Flexibility services is where a Distribution Network Operator pays a third party to operate assets in a way that’s beneficial to our network. Those third parties will be owners of generation assets or low carbon technologies (LCTs) such as wind turbines, battery storage, solar or electric vehicles, and we may ask them to “turn down” or up depending on the needs of our network. In other words, we might ask them to lower the power consumption of their assets for an agreed period to allow us to free up that capacity for use elsewhere, or we might ask them to use more power in areas where we have excess generation.
As the needs of our customers and communities are constantly changing, the requirements of our electricity network are too. The increased uptake of LCTs does often result in constraints on the network during periods of high demand. However, new technologies and connections can often lead to excess generation in other areas too. Flexibility therefore provides an agile, smart means of balancing our network to solve both of those challenges.
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