A standardised contract for the procurement of flexibility has been launched, created in collaboration with the DNOs and National Grid ESO.
The contract is being offered by all of Great Britain’s DNOs, and is designed to provide a consistent agreement across the country for those wishing to provide flexibility services to the networks.
It was launched alongside a plan for delivery, having been drafted with input from all of GB’s DNOs and National Grid ESO. International law firm CMS also helped to develop the legal text.
It forms part of the Energy Networks Association’s (ENA) Open Networks Project, and is an important step forward as it aligns network companies and standardises key processes and procedures, the ENA said.
The common agreement is to be available for all providers of flexibility services in the pre-tender stage through the ENA and directly through the network operators.
The contract will boost market confidence, the ENA said, as well as participation in local flexibility markets by building a level playing field with liabilities and indemnities capped at contract value.
A second version has also been planned for by the ENA, which would align with the ESO following a consultation later this year. There is also to be a review in 2023 to see if the agreement should be codified.
David Smith, chief executive of the ENA, said: “We’re already moving towards a more dynamic energy system where simplicity for customers and operators will encourage new, faster connections.
“A common contract for flexibility represents a real milestone in our transition, and will help and encourage vital new local low carbon resources to be providing energy to our system.”
Last year, the Open Networks Project launched a consultation looking at simplifying flexibility, building on its ‘Six Steps for Delivering Flexibility Services’ document.
The DNOs are looking to source increasingly bigger amounts of flexibility. WPD recently ran a tender or 334MW of flexibility – which it claims was the largest ever such tender – and several months prior, UKPN sought 170MW of flexibility, a figure which at the time was lauded as the largest.
The announcement of the new contract follows the release of the latest round of flexibility figures, with 1,900MW being tendered out by the networks in 2020 across all four standard flexibility products.