Businesses on a Demand Side Response (DSR) scheme commit to reducing or shifting their energy consumption when UK electricity demand from the Grid threatens to exceed supply.
Using our innovative PowerShift platform, businesses who can be flexible with their consumption are rewarded for shifting or reducing demand, or by making capacity available through onsite generation, when needed. DSR creates opportunities for flexible businesses to earn revenue by supporting National Grid in times of peak demand or system stress. We help you scope out the energy-saving potential in your existing assets, identify the right scheme for you and get your business DSR-enabled. Once this is done, you can start earning.
What are the benefits of DSR?
- Unlock untapped revenue from your existing assets, whilst also helping to fulfil your sustainability goals.
- Valuable insight into your energy consumption patterns, helping you improve the energy efficiency of your business.
- Some DSR schemes such as Firm Frequency Response and the Capacity Market enable your business to be paid just for making capacity available to respond to events. This means your assets would still be generating revenue even where they are not required to deliver.
- By reducing your consumption, you’ll also be saving on your energy bill.
How does my business get involved and what are the costs?
Get in touch using the eligibility form to find out if DSR could enable you to unlock a new stream of revenue. Once complete we will be in touch to take you through the next steps. We’ll analyse your half-hourly data and provide a report on your site(s) potential flexibility. We’ll supply and install our DSR enablement equipment, meaning your business could get started with DSR with little to no upfront cost.
If your business is looking to export electricity from onsite generation to the grid, then there could be costs associated with getting an export connection set up. In this case, we can support you through the application process and co-ordinate with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) on your business’ behalf.
Our DSR Offer

Capacity Market
Earn revenue by helping the grid stay balanced. Shift or reduce your electricity consumption when demand is at risk of being higher than supply available on the Grid. Commit to making a set amount of capacity available during a stress event, we manage the response to the Grid and the payments to you.
You can expect this to happen 1-2 times a year, with no disruption to your operations and at little or no upfront cost to you.

Firm Frequency Response (FFR)
Firm Frequency Response (FFR) is a service to manage sudden surges of demand on a second by second response basis to ensure that system frequency stays within the tolerance levels of ±1% of 50Hz. Offer your frequency services 8-10 times a year and help the National Grid manage fluctuations in forecasted volumes or problems on the transmission or distribution network. You’ll receive payment in return for being available when the system sends a stress signal.

Triad Management
Our Triad Response service helps you avoid high TNUoS costs during the 3 highest peaks of national demand from Nov – Feb. We will send you alerts when a triad is expected or if you wish we will automatically reduce your consumption in these periods in order for you to avoid these costs on your bill.
If you are a pass-through customer, sign up to our Triad Alert Guarantee (TAG) service to avoid winter peak time costs. Learn more about TAG here.
Here’s our process for getting you from eligible to earning
Step 1: Eligible
Getting your business Demand Side Response comfortable
For many businesses the biggest blocker to taking part in DSR is culture – not technology. Essentially, fear that changing electricity use will interrupt day to day business operations.
In practice there is normally plenty of energy saving potential in your assets and processes to make DSR doable, without disruption to your operations. It's just a case of working out how much flexibility there is and then proving it to stakeholders in your operations.
An effective way to approach this can be to run a pilot on one of your sites* to work out your benchmarks for different processes, for example refrigeration, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) and other production processes or back-up generation. This will show you the level of energy demand change that is safe for your customer experience and product quality.
If you are a pass-through customer, sign up to our Triad Alert Guarantee (TAG) service to avoid winter peak time costs. Learn more about TAG here.
*Eligibility criteria apply. Contact us to find out more about eligibility criteria and options available.
Step 2: Enabled
Getting your business set up for Demand Side Response
The best paying DSR schemes require you to commit to reducing or shifting a minimum level of energy use and prove how much demand you reduced when called upon. Because we’re an aggregator, we can help you take part with relatively small amounts of electricity demand. But we need to be sure of your capacity and capability to respond quickly.
To get you set up correctly, we complete site assessments to confirm your potential, upgrade any hardware (like controls) and software (like your building management system). We can control your assets via our DSR platform so it’s not a burden on you or your staff. You do of course have the option to take control yourself.
Step 3: Earning
Seeing the value and earning more
Once registered and installed, our DSR platform takes care of adjusting your electricity demand within the parameters we’ve agreed and tested together. From the information it provides, we then calculate payment due to you. It’s that easy.
But why stop there? To make sure you’re earning as much as possible, we’ll help you monitor the effect on your business processes, model what you could be earning as a bolder DSR participant, and increase the participating sites over time as your confidence grows.
After all, the more you earn through Demand Side Response, the lower your business’ energy charges.
Talk Power: Read why Demand Side Response should be part of your energy strategy.
How DSR is working for businesses


Avon Metals joins the Capacity Market
Avon have seven electric induction furnaces that are capable of being turned down in response to a Capacity Market warning.
The experienced Demand Side Response Technical Team at EDF Energy guided the team at Avon through the testing and qualification process to register their assets. Training was given to the relevant personnel at Avon on what to do in the event of receiving a Capacity Market warning and since the site went live in October the three satisfactory performance tests have been successfully undertaken.
Anesco chooses EDF Energy & Upside for battery and solar farm trading deal
EDF Energy - in partnership with Upside Energy has signed a deal with Anesco, the UK’s leading energy storage provider, to optimise a combined 16MW of solar and battery assets at the Clayhill solar farm. This will see EDF Energy providing a guaranteed floor price for storage – a first within the sector.
Get your business DSR enabled
Interested in DSR? We need to find out how much flexibility your sites might be able to deliver so we can tell you what it could be worth.
To start, it's helpful for us to learn a little more about your site. We'll then be able to assist in identifying flexible assets suitable for the various DSR schemes we offer. At present, we typically work with sites that can offer at least ~250 kW of flexibility.
Please use the form below or we can arrange a call directly if you have a complex site or estate. Our technical specialists will assess the preliminary information and get in touch with you directly to further discuss your DSR opportunities.
Alternatively send us an email for more information: DemandSideResponse@edfenergy.com
Demand side response frequently asked questions
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