Britain will not reach clean power by planning alone. It will be won in control rooms and on test benches, where ideas are proven against real hardware, data and cyber risk.
At PNDC we lead Advanced Power Networks, taking models into practice through rigorous demonstration so that NESO planning, ED3 and T3 ambitions become dependable operations. This article sets out how evidence led testing across control, protection, communications and cyber can de risk decisions, accelerate delivery and cut cost, drawing on the connected PNDC and ANZIC environments and on the practical messages I shared with the Worshipful Company of Engineers.
The UK energy system is now in a decisive delivery phase. With NESO leading whole system planning, with flexibility scaling and with security under pressure, evidence led collaboration is essential to turn ambition into operational reality and to ensure a resilient and affordable transition to net zero.
PNDC is at the forefront of Advanced Power Networks. We specialise in taking promising ideas out of models and into practice through demonstration and rigorous testing on real equipment. That is how we turn national plans into dependable operations.
Engineering energy security for a digital, distributed UK, and why PNDC is acting now
NESO now owns whole system planning responsibilities across electricity and gas, which creates a clearer set of planning assumptions that the sector must deliver through practical engineering and proven operations. Here at PNDC, we convert these planning assumptions into testable engineering reality to enable validation and de-rising.
From NESO planning assumptions to delivery in practice
Through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) produced by NESO, the first plan will map the types, the locations and the timing of electricity and hydrogen generation and storage on a zonal basis, and it will link to a Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) for network build and reinforcement. Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESP) will provide the local bridge into distribution. In short, the planning signals are becoming clearer. The question that matters now is how to turn those signals into deployed and reliable assets. Practical pathways, developed at PNDC, enable business to run an evidence based test program that enable them to have assurance in their assets before deployment.
How this fits into ED3 and T3 plans
T3 sets the outputs and funding for transmission from 2026 to 2031. ED3 then governs electricity distribution from 2028 to 2033. PNDC’s test capabilities, developed over the past decade or more, are well aligned to these plans so that network organisations can show objective readiness in their submissions and delivery reports. Both regimes place greater emphasis on anticipatory investment, on long term network development plans, and on accountability for delivery. DNOs are expected to use the emerging NESO plans as core inputs to their own long term plans and then optimise their ED3 business plans accordingly. This creates a direct line from national planning assumptions to regional delivery decisions. It also creates a greater need for robust evidence to de risk choices before they become commitments.
Why the current control and cyber baseline is not fit for the future
The grid is becoming more digital, more distributed and more dependent on software, data and communications. Existing control room tooling, legacy protection settings, mixed vendor SCADA and EMS estates and uneven cyber practices are a growing source of risk. Using our award-winning capability looking at OT cybersecurity, working with large and small organisations to addresses this by coupling cyber exercising with power system stress testing on real equipment so that plans and playbooks are proven end to end.
Operators need decision ready situational awareness, digital twins that match reality, controller hardware in the loop, verified DERMS to EMS integration and proven fail safe modes for high renewable periods, exactly what we use our Real Time Digital System (RTDS) to allow us to test. At the same time, regulation is tightening. Operators of essential services face stronger assurance under the NIS Regulations and a renewed focus on exercising and technical testing. The direction is clear. Security and resilience must be designed in and proven, not assumed.
Where PNDC provides the evidence
PNDC at the University of Strathclyde exists to close the gap between plan and operation. Built around a configurable 11kV and low voltage network with real time simulation, power and controller hardware in the loop, advanced communications and time synchronised measurement, PNDC provides whole system research, test and demonstration. We de-risk mid- to late-TRL technologies and accelerate them into business as usual with evidence. Typical programmes include:
Control room digital twin validation that links EMS, ADMS and DERMS to real power hardware so operators can test procedures, alarms and decision support before roll out.
Inverter based resource performance under stressed conditions, including fast frequency events, oscillation damping and weak grid operation.
Protection interoperability and settings migration for high DER penetration, including IEC 61850 scheme tests and staged fault injection.
Telecoms and timing resilience across mixed media, with holdover and loss of timing scenarios validated against operational tolerances.
Cyber technical exercising that couples red team techniques with operational technology, so that incident playbooks, segmentation and recovery are proven on real equipment rather than assumed on paper.
ANZIC, scale and the path to deployment
This system level capability is complemented by the University of Strathclyde Advanced Net Zero Innovation Centre. ANZIC provides megawatt scale, industrial grade test and integration environments that are difficult to access elsewhere in the UK. Together, PNDC and ANZIC form a connected pathway from whole system validation and operational evidence through to large scale demonstration and deployment. Results are faster progress, lower delivery risk and a clearer route from planning assumptions to projects in service.
“Build, test and prove at scale. Then deploy at pace.”
The sector now has clearer national planning signals. The responsibility on all of us is to generate the operational evidence that turns those signals into reliable, affordable energy for households and industry.