UK Power Networks and Open Utility are planning to develop and an online marketplace for local flexibility. The service is planned to launch in spring 2018, at which point flexibility providers will be able to register their assets and start to participate in local tenders. The flexibility marketplace trial will run throughout 2018.
The new ‘Piclo’ platform builds on the experience of UKPN’s first flexibility service tender, in August last year, which invited expressions of interest from distributed generators in ten locations. The new platform will open up new markets for a wide range of flexibility providers by making it easier for them to sell their services to help networks manage times of peak demand.
The project aims to digitise UK Power Networks’ procurement process for customer flexibility, streamline the bidding process for service providers and optimise network investment decisions through improved matching of service providers with network needs.
Backed by UK government funding from the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund, Piclo simplifies the procurement process.
James Johnston, CEO of Open Utility, said: “It is a hugely important milestone to sign up our first distribution system operator.” Ian Cameron, head of innovation at UK Power Networks, said: “Working with Open Utility to create this unique trading platform will make it quicker, easier and cheaper for our customers to supply their services to the market.”
Further reading
UKPN invites distributed generators to bid for flex payments
Small generators in the southeast wanted for reactive power market trial