Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | JUNE 2022 | 39 Storage heaters in trial for demand response Centrica will begin a controllable storage heater demand-side response trial using Elexon's Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Sandbox in September following approval by Ofgem. C entrica has been granted two-year access to Elexon's Balancing & Settlements Code Sandbox, which allows innovators to trial concepts in a live market environment without having to meet the usual BSC rules, to explore the ability of storage heaters to provide demand-side response when needed by dialing down demand. In tandem with Irish consumer electrical goods firm Glen Dimplex, British Gas's par- ent company will initially bring forward a maximum of 2.5MW of storage heater assets in social housing across sites which have non-half-hourly boundary meters – used at points where sites connect to a distribution network, to measure electricity flows to and from assets. From 2023, market-wide half-hourly set- tlement implementation will demand that electricity generation and use by customers with half-hourly capable boundary meters at their sites are settled using half-hourly readings. With the upgrading of boundary meters to achieve this running until 2025, Centrica believes it can deliver material benefit to consumers participating in the trial during the two-year window such as reduced tariffs and rent subsidies for vulnerable customers or those living in social housing. Elexon sees the trial of potential benefit to the energy system as a whole through the cutting of system balancing costs and crea- tion of more competition. Testing new concepts The proposal will see Centrica participate in the balancing mechanism as a virtual lead party – a role which Elexon and National Grid ESO created in 2019 – allowing inde- pendent aggregators to offer services in the balancing mechanism. BSC rules currently require that a site is settled half-hourly in order for a virtual lead party to operate assets located there. How- ever, a reprieve will allow Centrica to submit information into settlement stating when storage heaters have reduced their demand, as if the site had been settled half-hourly at the boundary meter. They will do this by using data from meters in the storage heaters to provide half- hourly data in lieu of data from the boundary meter. Elexon will ensure that electricity vol- umes resulting from reduced heater demand are properly validated. News of Centrica's Sandbox admission comes a"er Ofgem granted inaugural access to Emergent Energy in May 2021 – "unique permission" which enabled the firm to sup- ply residents in housing developments with green electricity and heat generated on-site through microgrids leased from the devel- oper or landlord. "Our Sandbox service is playing an impor- tant role in the move to a smarter energy system by giving innovators opportunities to test new concepts," said Simon McCalla, Elexon's chief executive. "We believe that demand-side response will play a big part in the transition to a cleaner, more efficient energy system and we are pleased that the BSC can support a trial which offers new ways for customers to par- ticipate in the balancing mechanism." Stuart Stone, editor, Utility Week Innovate

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