Methane emissions are an issue that operators of gas distribution networks in the UK work hard to mitigate. However, the modelling methodologies used for leak detection and monitoring are based on emissions coefficients derived more than 20 years ago.
These older methodologies impede networks’ ability to locate leaks to the level of accuracy needed to drive emissions reduction through targeted asset management programmes. The lack of accurate, real-time leakage information, in turn, has limited gas distribution networks’ ability to make data-driven decisions and more effectively reduce their business carbon footprint.
Innovation has become pivotal for better emissions tracking and for providing a new approach to leakage detection. Cadent, the UK’s largest gas network, set out to address these issues through a combination of modelling techniques, machine learning, and innovative technology, tapping into a special fund created by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the country’s energy regulator.
The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), as Ofgem’s initiative is called, requires participants to advance through three development phases:
Cadent needed additional technical and organisational expertise to usher its new project, the Digital Platform for Leakage Analytics (DPLA), past the first two stages and—most critically—through Beta. The platform would require advanced modelling capabilities, agile software development experiences, and data management expertise, as well as new workstreams and assessment frameworks. To meet those challenges, Cadent engaged Guidehouse right from the ideation stage as the DPLA’s technology delivery partner.
Approach
After helping Cadent graduate through the Discovery and Alpha phases, we teamed with the company to develop and manage a series of distinct workstreams, ranging in focus from project management and stakeholder engagement to platform and analytics design. Those workstreams consist of a set of actions and initiatives aimed at advancing the DPLA through the Beta development phase, including:
The overarching goal of these efforts has been to develop a transformational blueprint for how data, analytics, and models can be used to locate leaks before they become an issue, paving the way for best-in-class approaches to regulatory and operational emissions reduction across the UK’s gas distribution networks.
Impact
By engaging Guidehouse, Cadent has been able to maintain a rigorous continuity of expertise through all three development phases. The agile software development and data management experience we brought to the project complemented Cadent’s asset and regulatory knowledge, which will help develop a minimum viable product that puts Cadent in a strong position to transition from innovation to implementation.
Doing so will have potentially huge benefits for the UK’s gas networks:
Guidehouse is a global AI-led professional services firm delivering advisory, technology, and managed services to the commercial and government sectors. With an integrated business technology approach, Guidehouse drives efficiency and resilience in the healthcare, financial services, energy, infrastructure, and national security markets.