SSEN data available on new UK digital infrastructure map

Data relating to Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks’ (SSEN’s) underground electricity infrastructure, uploaded onto the UK’s digital infrastructure map earlier this month, is now available to use.

The National Underground Asset Registrar (NUAR) was released earlier in April by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), providing a digital map aiming to enhance the installation and operation of underground pipes and cables in the UK.

This first phase of the digital map contains data from UK utilities in the public and private sectors who own pipes and cables in North East England, Wales and London.

This includes Northumbrian Water, Wales and West Utilities and National Grid, as well as smaller providers of these services, telecommunications companies, transport organisations and local authorities.

With SSEN’s announcement, their infrastructure data uploaded to the system is now available for use within the first phase.

SSEN’s director of asset management for distribution Christopher bratt commented on the announcement: “Through this new single platform those working in the vicinity of our assets will have easier access to up-to-date records to ensure they dig safely.

“It also enhances our visibility of other assets near ours. NUAR complements the existing platforms which SSEN is involved with such as Line Search Before U Dig (LSBUD) and VAULT, and we encourage all underground infrastructure owners to engage with these platforms, so we can all continue to operate safely.”

NUAR will also complement the Scottish Roadworks Commissioner VAULT system, for which SSEN has been providing asset data for its electricity distribution network in the north of Scotland.

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Coordinating underground assets through a digital map

According to the UK Government, the country contains 4 million kilometres of buried pipes and cables, lending to a significant number of holes being dug to maintain and fix critical assets for energy, water and telecommunications.

There are over 650 asset owners who hold data about their assets, which they are required by law to share for the purposes of ‘safe digging’. However, there is no standardised method for this across multiple organisations.

NUAR thus aims to create a single, comprehensive data-sharing platform on the location and condition of underground assets, thereby streamlining data-sharing, reducing risk of potentially lethal utility asset strikes and promoting more efficient management and maintenance of underground assets.

The current first phase of the NUAR, known as the ‘Minimum Viable Product’ (MVP), will provide the first cohort of users in North East England, Wales and London with access to the platform.

NUAR will be enhanced until it is fully operational, including the service’s features as well as data completeness, coverage and currency and user base. SSEN’s now available data marks one of the first steps forward in this regard.

Later releases are planned for the digital map in 2024 and 2025, which will cover the rest of England and Northern Ireland.

Following a competitive procurement round, the Geospatial Commission appointed Atkins to deliver the ‘build phase’ of NUAR. Atkins is working with Ordnance Survey, 1Spatial, GeoPlace and the Greater London Authority.

This ‘build phase’ follows two pilots in North East England and London which ran between 2019 and 2021.

The North East England pilot was initiated following Northumbrian Water Group’s 2018 Innovation Festival, with Ordnance Survey leading the delivery. The London pilot was led by the Greater London Authority.