Network

FLEXIBILIT Y Network talks to Sotiris Georgiopoulos, head of smart grid development at UK Power Networks, about its latest local flexibility tender and how it is taking distribution system management into new territory NETWORK / 26 / APRIL/MAY 2020 New territory participate. That is a unique feature of this tender, to test this kind of thing under real market conditions." And the market does appear to be responding to the oppor - tunity. Although it's early days for the tender, Georgiopoulos confirms that the prequalifica- tion list, who will go on to bid for contracts, does include a significant number of smaller players aiming to play in the low voltage flexibility space. "We have had good en - gagement," he confirms. "In previous tenders we've worked with the likes of Social Energy and others who are focused on the domestic flexibility market. And we've been working hard to develop our relationships with that segment. I am confident we are now going to see people bid- ding for contracts in this space." But it's not just the inclusion A s Network went to press, UK Power Networks was in the process of completing the pre-qualification stage of its biggest local flex - ibility tender to date. The tender puts £27 mil- lion worth of flexible service contracts up for grabs – equat- ing to a total capacity of 170MW, dwarfing the 45MW of flexible capacity contracted by UKPN in 2019. The new contracts will trans - form UKPN's ability to operate 115 sites across its network against a backdrop of increasing demand – especially from EV charging. And in a UK first, the sites include not only high volt- age locations, but also 60 low voltage sites. "The lower voltage sites we have included essentially of low voltage sites that is taking this tender into new territory for local flexibility provision. Neces- sarily, the products on offer also include a range of new options, reflecting an expectation that an increasingly broad spectrum of participants with differing interests and capabilities will come on board. For example, for the first time in this tender, UKPN will offer its "Dynamic Flex" approach which responds to feedback in previous tenders to say that some participants would be more likely to bid for con - tracts which included "greater optionality". Dynamic Flex, therefore, offers the opportunity for participants to declare their availability to participate in flex - ibility provision on a monthly basis. At the same time, UKPN heard from multiple parties last year that options to sign longer contracts might enhance that at - tractiveness of market participa- tion – especially for those in the residential energy market. "We were the first DNO to introduce four-year contracts," says Georgiopoulos. "Now we have stretched that further and are offering contracts for any - thing from one to seven years – which has required us to project some of our needs out until the end of ED2 [2028]". Of course, introducing prod - ucts with greater optionality needs to be carefully balanced with confirmation of contracts which can also provide network operators with certainty around what capacity they can call on in time of need. In recognition of this, UKPN has set targets for issuance of contracts across three tiers of flexibility product type in this tender, which fall into the fol - lowing categories: l Secure – Forward Option product for pre/post fault con- straint management l Sustain – Month/Week Ahead product for scheduled con- straint management l Dynamic – Within-Day prod- uct for pre/post fault constraint management take us down to street level," explains Sotiris Georgiopou - los, UKPN's head of smart grid development. "It's a UK first in distribution level flexibility tenders. "We chose the sites, which are all in the London area, on a targeted basis because we know they are places where EV clustering is either already hap - pening or will happen soon," he continues. "This is really important because it means we are putting signs into the market that those who offer smart charging or battery services for EV's could participate in the provision of local network flexibility. And we've made the minimum level for participation very low – it's the equivalent of three or four house loads – so a small collection of households or a small business could absolutely Sotiris Georgiopoulos speaking at one of UKPN's flexibility forums

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