The ESO’s Market Development team analyses the ongoing suitability of current GB, ESO and cross-border electricity markets in the context of operating a net zero system. With four workstreams within Market Development, this team engages stakeholders to understand the evolving energy landscape to make sure that we’re equipped to develop markets and frameworks over time.
Electricity Market Development
The Electricity Market Development workstream is responsible for developing future directions for the ESO’s balancing services markets and answering key strategic market reform questions.
This team produces our annual Markets Roadmap, where we provide a transparent view of the market reforms we are introducing. As outlined in the Roadmap, this workstream owns and applies the Market Design Objectives and Principles to the existing and future reforms of the ESO’s balancing services markets. This ensures that we’re designing markets in a robust, comprehensive and transparent way.
Additionally, this workstream is exploring potential enduring and optimal market design options to procure stability services. This work is part of our Stability Market Design innovation project.
Markets Strategy
The Market strategy workstream looks at GB’s longer term energy markets.
In particular, this group runs the ESO’s Net Zero Market Reform programme. This project was established in early 2021 to holistically examine the changes to current GB electricity market design required to achieve net zero.
Most recently, this team published their Net Zero Market Reform Phase 3 assessment and conclusions. This report explores the reasons why reform is required for GB’s electricity market design, outlining nodal pricing as a solution to reduce consumer costs on the path to net zero.
Cross-border and EU
The Cross-Border and EU workstream develops and manages the relationship with the ESO's European counterparts following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
It is also responsible for analysing the medium- to long-term evolution of cross-border activities as the energy system transitions to net zero both in the UK and in Europe.
Distributed Flexibility Strategy
Our Distributed Flexibility Strategy workstream is responsible for developing the ESO's mid- to long-term strategy to facilitate the growth of distributed flexibility via ESO markets, our coordination with Distributed System Operation (DSO) markets and wider policy development.