UK Power Networks (UKPN) has created an API bridge to help low carbon electricity customers get connected faster.

The company is supporting the Energy Networks Association’s (ENAs) Connect Direct platform which serves as a one-stop-shop for low carbon technology (LCT) installers all over the country, centralising the application process. The ENA’s portal taps directly into UK Power Networks’ own Smart Connect system, launched in 2022, via an API, a digital interface that enables the two platforms to talk to each other.

This new launch now means that installers who operate nationwide will no longer have to contact individual distribution network operators for installations in different parts of the country but can use a single portal for all their domestic applications. Each application through Connect Direct automatically feeds into the correct operator’s application system, making it easier to gain approval. The recent launch of Connect Direct has increased the number of instant approvals to 90 per cent.

As well as auto-approving the majority of domestic connections applications in a matter of minutes, the platform also allows customers to get approval for up to 5kW of solar and battery storage, significantly higher than the industry standard 3.68kW. Over the past year, this has enabled an additional 12,000 applications to get approved, generating over 16MW of green energy.

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