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Twelve years after winning the £75m DCC data services contract, CGI has launched CGI WiseWatt, a cloud-based platform that monetises the UK's smart meter infrastructure in a new way. The platform gives organisations access to consumption data from the 39 million smart meters now installed across Britain – still short of the 53 million target we reported back in 2013, but a substantial base, nonetheless. A 2023 parliamentary report found that only 57% of meters were smart as of March 2023, with approximately 9% not functioning properly and another 20% at risk of losing functionality when 2G and 3G networks are switched off.
WiseWatt provides managed services to help organisations access half-hourly electricity and gas consumption data, as well as tariff information. It targets businesses that want smart meter insights but lack the technical expertise or regulatory accreditation to access DCC systems directly.
For CGI, this is a commercial pivot from an infrastructure to a data services provider. CGI is now offering managed access to smart meter data for businesses that need it. Their decade-plus experience running DCC's central systems positions it uniquely to offer these managed services.
The timing works well with the government's Clean Power 2030 initiative to decarbonise electricity generation, which creates fresh demand for energy data insights. WiseWatt's consent management portal and open APIs are designed to make integration straightforward for businesses wanting to build consumption analytics into their offerings.
What's interesting is how this validates the data value proposition that was always implicit in the smart meter programme. Back in 2013, we questioned whether the £2.4bn investment would deliver promised savings. The jury's still out on consumer benefits, but CGI's platform demonstrates the commercial value of aggregated consumption data. WiseWatt’s success will now depend on pricing, ease of integration, and market demand for third-party energy data services.
Posted by: Georgina O'Toole at 09:05
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energy
utilities
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Energy&Utilties