The National Energy System Operator has claimed nearly 2 million households and businesses registered for its Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) last winter. It says 1.98 million consumers signed up to DFS, generally via their energy supplier, in winter 2024/5, up from 1.6 million two years ago. NESO now says DFS will move from a winter-only contingency service to year-round merit-based margin tool.
NESO says the DFS was used 44 times last winter at a cost of £1.2 million, which was passed on to consumers as rewards. It reduced or shifted power consumption by 3,917.7 MWh, saving almost £500,000 in balancing costs for Britain’s electricity network, because the option was a competitive balancing tool, compared with alternative actions available to NESO, such as asking gas power stations to turn on or buying more power via interconnectors.
Rebecca Beresford, Director of Markets at NESO, said:  “Accessing more flexibility in our electricity system is vital for running a clean, green, and fair system of the future. NESO’s world-leading Demand Flexibility Service has been a real breakthrough, which has this year proven itself effective not only at times when margins have been tight during periods of high demand, but as an efficient everyday tool for balancing the network when needed.
“If we can reduce electricity demand by rewarding participating customers to turn down when we need them to, it means we can avoid using expensive and polluting fossil fuel generators. Indeed, the DFS reduced carbon emissions by more than 620 tonnes last winter.”
Consumers who sign up for the DFS receive notifications from their electricity supplier/aggregator on days when NESO enact the service, when energy demand across the country is expected to be high. They let households and businesses know the peak time, usually between 4 and 7 pm, and ask if they can reduce their energy use during this period.
Participation is voluntary, so consumers only take part if it works for them.
For the first time last winter, consumers could also enter into DFS via a registered service provider at the same time as securing revenue from other markets for changing the time they used energy-intensive appliances like an oven or washing machine.