National Grid

Use case

Business Continuity, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management

Industry

Energy & Utilities, Infrastructure

Team size

30,000+ employees

Services

Escrow as a Service (EaaS),
EaaS Access Agreement,
Verification Services

Challenge

National Grid is one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies, delivering electricity and gas safely, reliably and efficiently to millions of people across the UK and the northeastern United States. At the forefront of many of the big energy challenges, some of National Grid’s crucial work includes building sub-sea electricity interconnectors to join the UK to renewable energy on the continent.

National Grid currently has three interconnectors in operation and three under construction enabling the transfer of energy to flow between networks across different regions. As part of National Grid’s business development strategy, its interconnections are fundamental in meeting the UK’s future energy needs.

In its efforts to increase the operational efficiency of its interconnector, National Grid launched a bespoke Cloudhosted software application. Specifically designed for clients in the Energy and Utilities industry, the Regional Nomination Platform (RNP) enables Energy Providers to manage transmission capacities, bottlenecks and national and international energy flows, as well as balance transmission systems.

In addition to increasing the stability and efficiency of National Grid’s interconnector and its commercial operation, the RNP manages cross-border transmission capacities and process nominations, providing transparency and security between European markets to ensure National Grid adhere to European Legislation.

Without the ability to use the application, National Grid would potentially lose access to critical data, which could result in non-compliance, leading to significant fines for the business and ultimately a loss in reputation and customers.

“Working with Escode was easy, the team understood the importance of The Regional Nomination Platform to both the organisation and our strategic partners.”

– Andy Earnshaw, Senior Commercial Analyst at National Grid

Solution

Cloud failure is a risk which organisations, including National Grid, need to manage and mitigate. For this reason, to ensure application availability and prevent data loss National Grid turned to risk mitigation experts Escode, part of NCC Group.

The three party legal agreement ensures that National Grid’s third party software supplier provides Escode with the access credentials, such as administrative usernames or/ and passwords, each time they are changed or updated, four times a year as standard. National Grid is assured that they will always have the most recent administrative usernames and passwords at hand to access the live environment of its cloud software application.

Should its software supplier no longer be available to support National Grid, Escode will release all associated materials and documentation credentials. As a result, National Grid is assured that they will always have the most recent administrative usernames and passwords at hand to access the live environment of its cloud software application and continue to operate the application service.

This not only enables National Grid to regain access to its business critical application, but ensures they minimise any downtime or disruption by having a clear and prepared cloud continuity strategy verified by a specialist third party.

“The Escrow as a Service solution provided by Escode fitted our needs, the unique application and our business continuity plan.”

– Andy Earnshaw, Senior Commercial Analyst at National Grid

Results

Although an EaaS Access Agreement ensures National Grid will always have the necessary passwords and credentials to access their providers unique cloud environment, it is equally important to understand the application and how it runs in the cloud environment if a release event was to occur.

Therefore, Escode’s in-house technical team advised that National Grid verify the source code and system environment through an EaaS Architecture Verification exercise. Essentially a blueprint of the materials hosted in the cloud environment, an EaaS Architecture Verification provides National Grid with information and knowledge on how to maintain their system if National Grid are required to take legal ownership of the cloud environment.

With the source code held under an EaaS Access agreement and verification testing being carried out on its Regional Nomination Platform, National Grid have the assurances that should the worst happen, the business can continue to provide a reliable and accessible electricity supply whilst making sustainable production available.

As a result of the verification exercise, National Grid now has copies of all reports of the testing carried out of the application, safe in the knowledge that should the need arise it can move the ongoing maintenance and servicing in-house by using the technical documentation secured in escrow.

Andy Earnshaw, Senior Commercial Analyst at National Grid commented, “Working with Escode, part of NCC Group was easy, the team understood the importance of The Regional Nomination Platform to both the organisation and our strategic partners. The Escrow as a Service solution provided by NCC Group’s Escode fitted our needs, the unique application and our business continuity plan”.