Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
What is the Demand Flexibility Service?
The Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) was introduced during the winter of 22/23 as part of the winter contingency toolkit. Its purpose in the first two winters of operation was to act as an enhanced action, in addition to the normal electricity market, to be used to access additional megawatts (MW) during times of high national demand, particularly on peak winter days when the system could have been placed under stress.
The DFS aimed to incentivise domestic consumers and industrial and commercial users through suppliers/aggregators to voluntarily reduce or flex their demand. The DFS has been viewed as a pioneering initiative that allowed households and businesses to participate in a flexibility market, lowering the entry barrier compared to established markets. The service gained recognition in the industry, winning the Whole Energy System Innovation category at the Green Energy Awards and the Net Zero Engagement category at the Utility Week Awards in 2023.
The DFS is evolving and in its third year we have proposed a few key changes. The DFS will be an in-merit margin service in line with the normal electricity market, meaning that it will no longer be an enhanced action. Details of the new proposals and changes to the service are outlined in the recording below.
On 22 July 2024 we launched our EBR Article 18 consultation to Industry, which is open until 1300 22 August 2024 and we look forward to receiving feedback on all areas of the proposed service. If you have any questions or to schedule a call you can contact the team via email.
The indicative timeframe for the consultation is outlined below.
| Completed | Published | Mid-July | August | September-October | November |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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DFS Evolution – Initial Service Design Proposal
Want to find out what is next for DFS? The following presentation will talk you through our early design ideas and proposed changes for this winter and beyond.
Domestic households
More information for households looking to get involved in DFS can be found on the electricity explained section of our website.
Industry and commercial
Please read our open letter to find out more about participating in DFS as a business.
Are you interested in becoming a registered provider?
We are currently designing the evolution of DFS and will be going out to industry with a European Balancing Regulations (EBR) article 18 consultation in July 2024, detailing any changes to the service together with our service terms and procurement rules.
If you are interested in becoming a registered provider, then please email us. If you wish to participate in the EBR article 18 consultation, please sign up to our newsletter.
Service terms and procurement rules
| Name | Published Sort ascending |
|---|---|
| DFS service terms v2 | 27 Oct 2023 |
| DFS procurement rules v2 | 27 Oct 2023 |
Guidance documents
| Name | Published Sort ascending |
|---|---|
| DFS Registered Providers List Winter 2023/24 | 5 Jun 2024 |
| Market Information Report March 2024 | 12 Mar 2024 |
| DFS – Market information report winter 23/24 – January 24 | 25 Jan 2024 |
| DFS participation guidance document v.11 | 18 Dec 2023 |
| DFS - information for consumer groups winter 23-24 | 16 Nov 2023 |
| DFS communication principles v4 | 27 Oct 2023 |
| DFS – Market information report winter 23/24 – October 23 | 4 Oct 2023 |
| DFS – Market information report winter 23/24 – August 23 | 31 Aug 2023 |
| DFS consultation change summary | 31 Aug 2023 |
| DFS service terms - post-consultation comparison | 31 Aug 2023 |
EBR Article 18 Consultation update
The EBR Article 18 consultation for DFS closed on Monday 17 July. Thank you to everyone that reviewed the documents and provided feedback to ESO. We have received a large number of submissions and are working hard to turn these around over the coming weeks. Following that, documents will be submitted to OFGEM for approval.
| Name | Published Sort ascending |
|---|---|
| DFS - EBR Article 18 consultation responses summary | 5 Oct 2023 |
| DFS Ts&Cs Summary of Changes June 2023 | 16 Jun 2023 |
| Article 18 DFS Response Proforma June 2023 | 14 Jun 2023 |
| Comparison of DFS Service Terms 2023 against 2022 | 14 Jun 2023 |
| DFS Procurement Rules (Consultation Draft 14.06.23) | 14 Jun 2023 |
| EBR Article 18 DFS Letter and Consultation Mapping Document | 14 Jun 2023 |
| Comparison of DFS Procurement Rules 2023 against 2022 | 14 Jun 2023 |
| DFS Service Terms (Consultation Draft 14.06.23) | 14 Jun 2023 |
| DFS Pricing Proforma June 2023 | 14 Jun 2023 |
Webinars and industry engagement
Winter 23/24 – End of Year Report
We have produced a Demand Flexibility Service Winter 23/24 End of Year Report to provide industry with an overview on headline statistics from this winter. It covers a number of topics including an overview of the service design changes, key learnings, test analysis, commerciality of DFS and industry feedback.
| Download the DFS winter review |
Share your ideas on the future of the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
Are you interested in the evolution of DFS? Following our recent webinar, please share your feedback and ideas with us on what the DFS could look like moving forward.
If you have any questions, contact us at: [email protected].
| Download the questionnaire summary |
DFS overview and what's next webinar – March 2024
View the content from our webinar held on 22 March to learn about the performance and use of DFS during winter 23/24 so far and the future of DFS.
If you have any questions, please contact us at: [email protected].
| Watch the webinar | Download the slides | Download the Q&A |
DFS winter review 22/23 – 30 August 2023
DFS Winter 2022/23 review which details the results from 20 Tests and 2 Live events.
| Download the DFS winter review |
Consumer evaluation webinar – 6 July 2023
The ESO has worked with the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to carry out an evaluation of DFS from over 23,500 consumer perspectives. This includes who participated, why they did so and how they took part.
The work also explores the barriers to taking part in DFS and benefits of participating as well as findings of the social research carried out via diaries, opinion poll, surveys and interviews.
| Download the slides | Watch the webinar | Download the report |
Pre-consultation webinar - 9 June 2023
A recording and the slides from our pre-consultation webinar held on 9 June outlining the next steps for DFS winter 23/24 and sharing our the final design proposals.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording | Download the Q&A |
Deep dive workshop 3 - 27 April 2023
The third of our series of deep dive workshops, covering process and operational delivery.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording |
Deep dive workshop 2 - 25 April 2023
The second of our series of deep dive workshops, covering commercials.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording |
Deep dive workshop 1 - 25 April 2023
The first of our series of deep dive workshops, covering the role of the DFS.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording |
Webinar - 16 March 2023
We ran a webinar on 16 March to provide an update on what's next for the Demand Flexibility Service, covering feedback received to date and potential future options for the DFS.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording | Download the Q&A |
Important information
Procurement information
Webinars and industry engagement
Aug 2023: DFS overview webinar – winter 23/24
Here you can find a recording and the slides from our DFS overview webinar for winter 23/24 held on 7 August.
World-first Demand Flexibility Service exceeds expectations
Our innovative Demand Flexibility Service has been a great success for participants, delivering a reduction of almost 800 megawatt hours (MWh) throughout events to date, with some companies earning up to £8,000 so far.
Nov 2022: DFS launch webinar
The launch of the new Demand Flexibility Service following Ofgem approval on the 4 November 2022.
Oct 2022: Communications workshop
Slides from the Communications Workshop held on 20 October.
Sep 2022: Post-consultation launch webinar
A deeper dive into the proposed service design for a new Demand Flexibility service.
Mid-point consultation: questions and answers
A summary of the questions and answers following our post consultation launch webinar.
Aug 2022: Pre-consultation webinar
An overview of the proposed service design for a new Demand Flexibility service.
We've launched our DFS Data Portal where you can subscribe to receive the latest updates and find information relating to both live and test events and datasets relating to the service.
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More from Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
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If you have any questions or queries regarding DFS or would like to arrange a call with the team, please email us.