Honeywell and demand response aggregator Pearlstone Energy have announced plans to build a 200MW demand response portfolio within five years. The aggregator will deploy Honeywell’s automation software to offer a revenue stream to commercial and industrial firms via National Grid’s Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) programme. The STOR programme pays companies to shift load at periods Read more…

National Grid has procured some 3.58 GW of back-up power for next winter at a cost of £122.4 million. The system operator ran the supplemental balancing reserve tender last month. It proposes to issue contracts to 12 power stations, paying them to be available if needed between November 2016 and February 2017. The plant that Read more…

More than nine out of ten (93%) company directors plan to implement energy efficiency or demand response measures in 2016. Surveyed by The Energyst ahead of the 2016 Directors’ Report, almost eight out of ten (79%) said that energy had become more of a strategic focus for their organisation over the past 12 months. Around two Read more…

The clocks going back signalled the start of the Triad season. In this sponsored post, SmartestEnergy key account manager Mark Cox explains why both buyers and generators should take notice Recent media coverage of the National Grid’s winter forecast for gas and electricity demand and supply – as well as the recent NISM – has Read more…

The new infrastructure body led by Lord Adonis has made balancing the UK’s power system a national priority. The National Infrastructure Commission will publish three reports before next year’s spending review. Energy, focusing on balancing demand and supply, is one of the three key areas, alongside connectivity in the North, and London’s transport infrastructure. The Read more…

The lesson learned from last week’s tight margin call by National Grid is that security of supply must be the government’s core focus, according to Amber Rudd. The energy secretary was today questioned about the incident by the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. The department of energy and climate change has made clear since May Read more…

National Grid has moved to play down blackout fears following a notice of insufficient margin (NISM) yesterday. The system operator issued its first NISM for almost four years, at lunch time, telling the power market it had insufficient power to meet the teatime peak. It called for an extra 500MW to come on stream at Read more…

Large industrial and commercial businesses have most to lose from spiky winter energy prices, but there is not much more they can do in terms of mitigation and demand response, according to the British Ceramic Federation. According to energy experts polled by New Power, the price spikes will be worse this winter than most. I&C Read more…

There is no need to panic about blackouts, an inquiry into Scotland’s energy security has been told. However, the committee has called for an increased focus on demand side response to help bolster system resilience. Scotland’s Economy, Energy and Tourism committee concluded that there is little to no immediate risk of blackouts despite thin supply Read more…

Ofgem boss Dermot Nolan has hinted at “radical” reform to speed the uptake of services such as demand response aggregation. Perhaps he should revisit half hourly metering and P272. Speaking at the Energy UK conference this week, Nolan reiterated complaints from start-ups and independent energy services firms that the current market set up stifled innovation Read more…

National Grid wants more businesses to help balance the UK power system via demand side response (DSR) programmes. The system operator has committed to aggressive expansion of DSR – which will require many more businesses to become flexible in their electricity consumption in return for payment. Following on from The Energyst’s recent report Demand Side Read more…