Six in ten demand-side response providers could sell more flexibility to National Grid to help keep the system stable – if the price is right.
According to early findings of an ongoing survey by The Energyst, 61 per cent of companies that provide demand-side response – such as water companies, cement makers, chemicals firms and universities – say they could provide ‘significantly more’.
Asked what is stopping them providing more flexibility to help balance the grid, almost half (44 per cent) cited insufficient rewards and revenue uncertainty. Operational concerns were the next highest barrier, cited by 38 per cent.
Nine in ten providers said generating income from assets is their primary reason for providing flexibility, followed by peak charge avoidance.
More than half provide frequency response services. Seven in ten cut grid consumption over winter evenings in order to reduce transmission charges (Triad avoidance).
Asked if they were broadly satisfied as a provider of DSR services, 68 per cent said yes.
The survey runs for another two weeks. It forms the research component of our annual DSR report. The sample is currently small, so please help us create an accurate snapshot of demand-side response by taking the 5-6 minute survey here.
There are questions for demand-side response providers (what, where, how, and whether it’s working out as expected) and questions for firms that do not provide flexibility (could you, what’s stopping you, what kind of assets/load potential do you have).
There’s also a set of questions around battery storage (are you considering deploying batteries, why, how will you use them etc.).
The findings will be presented alongside views from National Grid, aggregators, suppliers, DNOs, consultants and qualitative interviews with end users around flexibility in the 2019 DSR report, published 11 September.
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