Power Responsive is a stakeholder-led programme, facilitated by the ESO, to stimulate increased participation in the different forms of flexible technology such as Demand Side Response (DSR) and storage.

It brings together industry and energy users, to work together in a co-ordinated way. A key priority is to grow participation in DSR, making it easier for industrial and commercial businesses to get involved and to realise the financial and carbon-cutting benefits.

The role of Power Responsive is to:

  • raise awareness of DSR and engage effectively with businesses
  • shape the growth of the market in a joined-up way and ensure demand has equal opportunity with the supply side when it comes to balancing the system

Businesses of all shapes and sizes can make money, reduce their bills and cut their carbon footprint by getting involved in DSR. 

This fast-growing market is all about using energy more intelligently. It provides flexibility that enables the ESO to balance Britain’s electricity system cost-effectively, while our energy landscape changes rapidly. If your business has the flexibility to increase, decrease, or shift its electricity use, then the power is in your hands to take full advantage. 

Get in touch: [email protected].

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Demand side response (DSR)

Demand side response (DSR) is all about intelligent energy use. Through DSR services, businesses and consumers can turn up, turn down, or shift demand in real-time. Without impacting on their normal day-to-day operations DSR providers can save money and earn revenue.

Latest news

Here you can find our latest news.

We are investigating flexibility within the industrial and commercial sector. Please fill in the survey below (approx. 15 minutes) to help open up more demand side response opportunities for the industrial and commercial sector. No personal information from this survey will be published. Please complete the survey by 5pm 1 March 2024. 

A report will be published in 2024. For any questions you have regarding the survey, please contact the Power Responsive team.

Take the survey

If you have more than one operational site, please complete the survey once for your main operational site only. We will be in touch regarding your other sites.

We have also published a PDF version of the survey questions for your convenience. 

Download survey questions 

Events

Upcoming events and previous event materials.

The Power Responsive summer event played host to expert speakers and exhibitors from across the energy industry including BEIS, Ofgem, National Grid ESO, DNO's, aggregators, consultants and investors. The day's focus was market revenue opportunities and how demand side flexibility (DSF) can contribute to reducing consumer energy costs whilst maintaining security of supply.

View slides

Steering Groups

Our steering groups cover a wide range of key topics from market reform to creating a strategy for markets that support a net zero future. For more information on what's happening, read the summaries below.

This Steering Group meeting focused on a number of key areas, starting with a terms of reference refresh with a view to include as many relevant voices as possible whilst keeping the steering group nimble (as of Oct 24 Steering Group one representative from each organisation); the refreshed Power Responsive Strategy for 24/25; an update from DESNZ and Ofgem; an overview on MIR; the recent changes to Operational Metering; and Power Responsive’s challenges, workstreams and events we are attending in the year ahead.

View the meeting summary

 

This steering group meeting focused on three key areas, the Distribution Networks ED2 Business Plans, the ESO’s dispatch transparency data and the revised Power Responsive strategy.

The group heard how DNO’s were setting out ambitions to use flexibility to significantly reduce network reinforcement costs, increase their flexibility market offerings and move closer to real time procurement all whilst becoming more transparent throughout the ED2 period. The ESO presented their analysis on control room skip rate percentages and reasonings which led to an in-depth discussion around prevention and how inefficiencies can be tackled moving forwards whilst the Power Responsive team presented new strategy proposals such as working groups focused on demand side flexibility blockers and a review of the current steering group membership.

View the meeting summary

9 December 2021

This steering group meeting focused on whether the environmental impact from a Balancing Services provider should contribute to flexibility market auctions, tenders, and control room decisions across ESO markets. The group then had an overview of the current Power Responsive strategy and a discussion was held on how to refresh the strategy for 2022 and beyond considering future events strategies and areas of focus within the DSR community.

View the meeting summary

30 July 2021

This steering group meeting focused on the Future System Operator consultation and flexibility platforms. The group had an overview from BEIS on the FSO consultation which looks at the UK System Operator becoming independent and heard from distribution networks on the current and future use cases and benefits from market platforms which was followed by an in-depth group discussion.

View the meeting summary

30 April 2021

Power Responsive’s 22nd steering group meeting took place in April 2021.

This steering group meeting focused on market reform up to 2050. The group explored Challenging Ideas’ re-costing energy project and the ESO’s net zero market reform project which look to create a clear strategy for markets that support a net zero future. This was then followed by an overview of Power Responsive priorities and activities for the next 12 months along with BEIS and Ofgem’s horizon scans.

View the meeting summary

21 January 2021

Power Responsive’s 21st steering group meeting took place in January 2021. Discussions focused on code modifications that address the specific actions from the Energy Emergency Executive Committee (E3C) and Ofgem final reports into the power outage of 9 August 2019, and the development of a new reserve product via the reserve reform project which is underway.

View the meeting summary

Working groups

This Power Responsive working group is responsible for conducting a review into operational metering standards in the Balancing Mechanism and ensuring that they are applied proportionately for small-scale assets within aggregated portfolios. 

We are pleased to be able to invite you to enter our trial for small scale assets to enter the Balancing Mechanism (BM). We are proposing a trial period of relaxed operational metering standards for <100kw assets to capture all domestic and some small B2B flexibility. It will run concurrently with the Power Responsive Operational Metering working group workstreams.

In December 2022, Power Responsive sent out an invitation to propose trials as we were keen to explore new ideas from members of the group to unlock access to the Balancing Mechanism (BM). Since then we have been working exceptionally hard with EV.Energy on two core case studies, which we issued out to you in the form of a proposal in February 2023, focused on operational metering to try and reduce the barriers to entry for small scale aggregated assets.

The Power Responsive working group has made significant progress on the operational metering workstream with the support of EV.Energy. However, the timescales associated with the work being completed give us the opportunity to run a live trial in parallel with the on-going workstream.

Read the invite to trial document

Publications

Here you can find our annual report and read our guides on Demand Side Response. You can also watch our accessing markets webinars. 

We are pleased to have published the latest Power Responsive Annual Report, which reflects on policy, regulatory and market developments in 2022 as well as trends in demand side flexibility participation. This report is designed to help stakeholders navigate industry change and complexity and support the continued development of demand side participation in flexibility markets.

The report itself covers:

  • Highlights of recent policy, regulatory and industry-led initiatives supporting or impacting DSF.
  • Demand side metrics showing activities across ESO and DSO markets in 2022.
  • Future outlook for demand side markets and flexibility opportunities.

View the 2022 Annual Report

We are pleased to publish the 2021 Power Responsive Annual Report, which reflects on policy, regulatory and market developments over the past 12 months as well as trends in demand side flexibility participation. This report is designed to help stakeholders navigate industry change and complexity and support the continued development of demand side participation in flexibility markets.

View the 2021 Annual Report

Our latest annual report highlights flexibility developments and market progress throughout 2020 as well as signalling future activity across the flexibility landscape for 2021/22.

View the 2020 Annual Report

The Guide to Demand Side Response is a great starting point for anybody looking to understand the demand side proposition, and access additional revenue by providing Balancing Services to National Grid ESO or your local DNO, whether directly or through a third party. Businesses from many sectors including manufacturing, health services, retail, and transport, to name just a few, are continuing to support our energy system.

Download the guide to Demand Side Response

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National Grid ESO - RIIO 2 business plan digitalisation strategy 2020 - looking at phone on city bridge

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