UK Power Networks has launched a call for customers to provide flexibility services in 1000 areas in its London, South East and East of England networks in exchange for payment.
The company’s largest Flexibility Tender aims to free capacity across the network to connect more renewables and technologies such as electric cars, and save bill payers £400 million by 2028. Customers can opt in to be paid for changing their pattern of energy use – for example charging their electric car at a different time.
It is open to businesses with at least 10kW of flexibility in a constrained area, while households can participate through registered energy suppliers or aggregators.
UKPN says its tender will unlock more than 500MW of capacity over three years. Sotiris Georgiopoulos, head of smart grid development at UK Power Networks said: “We need to accommodate more electric vehicles and heat pumps, along with the continued growth of solar and wind generation. We have been using flexibility since 2017 to accommodate growth in demand for electricity, but for the first time we will also use it to help more renewables connect and generate electricity, something no other operator has done at the scale we’re proposing.

“This is a key part of our wider plans to support the transition to Net Zero at lowest cost. Our latest business plan excluded more than £400 million of network investment on the basis that we plan to manage many parts of our network more cost-effectively using flexibility. These are real savings which are being passed on directly to bill payers”

William Goldsmith, head of grid and data services at ev.energy said: “By using smart technology to make small adjustments to when their electric vehicles are charged, EV drivers using the ev.energy app are saving money, supporting the grid and the transition to Net Zero. I’m excited to see that UK Power Networks is extending its use of flexibility – including to help absorb local green energy that would otherwise be wasted.”

Participants must register their capabilities on Piclo (an online marketplace for flexibility), before being assessed by UK Power Networks. Participants must pre-qualify for the tender by 31 January, and the earliest contracts for delivery will begin in Summer 2023.