Ofgem has approved changes to the Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC) which will end ‘double charging’ for battery storage in which it pays system charges both when it imports and exports power. But the change will not be implemented until April 2021.
The change (Cusc modification 281) applies to Balancing Service Use of System (BSUoS) charges. In its decision Ofgem said the change would create a more level playing field between different types of generation by introducing more equitable treatment of electricity storage compared with other generators.
Some industry members were concerned that the proposal could result in discrimination between electricity storage facilities that would no longer be liable for BSUoS charges on imports and other generators. But Ofgem said other generators generally import electricity for ancillary purposes only, so imports are much smaller than exports.
Ofgem agreed that the change would create differential treatment between electricity storage and other generation, and between different types of electricity storage. But it said, “We consider the differential treatment, which the proposed modification introduces has a less significant impact than the large distortion and differential treatment which currently exists. In this respect, the proposed modification is an improvement of the baseline and will better facilitate competition.”
Ofgem reiterated that it wants to see electricity storage “become a genuinely viable proposition in the energy system”.
Read Ofgem’s decision here
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