Streamlining flexibility processes to make it easier to participate

We are engaging with our stakeholders to make sure that local flexibility markets are easy to access and complement national flexibility markets to support efficient and rapid decarbonisation.

Engaging with those already participating in our flexibility markets, we have learnt stakeholders want us to:

1. Simplify the way these markets work
2. Help maximise the value that each kW of flexibility can deliver, across the whole energy system.

Working with flexibility providers, we identified several pinch-points in our processes. Our quarterly Flexibility Council provided detailed feedback which helped us to accelerate our work to overcome these challenges. For example, each flexibility tender required offline connectivity checks for tens of thousands of assets. When we introduced day-ahead auctions we had new assets being registered every day. We integrated our market platform (Localflex) and network connectivity database, enabling flexible assets to be automatically approved. 87% of assets are now approved automatically by the next day, enabling faster participation in our markets.

 

Distributed flexibility has huge value beyond the distribution system. Our engagement has focused on enhancing coordination of wholesale, NESO and DSO markets to unlock wider benefits including for flexibility providers and ultimately bill payers . This included the evolution of our day-ahead market. In our summer 2024 consultation, 18 out of 21 respondents confirmed that dispatch by 1pm or 1:30pm would better align with their operational and commercial needs. 95% of our daily auctions now clear by 1:30pm. We also led the three Open Networks working groups focused on coordination.

For more information on how we have tackled scaling challenges through automation and driven cross-industry coordination, visit our DSO Performance Panel Report 2024/25.