Demand Side Response (DSR)

National Grid set minimum thresholds for the capacity they procure through each Demand Side Response (DSR) scheme (e.g. Firm Frequency Response = 10MW). As an aggregator, we can enable your business to extract revenue from smaller pockets of capacity. You’ll just need to be able to provide a minimum of 100kW of flexibility per site.

We work closely with you to help determine the level at which you can participate without disrupting your normal operations. You set the limits and based on this, we’ll come up with a DSR solution tailored to your business needs. These parameters can then be adjusted as your knowledge of your DSR capability improves with experience.

Some businesses find they can participate in DSR by shifting energy-intensive processes to times when demand is lower, while other businesses will have processes that can be paused for a certain period without having any impact on the quality of their product or service. DSR rewards flexibility and you retain control by defining the parameters of your participation and setting the limits of your flexibility. For schemes that do not require a rapid response, you may opt to control your assets manually.

Your business will receive a notification about the event. Depending on the scheme, DSR events can be triggered with prior notice of between four hours (Capacity Market) and one second or less (Enhanced Frequency Response). There are two ways that your business can participate in a DSR event.

1. We set up your assets to respond automatically to event notifications within seconds, if necessary (opening up the opportunity to participate in Frequency Response schemes).

2. If you’d prefer to retain manual control over your assets, we can help your business to establish a process for manual DSR participation, and you can sign up to receive event notifications.

How often you need to respond depends on your scheme. For the Capacity Market, based on recent trends, responses typically involve less than three events a year – although the number of events can always increase due to external factors. An example of this could be if something happened that adversely impacted system margin (the cushion between the level of demand and the available capacity on the supply side). On the other hand, avoiding the Triads (the three half-hours of highest demand on the British electricity transmission system between November and February, as set out by the National Grid) requires a regular response during the winter months in order to maximise the likelihood of avoiding all three.

You can select the right DSR schemes for your business according to how often you are prepared to respond.

Under certain DSR schemes – such as in the Capacity Market where four hours notice is given prior to an event – you can participate by manually controlling your assets. However, other schemes require a response time that is only attainable through an automatic system – such as Frequency Response schemes, which require delivery within seconds. Our platform is designed to enable your assets to respond automatically to signals from the National Grid, opening up a wide range of DSR schemes to your business. 

Some businesses find that they can participate in DSR by shifting energy intensive processes to times when demand is lower, while other businesses will have processes that can be paused for a certain period without having any impact on the quality of their product or service. DSR rewards flexibility and you retain control by defining the parameters of your participation and setting the limits of your flexibility. For schemes that do not require a rapid response, you may opt to control your assets manually.

In all cases your business will receive a notification to inform you about the event. Depending on the scheme, DSR events can be triggered with prior notice of between 4 hours (Capacity Market) and 1 second or less (Enhanced Frequency Response). There are 2 ways that your business can participate in a DSR event.

1. we can set up your assets to respond automatically to event notifications within seconds if necessary (opening up the opportunity to participate in Frequency Response schemes).
2. Or, if you’d prefer to retain manual control over your assets, we can help your business to establish a process for manual DSR participation, and you can sign up to receive event notifications that prompt you to trigger your participation. 

How often you need to respond depends on the scheme. For the Capacity Market, based on recent trends, responses typically are limited to less than three events per year – although the number of events can always increase due to external factors, for example, if something happens that adversely impacts system margin (the cushion between the level of demand and the available capacity on the supply-side). On the other hand, Triad avoidance requires a regular response during the winter months in order to maximise the likelihood of avoiding all three Triads.

You can select the right DSR schemes for your business according to how often you are prepared to respond.

We will supply and install our DSR enablement equipment at your site(s), meaning your business could get started at DSR with little to no upfront cost. Any costs incurred will be netted off from revenues and spread over the lifetime of the contract. If your business is looking to export electricity from on-site 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 DNO on your business’ behalf.

Get in touch using the eligibility form to find out if DSR could enable you to unlock a new stream of revenue from your business’ assets. Once complete we will be in touch to take you through the next steps. We will analyse your half-hourly data and provide a report on your site(s) potential flexibility, and the benefits that come with this.

Two of the current challenges facing the UK electricity market are:

Quantity: the margin between peak demand and supply is at historic lows not seen since the industrial revolution due to the closure of fossil fuel power stations (carbonbrief.org)
Quality: increased reliance on renewable energies with fluctuating outputs such as solar and wind makes it harder for the National Grid to balance supply and demand.