Generating over half a million in revenue for our customers through the Demand Flexibility Service

National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) is running the DFS to financially incentivise businesses to reduce electricity consumption when national demand is at its highest, typically on weekdays between 4pm and 7pm. Between November 2022 and March 2023, the ESO announced that it would operate a maximum of 12 tests for participants.

We’ve worked with our customers, including vehicle manufacturer Ford and SME FI Real Estate Management, to reduce their collective power demand by 287MWh during these test periods – the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power 574,000 UK homes.

This additional flexibility helps National Grid ESO balance supply and demand amid the ongoing energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Our customers are paid £3,000 per MWh to reduce their power consumption and with a reduction in demand of 287MWh observed during the events conducted so far, a revenue of over £875,000 was achieved for participating customers.

Adam Hall, Drax’s Director of Energy Services said:

“Drax Energy Solutions is one of the first approved providers of this service. Our business customers with flexibility in their operations can play a significant role in boosting Britain’s energy security whilst cutting their own electricity bills.

“Customers including Ford and FI Real Estate Management have agreed to be part of the scheme, adjusting their manufacturing processes and EV charging. This will deliver more flexibility and stability to the grid, by cutting their energy use at key times, which in turn contributes to their own net zero goals.”

FI Real Estate Management manage over 15msq ft of UK commercial and industrial real estate and over four decades of experience.

John Corker, Advisor to the Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer said:

“We are constantly reviewing how we can reduce the environmental impact of our real estate portfolio, so we jumped at the opportunity to support this important UK initiative and look forward to increasing our participation in the scheme as future opportunities arise. We are committed to becoming a more sustainable company by implementing smart building technology wherever possible and installing electric vehicle charging points across the estate.”

First live events

Following a series of successful test events, in January National Grid announced the first live events as part of the Demand Flexibility Scheme. Across the live events, our customers contributed to a 54 MWh demand reduction, and generated over £200,000 for taking part.

If you’re interested in earning extra revenue from the Demand Flexibility Service, get in touch.