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Finance & Investment This week Grid to tender for demand service Demand sometimes needs to be stepped up to balance renewables and provide 'footroom' National Grid has launched a tender process for its Demand Turn Up (DTU) service, which is used to balance the grid when generation outstrips demand. The main purpose of the "footroom" service is to absorb excess wind generation, which would otherwise have to be curtailed. The DTU service sees providers paid to increase demand at transmission level, either by raising actual demand or by limiting generation. As renewables grow, so does National Grid's need for footroom. The system operator expects this requirement to be 3-5GW in 2017. The DTU service saw "significant utilisation" during a trial between May and October last year. The tender is open to any flexible technology that is not participating in the balancing mechanism. The entry threshold is 1MW, although sites of 0.1MW and larger can be aggregated. Winners will typically be called upon overnight, at the weekend and on bank holidays. Applicants can bid to provide either 'fixed' or 'flex- ible' DTU. In both instances, they will need to submit their availability ahead of the respective tenders, along with availability and utilisation prices. The tender for fixed DTU will take place later in February, whilst flexible DTU will be procured at short notice - twice each week throughout the duration of the service. The service will begin operating on 27 March. The deadline for fixed DTU submissions is 17 February. TG ELECTRICITY BEIS eyes storage for black starts The scope for large-scale energy storage to provide black start services in the event of a system failure has been recognised by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) within a new funding competition. Large-scale energy storage technologies could "provide black start services in the event of a complete system shutdown", BEIS said in a document outlin- ing the terms of the competition. Hybrid technologies, such as power-to-gas, and thermal stor- age, could additionally provide very long-term inter seasonal storage, which cannot be provided by electricity storage technologies, it added. In an announcement on 25 January, BEIS revealed that it would make £600,000 available for a feasibility competition for large storage solutions. Up to £9 million will also be available for a competition to reduce the cost of smaller-scale solutions. ELECTRICITY New investor could save Moorside South Korean investment in Moorside could help to safe- guard the future of the proposed nuclear plant in Cumbria, New Nuclear Watch Europe has told Utility Week. The NuGen consortium developing Moor- side is jointly owned by Toshiba and Engie. Toshiba announced on Friday it was reviewing its nuclear activities in response to a financial crisis, leaving a question mark over the future of the project. "This is an anxiety but it's one to which there is a solu- tion," said Tim Yeo, chairman of trade group New Nuclear Watch Europe. "I think what it will throw up is the possibility of bringing a new partner into the NuGen consortium." WATER Ancala presses Dee Valley bid Ancala has urged Dee Valley shareholders to accept its revised bid for the company instead of Severn Trent's, aer a court hearing to decide the future ownership of the water company was delayed again. The court announced on 27 January that it reserved until 6 February its judgment on whether a proposed acquisition of Dee Valley by Severn Trent had been fairly decided at an AGM that approved the deal. Severn Trent's attempt to buy Dee Valley ran into trouble on 13 January aer an unidentified buyer purchased 445 Dee Valley shares, but votes associated with these shares were not counted at the AGM. Renewable output needs to be balanced UTILITY WEEK | 3RD - 9TH FEBRUARY 2017 | 13 Stock watch SSE shares dipped slightly on Tuesday aer the supplier revealed continuing customer losses in a trading update for the three months to the end of December. Account numbers fell to 8.08 million, down from 8.14 million three months earlier. At the time of going to press on the day of the announcement, the share price had fallen 13p to 1,484p. The company's share price has fallen almost 5 per cent since the middle of January. 10am 12pm 2pm 1,560 1,540 1,520 1,500 1,480 SSE SHARE PRICE, ONE MONTH 10 Jan 17 Jan 24 Jan pence 1,500 1,495 1,490 1,485 1,480 SSE SHARE PRICE, 31 JANUARY pence 31 Jan