A new innovation charter to map the pathway towards decentralised system balancing is being developed.
An Innovation Delivery Group (IDG) has been created to set out ways to balance the energy system in a more distributed way, potentially delivering billions in savings and boosting network efficiency and resilience.
The IDG, which is chaired by National Grid Electricity Distribution’s DSO managing director Cathy McClay, with Rebecca Beresford of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) as vice chair, will set out clear delivery pathways and identify gaps in the products, services and capabilities needed for decentralised system balancing. These findings will help inform decisions on which future innovation projects could best address those gaps.
The group is one of five established in response to the strategic innovation challenges identified by Ofgem and the Energy Networks Innovation Taskforce (ENIT). Each group is developing innovation pathways for its respective challenge.
Cathy McClay said, “There is a huge opportunity to make better use of the flexibility already available in our homes and businesses, helping to balance the energy system closer to where energy is generated and used.
“Working across the industry, we want to understand where local balancing can create real value, what it could unlock for the network and the wider energy system and, importantly, how we turn that into action.
“This work will give us the evidence and a clear route forward, helping us focus innovation on the opportunities that can make the biggest difference for our customers.”
The charter is being developed through a discovery project funded by a successful bid to Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The work will include:
- Stakeholder engagement to understand the current landscape and gather industry insight
- An international literature review of approaches to decentralised system balancing
- Horizon scanning to assess balancing mechanisms that could be used in the UK
- Development of a roadmap setting out future innovation pathways and identifying gaps.
Currently, NESO is responsible for matching supply and demand and balancing the national electricity system through flexibility services. As more renewable generation connects, balancing is becoming more complex and costs are rising. Distribution and transmission networks also procure flexibility services, increasing the need for coordination between flexibility assets.
ENIT’s Networks Reimagined report suggests that localised system management and optimised asset operation could deliver £36 billion in savings by 2050.
The report says, “By resolving most energy imbalances and constraints locally, networks will unlock unused capacity, reduce the need for infrastructure build, enhance intelligent system visibility and respond to real or potential faults in ways that are mathematically impossible through a centralised control system.”
It adds that evidence indicates a bottom-up balancing hierarchy is likely to be the most cost-effective route to a decarbonised energy system.
The completed charter will be published in January, accompanied by a webinar to share its findings and recommendations.
