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DSO in Action: Helping customers participate in a flexible energy system

26/06/2025

Every day, more people pull up a chair to help re-shape our electricity network. Local authorities, aggregators, heavy industry, community champions—you’re all here, and your insight is changing the way we plan and act.

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And it’s not just SP Energy Networks making waves. The latest ENA figures show that energy flexibility saved British bill payers more than £300million in 2024 alone, with a record 9GW contracted and 22GWh successfully dispatched — enough to power nearly 7,000 homes for a year.  

Read their press release here

Over the next three years those savings could top £3billion, and 80% of last year’s contracted services already come from low-carbon sources.  

You told me our flexibility markets had to be easier to enter, simpler to read, and better tuned to your operational reality. I listened—and I moved. 

Over the past year we poured the footings; now we’re raising the frame: a single end-to-end platform, deeper partnerships, and more ways for you to earn from flexibility. 

Flexibility in numbers — 2024/25 

  • £10 million net benefits delivered this year 
  • £50.5 million more projected through ED2 
  • £563.1 million long-term value on the table 
  • 33,394 registered assets (ten-fold growth) 
  • 100 % of contracted flexibility dispatched 
  • 83 % dispatch success (was 11 %) 

 

1. What we delivered—and what that unlocks 

Month-ahead markets 

You asked for shorter lead times; we shifted to month-ahead tendering. The result? 

  • 100 % of flexibility dispatched 
  • 83 % success rate 
  • Assets up ten-fold to 33,394 

“The month-ahead market allows us to participate with a much shorter delay, creating more value for consumers while responding to short-term needs.”Pelle Jacobs, Axle Energy

 

National snapshot: why this matters 

The ENA figures prove that flexibility has tipped from pilot to mainstream. When Great Britain can post a three-fold year-on-year jump in delivered flexibility and claw back hundreds of millions for consumers, the question is no longer whether to get involved — it’s how quickly you can claim your share. 

Market Prospectus 

Our interactive prospectus stitches long-term need, live heat-maps and open tenders into one canvas—forecasts that convert straight into action. 

Barrier-busting 

Minimum-size thresholds? Gone. Standard contracts and a two-step entry path mean everyone—from blue-chip aggregators to a village hall—can now play. 

Real-world impact 

  • Storm Darragh: Statkraft’s 20 MW dispatch cut 40 hours off the restoration window, bringing 15,000 customers back online early. 
  • £3.9 million net benefits last year; 109 MW reinforcement deferred. 

 

“The leadership of SPEN in developing the flexibility market is evident — the move to month-ahead tendering and clear market signalling through the Flexibility Market Prospectus are especially valuable. The use of flexibility during Storm Darragh is a powerful example of real-world impact.” – SP Energy Networks Stakeholder

 

2. Going deeper (and broader) with engagement 

Flexibility only scales when people can see themselves in the picture. So, we’re widening the lens. 

Flexibility Summit — 17 September, Liverpool 

A purpose-built room: providers, councils, community leads, new entrants. We’ll swap stories, design fixes, and leave with next steps, not name badges. 

Beyond the usual suspects 

Commercial estates chasing net zero, parish halls with a solar surplus—if you’ve got an asset or an idea, there’s a seat for you. 

Data + Dialogue, by the numbers 

  • 109 stakeholder surgeries 
  • 25 public events across 6 cities 
  • 3 conferences, 5 webinars 
  • Open Data users up from 401 to 2,354 
  • 83 % would recommend the portal 

 

3. Smarter services for a changing system 

Demand turn-up trials 

In constrained zones, we’re testing demand increases to balance the grid—and pay you for it. 

Storm readiness 

After Darragh, we’re mapping high-risk areas where rapid-fire flexibility can shield vulnerable customers. 

Day-ahead arkets (winter 2025/26) 

For assets that dance to daily price signals, a 24-hour window lines up opportunity with availability. 

National alignment 

Working with NESO on Megawatt Dispatch, Local Constraint Markets and live control-room links via ICCP—already live in SPD, landing in SPM next. 

 

4. What’s next? 

Momentum is great—but participation is better. The more voices at the table, the faster and fairer our transition.

DateMilestone

17 Sept 2025 

Flexibility Summit, Liverpool - we'll unpack the £300m national savings figure and show where local opportunities sit. 

Winter 2025/26 

Day-ahead market trial 

2025/26 

Expansion of Storm Readiness flexibility 

Ready to dive in? 

 

If you have an idea, a doubt, or a dataset that could sharpen our next move, drop me a line. No-one ever negotiated value by staying silent.  

Let’s keep building a smarter, more flexible energy system—together. 

 

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