5. Data Playback

Once your LAEP is complete you will want to play the information back to your local authority, including the data itself and any impacts it has had on network development.

Uploading data

Both our digital tools, ChargePoint Navigator and LAEP+ are able to host LAEP output data for local authority and other users to utilise.

Read more about our digital tools and uploading data in previous sections.

Our Network Planning process

Once a LAEP has been shared with us, and together we have collaborated through our LAEP support framework process, we look to include it in our forecasts, which we call the Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) and into our network development plans. This is done through the processing of the local forecast data you have shared through several outputs we produce.

Your local forecasts

Your outputs from a LAEP or similar will include the forecast uptake of LCTs such as rooftop PV and electric vehicles. This gives us an opportunity to examine, through our LAEP support framework, whether these forecasts represent additional electrical demand on our network compared to our current planning assumptions.

Our Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES)

Each year we produce our Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) which combines your local forecasts that have gone through the LAEP support framework with our view of LCT uptake across our network.

This gives us a comprehensive view of the number of EVs, heat pumps, rooftop PV and other technologies expected to materialise on our network out to 2050. The outputs are publicly available and are resolved down to lower layer super output area (LSOA) for each year between now and 2050. You can view the outputs and supporting documentation here.

Our Network Scenario Headroom Report (NSHR)

Once the DFES is complete, we run it through our internal Strategic Forecasting System (SFS) to convert the number of LCTs into expected electrical demand.

This electrical demand output is then combined with our connections pipeline to give us a view, per primary substation, of the expected electrical demand and allows us to see into the future and determine when a specific substation might be overloaded. The NSHR outputs are publicly available, and the methodology report is also available.

Our Distribution Network Options Assessment (DNOA)

Each year we produce our Distribution Network Options Assessment (DNOA). This is a decision-making process which takes our electrical demand forecasts and determines what action to take for each substation that is threatened to be overloaded. We also take into account the Regional Energy Strategic Planning (RESP) outputs.

At a high level the DNOA decision making process considers several factors, including

• “Touch the network once” approach, which considers larger reinforcements during initial works to avoid future revisits, reduce disruption, and lower overall costs.
• Flexibility vs Reinforcement, we use a cost benefit analysis to compare traditional reinforcement with flexibility services. At a high level, the methodology is outlined below:

You can read more about our DNOA in our Methodology report and view the 2025 outputs in report and excel format.

Our Network Development Plan (NDP)

Every two years we publish our Network Development Plan which provides a transparent strategic view of how we plan to meet future electricity demand, as informed by our DNOA process. Read our NDP methodology and more on our landing page.

How you can find out if your LAEP has influenced our plans

Over 2024, through our LAEP support framework we ingested local forecast data covering 32 local authorities into our DFES, which feeds into our network development plan. As a result, we have accelerated 70 substations investments.

In 2025, we have run this process once again, ingesting data covering an additional 36 local authority areas. We are currently in the early stages of producing our DFES and expect to be able to determine the number of accelerated investments in 2026.