The UK’s transition to clean energy is accelerating with electric vehicles, heat pumps, rooftop solar, home batteries and smart appliances now part of everyday life.
This is a positive step for decarbonisation – but it also means the grid is being asked to support millions of devices switching on, exporting and interacting in ways it was never originally designed for.
At the same time, the surge in AI infrastructure is adding a new and fast-growing layer of demand. AI workloads consume significantly more electricity than traditional computing – well beyond the power required for everyday digital tasks such as document creation or web browsing. Even when data centres procure or generate their own supply, the wider network still experiences the cumulative impact, further tightening constraints across already stressed grid segments.
According to the National Energy System Operator (NESO), the UK currently has around 1.6GW of consumer-led flexibility – roughly the peak demand of one million homes. By 2030, this must rise to 10.3GW: a sixfold increase and enough flexible capacity to power every home in Greater London during peak hours.
This expansion is not optional. Without it, grid congestion will worsen, electrification will stall and system costs will rise.
Ofgem has already approved £698.8 million in new connections and £1.98 billion in reinforcement between 2023 and 2028. These investments vary across regions, reflecting differences in housing growth, electrification rates and renewable deployment.
Flexibility is already contributing. UK Power Networks estimates that smart flexibility services can permanently avoid around 5% of reinforcement costs, saving roughly £100 million.
But traditional reinforcement cannot keep up alone – especially given the global shortage of power transformers, which is extending delivery timelines and amplifying the need for grid strategies that reduce dependence on heavy equipment.
This is where a new approach – digital reinforcement – becomes essential.
What is digital reinforcement?
Traditional reinforcement means installing new cables, replacing transformers or upgrading substations. These measures remain essential – but they are expensive, slow and disruptive.
Digital reinforcement strengthens the grid through intelligence rather than hardware. It brings together three core capabilities:
- Real-time monitoring of substation and feeder loading;
- Instant control of distributed energy resources (DERs);
- Automated actions that prevent overloads without affecting consumers.
Imagine a neighbourhood where EV chargers are common. If most residents plug in at 6 p.m., the local transformer may face more demand than it can support. Instead of upgrading the substation, digital reinforcement slows EV charging slightly, shifts a heat pump cycle or trims solar export for a few minutes. Individually these actions are small; collectively they prevent overloads at a fraction of the cost.
How digital reinforcement works: The GridFlex example
Corinex GridFlex exemplifies this emerging approach. Its defining strength is its ability to deliver real-time intelligence and coordinated control directly at the grid edge, using the existing LV network as the communication pathway.
GridFlex brings monitoring, communication and control into a unified architecture:
- High resolution monitoring via continuous SNMP-based visibility across substations and feeders.
- Real-time telemetry using MQTT event streams that keep operators informed of device-level behaviour.
- Fast, synchronised coordination via multicast messaging that issues simultaneous control instructions across large groups of devices.
- Interoperable device integration with EV chargers, heat pumps and solar inverters through widely used industry protocols.
- Automated control logic that adjusts device behaviour immediately when constraints emerge.
Underpinning this is a communication layer – including broadband over powerline – that enables GridFlex to operate from within the LV network itself. This proximity to the grid edge allows for rapid, precise responses that match the speed at which local constraints develop.
The result is a digital control environment that allows operators to detect stress points as they form and coordinate corrective action across thousands of devices. Instead of reinforcement through physical upgrades, GridFlex enables reinforcement through intelligence – extending the life and usefulness of existing infrastructure.
Who benefits from digital reinforcement?
Cornwall Insight’s analysis highlights four groups positioned to benefit as this model scales:
- Energy suppliers: British Gas, ScottishPower, EDF and E.ON reach millions of homes. With British Gas alone serving 7.5 million, suppliers can unlock substantial household flexibility through EV and heat-pump propositions – made far more effective when aligned with real-time local network conditions.
- Aggregators: Companies such as Flexitricity, GridBeyond, ev.energy, and Enel X manage extensive portfolios of flexible assets. Many focus on optimisation rather than device level integration, making coordinated grid edge control a strong complement to their existing services.
- Asset providers: SMS, Calisen and Macquarie manage smart meter estates that exceed 15 million devices. As they move further into flexibility services, digital reinforcement helps them activate and coordinate assets more efficiently and safely.
- Developers: Developers like Bellway, Vistry and Sero increasingly design DER-ready homes and commercial properties. Digital reinforcement enables these developments to participate in local flexibility markets from day one.
Across all four groups, the need is universal: a real-time digital layer that links millions of devices to the actual conditions of the low-voltage network.
A smarter, more affordable path to net zero
Digital reinforcement is not a replacement for traditional grid investment – it makes that investment smarter, more targeted and more affordable. As the UK moves toward the future system operator and more granular local flexibility markets, DSOs will need new tools capable of managing millions of distributed devices in real time.
By adding intelligence at the grid edge, digital reinforcement allows the UK to unlock more capacity from the infrastructure it already has – supporting electrification while keeping both reinforcement costs and consumer impacts in check.
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