The ENA, an industry body representing energy network operators, has officially appointed Elexon to lead the Open Networks Challenge Group, the ENA’s strategic initiative that brings together government and industry stakeholders to enable a more flexible energy network in Britain.
Alongside Elexon, the group includes representatives from Octopus Energy, Energy UK, the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), E.ON, Imperial College London, and the Welsh Government.
Across 2024, the ENA’s wider Open Networks scheme has been working on helping flexibility service providers participate in the wider energy market, with the Open Networks Challenge Group meeting several times this year to that end.
As chair of the Open Networks Challenge Group, Elexon will help strategically guide ENA’s Open Networks programme towards a more coordinated flexibility market.
Elexon’s chief executive, Peter Stanley, said: “The Open Networks programme plays an important role in bringing together electricity grid operators to work collaboratively to speed up the connection of low carbon generation to the networks, and increase the participation of flexibility providers in local markets. As a sector, it is essential that we keep up the momentum of this work before Elexon begins operating as the Market Facilitator by early 2026 at the latest.”
Importance of grid flexibility becomes increasingly apparent
As the UK increasingly relies on renewable energy, which often comes from variable or unreliable sources of generation, the need for more flexible energy networks has been coming into sharp focus. Government figures estimate that the UK needs an estimated total of 30GW of flexibility by 2030.
Here, Britain has something of a strong position; figures released by the ENA in July revealed that Great Britain is the biggest flexibility market in the world, a position which the ENA is keen to maintain for the coming years.
In 2023, network operators tendered 6.4GW of capacity, a significant leap from 2022’s 4.6GW figure, which the ENA credits to the success of the Open Networks Programme. According to the ENA, 75% of this newly contracted flexibility comes from low-carbon technologies, including solar and energy storage.
Elexon has had a growing role in the flexibility market in recent months, with Ofgem appointing the organisation as the market facilitator for local energy in July in an effort to better align the priorities of local and national flexibility markets.
In an exclusive blog for Current±, Peter Stanley, chief executive at Elexon, highlighted the importance of flexibility, noting that new technologies and developments in the coming years will have an unpredictable impact on energy networks, which can be more easily managed by a flexible network.
On the other end of the network, the ENA has seen major success with its Connect Direct platform, having processed applications from 1,000 installers in just the first month since launch. The Connect Direct platform is an AI-powered platform that streamlines the process of gaining approval from electricity networks for the installation of low-carbon technologies, including heat pumps and solar panels.
