Trials of a demand flexibility service offering payment in return for shifting electricity use at peak times has exceeded expectations, proving there is a healthy appetite for flexibility tech and solutions.
Flexibility services reward energy users for reducing their consumption at certain times when demand on the grid is high, usually on weekdays between 4pm-7pm when there is a greater crossover between industrial, commercial and household usage.
These peak times often result in an increase in ‘backup’ fossil fuel generated electricity being added to the grid, which increases the cost of electricity as well as increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Successful trials
While the market for flexibility solutions is still young and mostly focuses on very large energy users, the National Grid Energy System Operator (ESO) launched a Demand Flexibility Service for households and small businesses in 2022 that has already proved highly successful.
More than one million households and SMEs have now signed up to participate in trials of the scheme over the winter period, which are being run in partnership with major energy suppliers such as Octopus Energy, British Gas, EON and EDF.
Data from the first two trials show that customer engagement far surpassed expectations, with participants overdelivering on expected electricity reductions by more than a third. To date, the trials have delivered over 780MWh of real and projected demand reduction and an anticipated £2.8 million in energy bill savings.
‘Major milestone’
Households and businesses can still sign up to participate, and the success is likely to pave the way for more schemes and solution providers in the future.
“Delivering the first of the Demand Flexibility Service test events is a major milestone in the evolution of consumer flexibility in the UK,” explained Craig Dyke, head of national control at National Grid ESO. “This service successfully proves that consumers up and down the country are standing by to get involved in flexibility solutions.”
Smart meter surge
The expansion of flexibility services is being made possible by the UK’s network of smart meters, which grew by over a third in 2022. More than half of British homes and small businesses now have a smart meter installed and over 12 billion messages were sent across the network in 2022 – a 91 per cent increase compared to 2021.
The vital role smart meters play in flexibility services, and energy saving behaviour in general, has been outlined in a recent report which delves into how consumers can be empowered to facilitate a greener, cheaper and more secure energy system.
Fflur Lawton, head of policy at Smart Energy GB, which commissioned the report, said: “Our exposure to volatile global gas prices…highlights the importance of being more flexible in the way that we use energy, to reduce waste in the system and flatten peaks in demand. Smart meters make this possible, by providing near-real time information that helps create a more responsive and efficient energy system.”
