Strategic Innovation Fund

Wayl-Ease

Project Data

Start date:

10/21/2024

End date:

04/21/2025

Budget:

£540,324

Summary

Wayl-Ease developed a secure, data-driven platform to streamline the process of obtaining asset consents — bridging the gap between network operators and landowners. The project aims to replace outdated, manual systems with a transparent, automated, self-service platform that enables digital engagement and payment for consents.

By giving customers real-time visibility into the status of consents and enabling quicker, more efficient transactions, Wayl-Ease will reduce delays in infrastructure delivery, improve the customer experience, and accelerate the pace of network transformation. The platform’s data-led approach will also enhance planning capabilities, empowering network operators and stakeholders with clearer insights into consent-related risks and timelines.

What is the project about?

Wayl-Ease addressed a growing challenge in the race to Net Zero: securing timely wayleave agreements between network operators and landowners. As electricity networks expanded to accommodate more assets — many of which were located on third-party land — the need for efficient, transparent consent processes became more critical than ever.

Wayleave agreements allowed operators to install, access, and operate infrastructure on private land, with landowners receiving compensation in return. However, securing these consents was often time-consuming and complex, frequently delaying vital customer connections and operational upgrades.

Wayl-Ease streamlined and modernised this process through a digital, self-service platform that enabled secure engagement, automated workflows, and digital payments. By reducing delays, improving visibility, and ensuring assets were properly consented, the project helped accelerate infrastructure rollout and delivered a more resilient, future-ready network.

How we’re doing it

During the Alpha Phase of Wayl-Ease, the project team mapped existing wayleave processes and identified key pain points for both DNOs and landowners. In response, they began designing an intelligent Asset Consents Platform (ACP) to streamline and modernise the wayleave process. The ACP was intended to offer customers greater visibility and control over their agreements, including self-serve contracting, automated payments, asset recognition, and auto-generated maps. This supported more efficient whole system planning, ensured up-to-date agreements, and simplified the process of managing ownership changes.

The Alpha Phase was a collaborative effort involving UK Power Networks, Digital Catapult, Scottish Power Transmission, and Tata Consultancy Services. Together, they brought a mix of operational expertise, digital innovation, and technical development. User research and feedback from existing wayleave customers and other network operators guided the design, ensuring the platform met the needs of industry stakeholders and was scalable across the energy sector.

What makes it innovative

Wayl-Ease marked a step change in how the energy sector managed wayleave agreements, introducing the first digital platform of its kind for proactively handling asset consents across geographies. In contrast to the resource-intensive and manual processes of the time — which could take up to three months due to email-based communication and delayed responses — Wayl-Ease streamlined and accelerated these interactions through automation and advanced digital tools.

This innovative solution went beyond incremental improvements by using artificial intelligence to identify assets from customer photographs, applying predictive analytics to track landownership changes, auto-generating wayleave agreements and maps, and creating a transparent, self-service platform for landowners. By improving visibility and management of consents, the platform enhanced the customer experience, reduced administrative burden, and unlocked new insights to support whole system planning. It represented a win-win for both network operators and customers, offering faster processes, more accurate data, and greater engagement across the board.

What we’re learning

Through the Wayl-Ease project, several key challenges were uncovered that hindered the efficiency and effectiveness of wayleave agreements:

Low visibility of landownership: Landowners often had limited awareness of DNO infrastructure on their properties. Changes in landownership could jeopardize the security of assets, as a lack of clarity around wayleave agreements sometimes resulted in assets becoming vulnerable to a “Notice to Remove,” undermining network stability.

Manual consent and payment processes: The consent confirmation and wayleave agreement processes were cumbersome, relying heavily on lengthy email exchanges. This led to delays, inaccuracies in compensation payments, and increased operational costs for DNOs and TNOs. As the volume of applications rose—particularly to meet Net Zero goals—there was an urgent need for a more efficient, streamlined approach to handle customer inquiries and facilitate smoother processes.

Lack of transparency for customers: The need for network extensions, upgrades, and ongoing maintenance to support Net Zero required access to land, customer information, and local planning data. However, the lack of transparency in the existing consenting process often led to repeated site visits and delays, frustrating customers and hindering timely works.

Wayl-Ease aimed to address these issues by creating a digital platform that improved visibility, automated processes, and enhanced customer engagement—ultimately reducing delays, costs, and frustration for all parties involved.

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