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Planning consideration

Distribution network operator (dno) licence area

There are 14 licensed Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in Britain and each is responsible for a regional distribution services area. DNO Licence Areas are sometimes referred to as GSP Groups and historically have also been known as Public Electricity Supplier (PES) regions

Design stage
Research
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Synonyms
  • GSP Groups
  • Public Electricity Supplier (PES) regions
Legislation
No legislation added
Expected number of records
Unknown
Frequency of updates
Unknown
Useful links
Technical specification
No specification added

Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

  • Who asked for 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area' data?

    NSIT

  • What is the driver for the request?

    Specific user requirement

  • Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

    • Other

Screen

  • What is the 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area' consideration?

    There are 14 licensed Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in Britain and each is responsible for a regional distribution services area. DNO Licence Areas are sometimes referred to as GSP Groups and historically have also been known as Public Electricity Supplier (PES) regions, though the latter name is no longer widely used. - National Energy System Operator (NESO)

  • Is there legislation that defines 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area'?

    Yes

    • What is the legislation that defines 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area'?

      In the Electricity Act 1989, section 6, paragraph 5, the legislation states that "A distribution licence may authorise the holder to distribute electricity in any area, or only in an area specified in the licence."

      There are further permutations to the legislation but this is the most applicable to the question.

    • What is the specific part of the legislation that describes how a 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area' gets designated?

      In section 6 of the Electricity Act 1989, it is explained that "The Authority may grant any of the following licences - " with various options. "The Authority" in this example is OFGEM.

      Section 6A is titled "Procedure for licence applications", and more information can be found there.

      In short, an application should be made with a number of documents (undisclosed) and, should there be one, a fee, and the Authority then makes a decision on acceptance or refusal of the application, where further action can then be taken.

    • What is the specific part of the legislation that requires the publication of 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area'?

      In section 6A, paragraph (3), the legislation states that "Within the prescribed period after the making of the application the applicant shall publish a notice of the application in the prescribed manner."

      So, if the current 14 licence holders had to apply, this would have been how they would provide a publication.

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Distribution network operator (dno) licence area'?

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

  • Is the Distribution network operator (dno) licence area a trigger?

    No

  • Is the Distribution network operator (dno) licence area something to consult during plan making?

    Yes

    • Provide information about when Distribution network operator (dno) licence area is used during plan making

      During plan-making, it is essential that officers engage with distribution network operators, and specifically, the six companies that hold the 14 distribution licenses: - Electricity North West - Northern Powergrid - SP Energy Networks - Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) - UK Power Networks - Western Power Distribution

      LPAs will need to ensure that any new development will be served by the elecrticity network, as well as ensuring that the increased level of demand generated as a result of growth can be supported by the DNOs. In most cases, on-site provision will be delivered by developers, but there will also be cases where additional demand generated may require financial contributions through developer funding.

  • Is there any Distribution network operator (dno) licence area data already available?

    Yes

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

    Yes - this data is produced nationally by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).

  • Will a data standard be required?

    No

Research

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a Distribution network operator (dno) licence area?

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

  • Where will or should the data be used?

    The data will be used to inform developers, planning officers, and other planning professionals, on which DNO license area is relevant, and from this , which company holds the license (Electricity North West, Northern Powergrid, SP Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), UK Power Networks, Western Power Distribution). This will allow for engagement between bodies to ensure that any additional demand can be met by the DNO.

  • Who are the statutory consultees for Distribution network operator (dno) licence area?

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Distribution network operator (dno) licence area? How do we expect them to use Distribution network operator (dno) licence area?

    developers, planning officers (both DM case officers, and policy officers)

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    During plan-making, it is essential that officers engage with distribution network operators, and specifically, the six companies that hold the 14 distribution licenses: - Electricity North West - Northern Powergrid - SP Energy Networks - Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) - UK Power Networks - Western Power Distribution

    LPAs will need to ensure that any new development will be served by the elecrticity network, as well as ensuring that the increased level of demand generated as a result of growth can be supported by the DNOs. In most cases, on-site provision will be delivered by developers, but there will also be cases where additional demand generated may require financial contributions through developer funding.

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Distribution network operator (dno) licence area data?

    developers, planning officers

  • What are some potential uses of Distribution network operator (dno) licence area data?

    During plan-making, it is essential that officers engage with distribution network operators, and specifically, the six companies that hold the 14 distribution licenses: - Electricity North West - Northern Powergrid - SP Energy Networks - Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) - UK Power Networks - Western Power Distribution

    LPAs will need to ensure that any new development will be served by the elecrticity network, as well as ensuring that the increased level of demand generated as a result of growth can be supported by the DNOs. In most cases, on-site provision will be delivered by developers, but there will also be cases where additional demand generated may require financial contributions through developer funding.

  • What's the value of adding Distribution network operator (dno) licence area data to the platform?

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Distribution network operator (dno) licence area data available?

    The licence that this data is available under is their public data sharing licence - which (from the description) is the same as CC BY-NC-ND (ie the no derivatives Creative Commons licence).

    This means that whilst the data is available it is not open data - so can not currently be put onto the planning data platform. This consideration is marked as BLOCKED accordingly.

2 updates

  • drewhardy77 (30 May 2025)

    Data is available under a fully open licence from Northern Powergrid. https://northernpowergrid.opendatasoft.com/explore/dataset/all_dno_boundaries/information/?disjunctive.longname

  • Kieran Wint (16 April 2025)

    The licence that this data is available under is their public data sharing licence - which (from the description) the same as CC BY-NC-ND (ie the no derivatives Creative Commons licence).

    This means that whilst the data is available it is not open data - so can not currently be put onto the planning data platform. - Github discussion

Last updated: 2025-01-24 09:55:25