National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has partnered with Piclo to simplify access for flexibility service providers (FSPs) into local distribution flexibility markets.
Under the terms of the partnership, Piclo, a software solutions developer, will build interfaces to National Grid’s Market Gateway platform, to enable FSPs operating on the Piclo Flex platform to access and participate in NGEDs distribution flexibility market territories.
FSPs provide essential flexibility services to the grid, by connecting assets – such as electric vehicles (EVs), battery storage, heat pumps and other demand response assets – and controlling their supply and demand response to create capacity on the network, securing additional income in the process.
Via the agreement, more than 150 flex sellers with more than 60,000 assets registered on Piclo will have direct access to NGEDs low voltage flexibility opportunities from January 2024 seeking to trade over 90MW of local flexibility, the organisations said in a statement.
Piclo confirmed that it intends to expand this offering to further UK electricity markets throughout 2024 as well as global markets in the future.
Piclo CEO and co-founder, James Johnston, said: “This collaboration is all about unlocking the potential of market interoperability. For the first time, FSPs have a choice regarding how they experience and interact with UK flex markets. It’s a significant milestone for market accessibility and a critical step towards enabling revenue stacking.”
In July 2023, distribution network operator (DNO) Northern Powergrid signed a two-year agreement with Piclo to procure flexibility services on Piclo’s marketplace, much like National Grid.
Matt Watson, head of commercial and operability at National Grid, said: “This is our first step towards opening up our Market Gateway platform for wider market entry and the interfaces we’re developing with Piclo will provide FSPs with greater choice on how they enter the distribution flexibility market.”
