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NETWORK / 24 / SEpTEmbER 2016 Today mosT dsR conTRacTs aRe wiTh indusTRial and commercial energy users. although there is still scope to significantly increase the num- ber of businesses engaging with transmission, and increasingly distribution, network operators, the next evolution of dsR will be about enabling the domestic market. This is likely to involve enhanced aggregation and peer to peer energy trading capabilities. Decentralised energy TV pickups and other difficult to anticipate demand spikes mean expensive generating plant has to be on standby, at a cost of £800 million in 2013, according to National Grid. But demand response, em- bedded generation and energy storage technologies represent a rapidly growing world of decen- tralised energy, which is causing headaches for network opera- tors of all stripes, though power networks most prominently. It also offers opportunities to reduce balancing costs and transmission losses, however, and it is helping networks to re- spond to future demand projec- tions while avoiding some costly infrastructure investments. Da- vid Boyer, innovation manager at UK Power Networks estimates that it will deliver £43.4 million in investment savings for all its customers, "based on extensive trials of responsive contracts in the capital". He sums up: "DSR is a key tool that allows us to meet increased demand without overloading the electricity net- work, unnecessarily reinforcing substations or inconveniencing customers by digging up the streets to lay new cables." For gas network operators, decentralised energy trends are driving the connection of more sources of green and biogas to the gas grid. As of April this year, for instance, there were 65 producers of biomethane con- nected to the gas grid. By 2017, CNG Services estimates that 120 million therms per annum will be contributed to UK gas stores by biomethane. This is equiva- lent to the gas consumption of 240,000 homes. This will displace UK demand for LNG and help gas networks decarbonise, extend- ing and reinventing their role in supplying energy for the future. What's next? GRids Take The sTRain • 90% of the installed solar energy alone connects directly to the distribution system • 50% increase in electricity demand predicted due to uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps. S e r v i c e d by S t o r a g e who were the winners in the battle to provide eFR? National Grid has awarded all eight contracts in its new enhanced frequency response service to battery storage companies. This is the first time battery storage will be used for frequency response. The contracts are worth a total of £65.95 million and will provide 201MW of EFR, balancing the system within a second but costing £200 mil- lion less than alternatives. National Grid received tenders from 37 different providers across 64 sites for the service. Although the service is technology neutral, 61 of the tenders were battery assets, with just two demand reduction and one thermal generation. Res 35mw 35,088 hours Start date: Feb 18 low carbon 40mw Glassenbury 33,764 hours Start date: March 18 edF energy Renewables 49mw 35,088 hours Start date: Dec 17 element Power 25mw 35,088 hours Start date: Feb 18 Vattenfall 22mw 35,088 hours Start date: Apr 17 Belectric 10mw 35,088 hours Start date: Oct 17 eon uk 10mw 35,088 hours Start date: Nov 17 low carbon 10mw Cleator 33,760 hours Start date: Dec 17 £14.65m £65.95m £12.67m £12.04m £10.08m £5.75m £4.20m £3.89m £2.68m