UK industrial and ­commercial (I&C) businesses may be able to provide up to 3GW of demand reduction and 1.9GW of demand turn-up to help meet the need for flexibility and balance electricity supply and demand, according to research by regulator Ofgem.

In order to offer that flexibility, businesses want upfront ‘availability’ payments, rather than being paid when they respond. They also want easier market access, longer term contracts, less costly metering requirements and the ability to ‘stack’ revenue by offering different services.