Government’s Energy Digitalisation Taskforce) with facilitation from Monica Collings OBE (POWERful Women), to discuss some of the most critical topics for the energy transition.

The conversation highlighted the importance of turning digital ambitions into delivery, as the energy sector works towards a more decentralised system supported by stronger digital infrastructure. Set against Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Ofgem’s joint recent publication of the Energy Digitalisation Framework, the discussion underscored the need for collaboration in building a smarter, more digitally interconnected energy sector.

That challenge is not new. For years, we’ve consistently heard the same message: too much data still sits in silos, unable to move easily between organisations, creating persistent barriers to effective data sharing across the energy system.

To address this, NESO, in its role as the Ofgem-appointed Interim Data Sharing Infrastructure Coordinator, has been developing the Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI). Its purpose is to catalyse the flow of shared data in a secure, trusted and coordinated way across the energy sector. Crucially, DSI is not being designed solely for regulated networks. The vision for the future is wider: any energy participant should be able to share any data through DSI, enabling organisations to reimagine their world without being constrained by the limitations of current practices.

Following the success of the pilot phase, which enabled complex power outage data to be shared through a brand-new trust framework between a number of energy companies, NESO is now developing the Minimum Viable Product (Private Beta). This phase largely involves regulated energy networks, including Electricity Transmission Owners (TOs), Electricity Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), and Gas Transmission and Distribution Networks. NESO is planning to release the MVP for trials in April/May next year, with public beta expected to be available to the wider sector by April/May 2028.

The Energy Digitalisation Framework also set expectations on NESO with a key task in shaping the sector’s digital architecture in collaboration with Elexon and the Retail Energy Code Company (RECCo). This work will provide a shared starting point for aligning the development of digital public infrastructure across the sector. It includes defining the technical interoperability required between the following programmes: Data Sharing Infrastructure, Consumer Consent, Flexibility Market Asset Registration and Smart Data Repository.

Sasha Shipulina and her function in NESO are helping to lay the foundation for these critical digitalisation programmes, by leading on NESO’s contribution to the digital architecture and on its emerging role as Core Energy System Domain Coordinator, which was set up to help move the system from fragmented initiatives to coordinated outcomes anchored in the Energy Digitalisation Framework. Her remit spans multiple aspects of sector digitalisation, drawing on NESO’s expertise in system design and digital innovation.

The ambition behind this work is clear: digitalisation should deliver tangible benefits for consumers, from faster connections and lower system costs reflected in bills to a more reliable and flexible energy system. By taking a coordinated approach, NESO is working closely alongside government and industry, to help agree standards, tackle challenges, and build a digital ecosystem that is resilient, sustainable and fit for the future.