National Grid: DSR ‘more reliable than nuclear’

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The GB electricity system operator has suggested demand-side response (DSR) is more reliable than nuclear power in its latest Capacity Market auction guidelines.

National Grid ESO has given DSR a de-rating factor of 86 per cent, while nuclear is de-rated to 81 per cent. DSR is also deemed to be marginally more reliable than biomass, coal and most interconnectors, per the guidelines.

Industry participants suggested the move reflected the expertise of DSR providers in managing their portfolios.

“Presumably [the de-rating factors] reflects recent reliability of the UK nuclear fleet, and superior performance of aggregators in delivering contracted response,” wrote Jon Ferris, strategy director at energy blockchain firm Electron.

His comments were welcomed by the Association for Decentralised Energy.

The de-rating factors will provide relief to DSR aggregators, if and when the Capacity Market is reinstated.

Scottish Power, prior to the sale of its thermal and some hydro assets to Drax, had pushed for DSR to be de-rated in line with factors applied to battery storage.

DSR providers suggested those proposals were “odd”, particularly given the supplier was trying to scale its own DSR offering at the time, and went against the principle of technology neutrality, something the European Commission must consider in its investigation of the Capacity Market.

The de-rating factors apply out to 2023/24. Short duration (half-hour) batteries have been de-rated to as little as 10 per cent.

See details here.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. What on earth is Scottish Power’s justification for seeking to de-rate DSR? A full explanation is required from this Spanish-owned company .

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