Western Power Distribution and Nord Pool are collaborating to trial a flexibility market that wraps in day ahead, intraday and imbalance aspects.
The IntraFlex project, funded via Ofgem’s network innovation allowance, aims to reduce overall costs of flexibility. It will use a market platform designed and operated by Nodes, a joint venture between Nord Pool and Norwegian utility Agder Energi.
While aiming to drive down costs, opening up power markets alongside DNO flexibility – and potentially other areas – could ultimately facilitate a market that enables those with flexible megawatts to trade across multiple pools close to real time, enabling smart operators to make more money from their flexibility.
Meanwhile, the market’s imbalance mitigation features, including an auto-rebalancing function to the intra-day market, should lower supplier exposure to imbalance costs, according to the firms.
Nord Pool operates the biggest power market in Europe. For the Nodes joint venture it has partnered with Norwegian power company Agder Energi, which is owned by Statkraft and 30 municipalities. The joint venture’s stated mission is ‘to build Europe’s most customer-centric, integrated energy marketplace … open to all flexibility providers and grid operators’.
“Nodes is excited for this opportunity to team up with WPD to align its innovative integrated market design for the GB market and we are looking forward to engaging with relevant stakeholders going forward,” said Nodes CEO, Enno Böttcher.
WPD network strategy manager, Ben Godfrey, said the trial “will help us to better understand the impact that calling flexibility will have on energy suppliers when we establish a flexibility market that operates close to real-time. Utilising the Nodes platform will allow for new flexibility providers to offer their services confidently in the market”.
Smart Grid Consultancy is supporting the trial. Director, Gary Swandells, said that as flexibility becomes business as usual for DNOs, there is a risk that increased volumes could create wider market distortions and negative impacts. “So we see this trial as a challenging but vital body of work.”
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