Advanced Infrastructure agrees joint innovation project with ESB Networks

11 Nov, 2024
Newsdesk
Cambridge-based spatial analytics and software company, Advanced Infrastructure, has announced a joint innovation project with ESB Networks, Ireland’s Distribution System Operator (DSO), designed to improve and enhance the connection application experience for customers.
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Lily Cairns Haylor. Credit – Advanced Infrastructure.

The pilot project seeks to provide local authorities, electric vehicle charge-point developers and other medium voltage demand customers with an online screening tool to self-assess their demand connection requirements against available network capacity, estimated connection timeline and cost information. This enables them to refine their connection requirements in advance of any formal connection applications.

Ciaran Geaney, Innovation Manager, ESB Networks said: “ESB Networks is implementing self-serve, data driven solutions to enhance our capacity screening service and make it more convenient for our customers to interact with us.

“We welcome working on this innovation pilot with Advanced Infrastructure to provide insights and learnings to enable us to enhance the connections journey and tailor what we need in terms of an enduring self-serve solution for our customers.”

Advanced Infrastructure will build on the success of its existing Net Zero planning tool, Local Area Energy Planner Plus (LAEP+), which already serves 50 per cent of UK DNOs.

LAEP+ currently includes a self-service connection feature that allows local authorities to design and submit grid connection requests autonomously.

The platform’s ability to model grid constraints and predict future energy system changes makes it an ideal foundation for ESB Networks’ pilot project.

Lily Cairns Haylor, co-founder and Head of Product at Advanced Infrastructure said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to demonstrate the transformative power that a digital tool can bring to the pre-screening process for customers’ connections requirements. The need for an efficient, digital approach is urgent and this project with ESB Networks addresses this challenge head-on.

“We have already seen the success that LAEP+ has achieved in speeding up Energy Transition planning across UK DNOs and we’re excited to work with ESB Networks to develop and pilot a solution that works for its customers.”