Demand Flexibility Service 2023 (and beyond!)

MultiFuelBurner

Of course its not all about the money but you can do your part reducing usage when they start stoking the coal power stations and the gas generators?

Something that's lost without the monetary rewards of last year as feared in another thread.

mmmmikey

I've registered but mainly for the amusement value of seing if I can hit a reward of exactly 1p :-) In practice I usually use no more than a few 10's of Wh at peak periods anyway so the potential for using less is miniscule.

JohnPo

Certainly there were no downsides to registering and opting in to each session last time with the Octopus scheme.  I noticed on the first couple of sessions before I understood how the now defunct in day adjustment window worked, that just because we had gone out during one of session we earned some Octopus points.

So will opt in to each session on the new scheme but probably not try too hard

Jyana

British Gas say that this year's sessions could be up to four hours long rather just one hour, which will make the whole thing a bit more challenging if they start at around 4/5pm. Many homes will struggle, though I also think some will find ways of saving quite a bit, myself included, if we get sessions that hit for that long at times like that with enough of a warning. 

TheElectricCow

Jyana said:

British Gas say that this year's sessions could be up to four hours long rather just one hour, which will make the whole thing a bit more challenging if they start at around 4/5pm. Many homes will struggle, though I also think some will find ways of saving quite a bit, myself included, if we get sessions that hit for that long at times like that with enough of a warning. 

Thanks for sharing, found some further clarity on this from NGESO’s FAQs - the 12 guaranteed test events will all be 1 hour long, but any additional live events that may be run could indeed last for up to 4 hours if the demand calls for it.

From November 2023 to the end of December 2023 the ESO will run six tests to support households and businesses in signing up to participate. 

These test events will incorporate a guaranteed acceptance price, ensuring that if providers bid to participate at £3/KWh (kilowatt hour) or less they will be guaranteed to be accepted.  DFS registered providers will in turn reward households and businesses for shifting their electricity demand during this time.

The tests are front-loaded to encourage early participation in the service and understand how different lead-in times impact delivery volumes. 

From January 2024 to the end of March 2024 the ESO will look to run a further six tests. If the forecast volume of participation in the service exceeds 1.25GW at this stage, these tests will be competitively tendered, without the use of a GAP. 

DFS tests will last for one hour.

Live events are likely to last for a longer period if they are needed and could run up to four hours each. These are most likely to be held late afternoon/ early evening on weekdays when demand for electricity is highest. 

Tests and live events are most likely to take place across weekday evening peaks.

Krakkkers

How do you get involved with this? I am with EON next and have smart meters/30 min updates/email notifications.

debitcardmayhem

Got this from Givenergy not looked into it fully yet, but I will be interested how it compares Intelligent Octopus https://givenergy.co.uk/introducing-givback-a-new-way-to-earn-cash-from-your-battery-this-winter/

bristolleedsfan

First Demand Flexibility Service test event to take place tomorrow night

The first event of this year’s service will take place between 5pm and 6:30pm on Thursday night.

https://www.nationalgrideso.com/news/first-demand-flexibility-service-test-event-take-place-tomorrow-night

TheElectricCow

And so the game is on - will be interesting to see how much “official” notice providers will give for this first round. Apparently ESO must be expecting a good uptake as they’ve already decided to split the event start times between providers.

I’m hesitant to advocate for anyone to purposely increase their use over peak times, but it is worth noting that any usage today during the same period as tomorrow’s event time will account for 10% of your baseline consumption. Certainly not worth artificially inflating any usage for, but for those going for maximum rewards potentially worth some consideration for any activity they’d be doing this evening anyway.

Of course there’ll be no way of knowing which start time your provider will be on until the proper event notification is served, so there’s little point trying to shift everything into a one hour slot.

mmmmikey

Just got notification from Octopus of tomorow's event...1800 Octopoints (£2.25) per kWh saved

edit: 5:30pm to 6:30pm for Octopus