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UK’s first smart substation installed, and biggest energy supplier revealed

The UK’s first ‘smart’ electricity substation has been installed in Kent – ready to ‘talk’ to other sites and share power around to where it’s most needed at peak times. Meanwhile, Octopus Energy has become the UK’s largest household supplier.
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UK Power Networks has installed the UK’s first smart substation at the Allington energy-from-waste plant in Maidstone, Kent.  

 

The substation is part of UK Power Networks’ Constellation trial to better analyse power flows, and redirect energy to optimise infrastructure and cater for future needs.  

 

As part of the trial, UK Power plans to install five more smart substations throughout south-east England.

 

The digital substations will use AI and machine learning to allow more energy to be safely released on to the network with the aim of helping to accelerate the UK’s transition to net zero carbon emissions.

 

If the trial is successful, the company says strategically positioned smart substations could free up to 50% of additional capacity for network operators.

 

Octopus Energy becomes UK’s largest supplier

Octopus Energy has become the UK’s largest energy supplier. Launched nine years ago, it now serves 7.3 million customers in the UK, or one in four households, with one new customer joining every 30 seconds, according to data from Cornwall Insight.

 

The Domestic Energy Market Share Survey, measured by the total number of electricity and gas accounts it has on live supply, found that as of 31 October 2024, Octopus Energy held a 23.7% share of the available market, 0.6% higher than the supplier with the second-largest share of household energy accounts. This is the first time the top spot has changed since the early days of market liberalisation in the 1990s.

 

The number of suppliers in the domestic energy market has greatly reduced since the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent energy crisis in 2020, with over half of suppliers leaving the market. The survey found that six energy companies now hold over 90% of the household energy market, with only 8.9% of the market held by small and medium suppliers outside these companies. In 2019, the small and medium suppliers held over a 30% share of the domestic energy market.

 

Dan Morris, Chief Executive Officer, Cornwall Insight, commented: ‘This is quite honestly the biggest development in the domestic retail energy market since it opened. Octopus Energy started from zero market share in 2015 and has worked its way up to the top spot on this measure in less than a decade. This is a notable achievement in the highly competitive and tightly regulated UK supplier market.’

 

He continued: ‘Of course we must maintain an element of caution. Consumer choice remains a critical factor for both households and businesses when selecting their energy supplier. With the household energy market now once again dominated by six major companies – albeit a different set than the Big Six of old – some may argue that consumers aren’t benefitting from the same level of competition or deals seen in the years leading up to the crisis.’