ScottishPower has launched a major demand-side response (DSR) push. The company believes its pan-European footprint and balancing market expertise will set it apart in a crowded marketplace.
William Black heads up ScottishPower’s industrial and commercial energy services unit. He says the firm’s intention is to build a much more integrated business than traditional demand-side response platforms.
The aim is to connect up assets, initially at large, multi-site businesses, to better understand and monetise them.
“That can range from simple peak network charge avoidance through to a more complex offering, including turn down of assets, load shifting or putting flexible capacity into National Grid’s ancillary services markets, such as the capacity market, STOR and frequency response,” says Black.
These assets will be automated and controlled via ScottishPower’s trading desk, which is where Black thinks the firm has a competitive advantage.
“We are not just looking to set up DSR, we are highly experienced in balancing markets,” says Black. “We have more wind farms than anyone else in the balancing mechanism that we use to respond to signals in real time. So we are already very experienced in managing decentralised assets,” he adds.
That capability negates the need for ScottishPower to acquire an aggregator as it seeks to scale its DSR business, says Black. However, the firm has been speaking with technology and energy management companies in order to build a common connectivity platform. Black says the company would welcome approaches from technology developers in that regard.
Equally, Black believes the scale of ScottishPower’s industrial and commercial (I&C) supply business, its brand credibility and strong customer relationships, should help with acquiring flexible megawatts, a key challenge for any demand response business.
Meanwhile, ScottishPower’s pan-European footprint will appeal to UK companies with European operations, says Black, something very few DSR providers can currently offer.
“We are looking to deploy services on a European-wide basis and we believe that is a unique offer,” says Black. “We will develop that proposition going forward and into 2018 because it is something businesses that buy from Iberdrola in these markets are asking for,” he adds.
“But whether a customer has multiple sites in multiple countries or operates solely in the UK, we believe they will appreciate dealing with a single, credible and well-resourced partner.”
For further information on how ScottishPower can help reduce your bills and monetise your flexibility, visit: www.scottishpower.co.uk/commercial-business
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