Strategic Innovation Fund

Wayl-Ease

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What the project is about How we’re doing it What makes it innovative What we’re learning Reports & Documents

Project Data

Start date:

02/05/2026

End date:

30/03/2029

Budget:

£3,942,002

Summary

Approximately 80% of the UK’s electricity distribution assets are situated on private land and require wayleave agreements.

Wayl-Ease is a digital platform that simplifies the management of wayleaves and asset consents. Faster consent processing can support quicker network maintenance and help bring new electricity infrastructure online sooner.

Among the landowners we surveyed, 94% said Wayl-Ease would make the process easier.

What is the project about?

As the UK continues to electrify, significant investment in network maintenance and expansion will be essential to achieving Net Zero. By 2050, Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are expected to install between 210,000km and 460,000km of additional distribution network cabling. However, identifying and engaging with landowners can delay critical works, adding years to infrastructure projects. A more efficient approach is needed to ensure landowners are informed, engaged and aligned with planned maintenance, network reinforcement and investment activities.

Wayl-Ease addresses this challenge through:

  • A user-friendly digital platform that enables landowners to self-serve.
  • AI-powered asset recognition, allowing users to upload photos for instant asset identification and accurate entitlement payments.
  • Integrated mapping tools that enable landowners to quickly and accurately confirm asset locations with DNOs.

By creating a data-driven, self-service approach to wayleave and asset consent management, Wayl-Ease can improve customer experience, accelerate project planning and delivery, and support the timely expansion of electricity infrastructure in line with local and national priorities.

How we’re doing it

There are five key work packages within this Beta phase project, with overall project management led by UK Power Networks.

Digital Catapult will lead stakeholder engagement, supported by Community Energy Plus (CEP). This work will ensure meaningful input from a broad range of users throughout the solution’s design and iterative development. Customer feedback will be captured and incorporated at every stage of the project to maximise benefits, improve user experience, and establish a strong foundation for implementation beyond the project period.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will lead the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that meets the agreed business requirements. The MVP will provide a functional solution that enables user engagement and feedback collection, while establishing the foundation for future development.

Following delivery of the MVP, TCS will undertake two planned development iterations. Each iteration will introduce new features and enhancements informed by stakeholder feedback, continuously improving the solution’s usability, functionality and overall effectiveness.

Alongside solution development, Digital Catapult will refine the business case and commercialisation plan throughout the project to ensure the solution is viable for business-as-usual adoption. The project team will also engage with other Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) to assess the solution’s potential for wider deployment and scalability across the sector.

What makes it innovative

The solution introduces a direct-to-landowner (B2C) model, replacing paper-, phone- and email-based processes with a smart, user-centred digital portal. Co-designed with landowners, it automates the end-to-end journey from consent through to payment, providing greater transparency, efficiency and control.

Key innovations include:

  • AI-powered asset recognition, enabling landowners to upload photos for automated asset identification, location verification and entitlement matching. This will help reduce queries relating to non-DNO assets and improve process efficiency.
  • A customer-facing geospatial platform with map-drafting functionality, allowing landowners to accurately identify and confirm asset locations to support agreement generation.
  • A digitised contracting system designed around user needs, simplifying the way consents and agreements are managed.

These features were informed by extensive engagement during the Alpha phase and validated through post-Alpha survey responses, with landowners identifying asset recognition and mapping functionality as particularly valuable. The Beta project will build on these insights, demonstrating how digital tools can transform a complex and legally sensitive process, while creating a model with the potential for wider adoption across the electricity distribution sector.

The Beta phase will deliver the solution through an iterative development approach. An initial Minimum Viable Product (MVP) will be developed, followed by two further development iterations that incorporate stakeholder feedback to refine functionality, improve usability and deliver the final platform.

What we’re learning

The Beta phase will provide a clearer understanding of how the solution performs in a real-world environment and whether it delivers the anticipated benefits. By testing the platform with real users, we will gather valuable feedback on its usability, effectiveness and overall user experience, helping to identify what works well and where improvements may be required.

Stakeholder engagement activities will enable us to assess how readily users adopt the solution, which features deliver the greatest value, and what additional support or guidance may be needed to maximise uptake. Testing in a live environment will also allow us to evaluate the reliability, performance and scalability of the technology, identifying issues and opportunities for improvement through an iterative development approach.

The project will generate valuable insights into implementation, user engagement and ongoing support requirements. It will help us better understand the resources, processes and organisational changes needed to scale the solution successfully, while informing future enhancements to maximise customer benefits and network-wide impact.

Reports & Documents

Wayl-Ease Show and Tell - Discovery
Wayl-Ease End of Phase - Discovery
Wayl-Ease Closedown Report - Discovery

Wayl-Ease Show and Tell - Alpha
Wayl-Ease Mid-Point Review - Alpha

Wayl-Ease Kick Off Meeting - Beta
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