ADE: Flexible energy consumers to be paid more – and rightly so!

The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) notes this increased financial incentive is essential if the National Grid ESO's (Electricity System Operator) Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) is to succeed in allowing the ESO to access additional flexibility when national energy demand peaks on cold winter days.The service, expected to prove a critical tool in the ESO’s arsenal to prevent blackouts, will pay households to voluntarily reduce their energy usage at specified times, boosting the country’s energy security by ensuring demand never outstrips supply, such as in a situation where the UK is unable to import enough energy from the continent.The ADE, which helped design the DFS alongside National Grid and industry, has previously called for the amount of money on offer to be increased to drive public involvement in the trial period of the scheme, which is set to launch on the 1st of November and will run for five months.Sarah Honan, Flexibility Policy Manager at the ADE, said:“The DFS will allow households to take back control of their electricity usage to safeguard the fate of the grid, and be rightly rewarded for doing so. The launch of the service will be a hugely positive development, one that is absolutely critical if the UK is to avoid blackouts and grid interruptions over the course of what is sure to be a difficult winter period.“Alongside industry, we said the ESO needs to put more money into this and they have listened. It is only right that households will be paid for providing this essential service to maintain the security of electricity supply, and at the ADE, we are happy to hear that the amount of money being offered to participating households has been increased. A more flexible energy system provides a huge deal of value, and this should be reflected in what is paid to consumers.”