[EASST-Eurograd] Seminar: Twins of Justice? The Role of Data Justice and Energy Justice in Advancing U.K. Aspirations for an Energy Digital Twin

[Ola Michalec via Eurograd]

Seminar: Twins of Justice? The Role of Data Justice and Energy Justice in Advancing U.K. Aspirations for an Energy Digital Twin (31.03)

 Please register here: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bdfi-seminar-twins-of-justice-with-zia-saylor-tickets-1985137158680?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

When: Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 3pm British Summer Time
 // 4pm CEST

Where: Bristol Digital Futures Institute / hybrid

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Abstract: Digital twins have received significant hype in the energy industry for their potential to create real-time models of energy systems that can be used to balance supply and demand within the energy grid. Even as the actualisation of these models remains elusive, the Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI) pilot in the U.K. has taken a first step of trying to integrate consumer smart meter data with industrial datasets responsible for day-to-day operations. This step forward comes as consumers have struggled with high energy bills and raised concerns about the privacy implications of smart meters. Grounded in these lived experiences, data justice and energy justice have both offered insight into energy digitalisation efforts. Using the frameworks of data justice and energy justice, this paper analyses stakeholder interview transcripts and secondary documents from the DSI’s implementation body. In considering both data justice and energy justice in dialogue with one another, this paper finds that principles of each are often pitted against the other, even as both can align under a common framework for broader social justice. Two potential reasons for this clash are explored with their implications: in the case of an intentional dichotomy, this indicates an attempted perseverance of structural injustices. Alternatively, unintentional discord reflects a need to embed principles of justice into design and advancement of future twin technologies. Both instances engage with debates of social justice and the relevance of discipline-specific terms in an era of increasing interdisciplinary technological advancement.