UK Power Networks day-ahead flexibility market allows consumers with electric vehicles, heat pumps and batteries to participate in distribution, transmission and wholesale markets, according to the distribution system operator (DSO) for London, east and southeast England.
More than 4.4 GWh of flexibility has been delivered to Great Britain’s electricity grid through UK Power Networks’ day-ahead market since it launched in April 2024. The distribution system operator (DSO) for London, east, and southeast England said more than 150 “flexibility competitions” have been held for the market in 12 months.
First trialed in late 2023, UK Power Networks’ day-ahead market works by running mini-tenders to provide grid flexibility services for the following day. The market is split into 40 zones with bids accepted for each zone as needed, depending on system requirements. Market participants must be located in the relevant zone to bid into the flexibility auction.
The day-ahead flexibility market is made possible in part due to forecasting models used by UK Power Networks to predict network usage with high accuracy. UK Power Networks predicts system needs through an internal model produced by its DSO Data Team. A company spokesperson told pv magazine the model uses “established machine learning techniques” to make predictions based on historic usage of the network, and incorporates local weather forecasts from Meteomatics. Forecasts are updated every 30 minutes.
For consumers, the flexibility market lets households with electric vehicles, heat pumps and battery energy storage systems participate in distribution, transmission and wholesale markets, according to UK Power Networks. This doesn’t happen directly. Instead, companies such as utilities, energy management system providers and aggregators will bid into the market to provide a certain amount of flexibility. These companies then work with their customers to alter energy consumption as needed, which could mean automated controls on devices or through behavioral methods such as an email or text message. A UK Power Networks spokesperson told pv magazine more than 90,000 assets are actively participating in flex dispatch, including grid-scale battery energy storage (BESS) assets.
The day-ahead flexibility market operates alongside UK Power Networks’ twice-yearly flex tenders. The company confirmed that an algorithm is run each day to choose the most cost-efficient mix of long-term and day-ahead contracts. A company spokesperson said UK Power Networks has consulted with market participants and found a mix of preferences with some wanting short-term tenders and others preferring longer term options, adding that: “For network operators too, there is value in having confidence months or years ahead that flexibility is available, as well as shorter-term competition.”
Increased provision of flexibility is key to further solar and wind deployment in the United Kingdom, and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) for Great Britain has projected a four-to-fivefold increase in demand flexibility by 2030.
In a press release, UK Power Networks’ DSO Head of Flexibility Markets Alex Howard said the goal was to “open the flexibility marketplace up to as many potential providers as possible.”
“By offering providers more opportunities to engage and aligning service with NESO schedules, we’re helping to build a smarter, more adaptable energy network that supports our net zero future,” Howard said.
UK Power Networks’ day-ahead flexibility market is hosted on the Localflex platform operated by European power exchange EPEX SPOT.
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