UK Power Networks’ Distribution System Operator (DSO) is to offer a day-ahead flexibility product at distribution level, after a successful trial in the East of England. The new product enables flexibility providers to help manage peaks in supply and demand by committing to changes in their behaviour the day before delivery and is now being automated.
The day-ahead product will see mini-tenders run daily to provide services for the following day, alongside the current twice-yearly flex tenders. At this point flexibility providers will know more about their availability, giving them new commercial opportunities and allowing them to co-ordinate their activity in wholesale and ancillary services markets.
Day-ahead flexibility began in late 2023 with a manual trial in Lawford, Essex, where day-ahead flex was used to manage an area where future constraints were forecast. The testbed area is already home to renewable generators and flexibility providers.
UKPN says three flexibility providers responded to day-ahead forecasts of constraints produced by UK Power Networks’ DSO.
Working with flexibility market platform provider Epex SPOT, the day-ahead product is now changing from a manual process to a platform that uses an API to communicate data with market participants’ own systems.
Alex Howard, head of flexibility markets at UK Power Networks’ DSO, said “Flexibility providers have told us that they want the chance to participate closer to real-time. We’ve responded by working with them to develop a solution that works for our company, flexibility providers and the wider system. As we now transition participants to the EPEX SPOT LocalFlex platform, I’m excited about scaling this up to attract new flexibility to DSO markets.”