Northern Ireland Electricity integrates for open market

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has completed the second phase of a £15m systems integration project to accommodate changes caused by opening up the local energy market to competition.

The further electricity market opening (FEMO) will allow domestic users to select their energy provider based on their specific needs once suppliers have registered.

Belfast-based IT services company Parity Solutions worked with Oracle, PRI and Northgate Information systems to allow customers to register with alternative suppliers and ensure accurate billing and settlement processes.

The integration project is also aimed at enabling NIE to meet the requirements of the single electricity market (SEM), which is a forerunner to the EU-wide common energy market.

Parity and its partners plan to apply experience gained from the project to smart metering, which the government is touting as a way of achieving household carbon savings.