Why Semarts Exists: Clarity, Compliance and Commercial Rigour for Private Energy Networks

Private electricity networks sit at the intersection of infrastructure, regulation and commercial reality. Airports, ports, industrial estates and large mixed-use sites rely on them to operate safely and efficiently

Yet many networks continue to operate under governance and recovery frameworks that were never designed for today’s scale, complexity or scrutiny.

That gap is precisely why I founded Semarts Utility Consulting Ltd.

Semarts is a specialist energy consultancy focused on helping private-network operators optimise, comply and grow,  without undermining competitiveness or regulatory credibility.

The COMMON PROBLEM PRIVATE NETWORK OPERATORS FACE

Across the country, private network operators are up against a set of increasingly interconnected pressures. These include:

• Rising wholesale and network costs: Drive greater scrutiny from third-party users and their increased interest in exploring Third Party Access (TPA).

• Legacy cost-recovery frameworks: No longer reflect the underlying asset value, network complexity or actual usage.

• Rapid emergence of on-site renewable generation: Often deployed without an understanding of the potential commercial impact Third Party Access could have on their investment, or a clear strategy for protecting its long-term commercial value.

• Under-recovery of costs: Driven by limited understanding, outdated assumptions or incomplete and inconsistent data.

• Limited internal governance: Over energy strategy, investment decisions and long-term risk management.

These issues often only surface when something breaks. This might look like a challenge from a customer, a regulatory query, or a material gap between cost and recovery that can no longer be ignored.

Semarts works with its clients before it gets to that point. The rationale is to apply structure, evidence and commercial logic to energy strategy, cost recovery and network governance.  

Why semarts is different

Our services are deliberately niche. We focus on complex private networks that demand clarity, structure and commercial discipline. Our work typically covers:

• Ofgem-compliant charging methodologies
  Designing and reviewing network charging frameworks that meet regulatory approval requirements, withstand challenge from third parties and provide transparent, defensible allocation of costs.

• TPA strategy and implementation
  Advising on how TPA should be approached, structured and governed – assessing commercial impact, protecting network and generation value, and supporting operational processes.

• Asset-led cost recovery and investment frameworks
  Establishing asset-based recovery models that align depreciation, WACC and asset valuation with long-term investment, renewal and funding requirements.

• Strategic assurance for senior decision-makers
  Translating complex technical, financial and regulatory detail into clear, evidence-based recommendations for boards and executive committees.

By working closely with you to understand your network, we ensure we don’t just give you generic advice. We pride ourselves in taking a targeted, evidence-led and grounded approach to the way that large, operationally critical sites actually function.

Designed for Complex Environments

Semarts’ experience is rooted in complex infrastructure environments – airports, ports and major estates – where compliant charging, defensible cost recovery and long-term investment decisions underpin sustainable operation.

These environments share common challenges:

• Multiple voltage levels and embedded generation

• High-value assets with long lives

• Diverse third-party users with competing interests

• Tight operational constraints

• Increasing regulatory and stakeholder scrutiny

Because of the targeted approach, our models are built to not only be technically correct, but robust, auditable and usable, too.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND DELIVERY

To ensure the resulting advice stands up to scrutiny – not just in theory, but in practice – we combine:

• Deep regulatory understanding

• Hands-on experience operating private networks

• Advanced financial and tariff modelling

• A commercial mindset shaped by real operational accountability

HOW WE COULD HELP YOUR NETWORK

If you question if your current approach to energy pricing, recovery or governance is still fit for purpose, Semarts would be happy to have an initial conversation about how we can help strengthen things. We don’t make changes for the sake of it; instead, our aim is to bring clarity, confidence and control.