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Balancing Mechanism Wider Access

Please note: Given the challenges posed by COVID-19 we will be constantly reviewing our plans and several projects may be impacted. Click here to find out more.

As the Electricity System Operator (ESO), our vision is to meet the future needs of the electricity system by making the most of all resources available on the system in a flexible and economic way. 

It is our job to operate Great Britain’s electricity network to ensure that supply and demand are balanced and power flows across the network safely and reliably. We are seeing a transformation in GB’s energy mix as we move towards a decarbonised energy system. With this change, we are facing new challenges in balancing the GB electricity system while also delivering value to energy consumers. To overcome these challenges, we need to maximise the resources we have available on the system today and in the future. Our service providers are key to helping us manage these challenges, which is why we want to better help them to help us balance the GB system in the most cost effective way. After listening to these providers, we want to widen access to the Balancing Mechanism (BM), Great Britain’s core flexibility market.

Prequalification Portal

This link will take you the registration page to create an account in Salesforce.

This link will take you to the login page of the  prequalification portal to build and submit your application.

Entering the Balancing Mechanism

We have created a guidance document to support providers who wish to enter the Balancing Mechanism. It explains the different routes you can go through and the processes you will need follow. 

Guidance and Supporting Documents

Guidance and Supporting Documents

This section contains the guidance document for entering the Balancing Mechanism and several supporting documents.

PublishedName
30 December 2020Communications Standards (Issue 7)
9 November 2020Overview of the Wider Access API 9 Nov 2020
4 December 2020NGESO - BM Registration Guidance Document Dec 2020
7 October 2020Operational Metering Overview - Small BMUs
23 September 2020 GB Wider Access API Phase 1 Go-Live successful - 18 Sep 2020
3 June 2020GB BM Wider Access - review and update - 3 June 2020
14 January 2020Update for Market Participants - TERRE testing invitation - 13 Jan 2019
17 December 2019BM Wider Access Guidance v.2
11 December 2019Update for Market Participants - WA Go-live - 11 Dec 2019
3 December 2019Update for Market Participants – WA Go-live – 3 Dec 2019
22 November 2019Update for Market Participants - WA Go-live - 22 Nov 2019
25 October 2019IT Change Forum WA/TERRE Updates October 2019
15 October 2019Update for Market Participants - Operational Metering - October 2019
25 September 2019Salesforce Guidance Document - Feb 2019
3 September 2019Wider Access and TERRE - Q and A
3 September 2019Update for Market Participants - WA and TERRE - September 2019
6 August 2019Update for Market Participants - WA and TERRE - July 2019
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