UK Power Networks’ (UKPN) distribution system operator (DSO) has announced a joint venture with power marketer EPEX SPOT to host its flexibility market.
The DSO aims to save customers £410 million by 2028 through utilising flexibility, a method by which it already made £60 million worth of savings in 2023.
EPEX SPOT is one of the biggest European short-term power exchanges and currently exceeds 8TWh traded monthly in the UK.
As the only independent DSO, UKPN has already awarded contracts for more than 1GW of flexibility, so the impact of EPEX SPOT’s trading capacity should significantly improve energy efficiency for UKPN.
Sotiris Georgiopoulos, director of DSO at UKPN said: “We’re looking forward to working together with EPEX SPOT and our market participants to deliver a world class customer experience and contribute to a more joined up British flexibility market.”
Flexibility in UK renewable energy
UKPN are not the first to jump on the flexible band wagon as more GB energy providers discover the positive ramifications of a flexible marketplace.
National Grid ESO, for example, held its first demand flexibility service (DFS) test in November 2023, during which households and businesses are asked to reduce their electricity usage in return for various rewards, including points and prizes.
Major UK energy suppliers, such as OVO, Octopus and EDF, signed up to be involved in the project for a second year in a row.
Moreover, National Grid Electricity Distribution partnered with Piclo earlier this month (January) to simplify access for flexibility service providers (FSPs) into local distribution flexibility markets.
FSPs connect assets like electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps and battery storage in order to control their supply and demand simultaneously and therefore create capacity on the network.
There are more than 60,000 assets registered on Piclo which all have access to NGEDs low voltage flexibility opportunities from this month and can trade over 90MW of local flexibility.