ENA’s Open Networks will be hosting a free webinar on September 21

As part of the Open Networks Project, Energy Networks Association (ENA) will be hosting a free webinar on 21 September, open to anyone interested in finding out more about the Commercial Principles for Contracted Flexibility Consultation.

The Consultation was launched in August and seeks views on how to create a smart electricity grid that enables new markets and opportunities for distributed energy technologies, including battery storage, solar panels and services such as electric vehicle to grid demand response.

Greater innovation and competition in markets improves the efficiency of the energy system and keeps the costs of operating and maintaining the energy networks down. The benefits can be shared with customers both through cost savings and through new technologies and services that allow them to benefit directly from a smarter electricity grid.

The Consultation summarises five key considerations that need to be addressed to ensure that distributed energy resources (DERs) can provide services in a way that improves network coordination and reduces system costs. It looks at how our system can maximise the use of DER assets, deliver access to markets, encourage new business models, and maximise the benefits of competition and third-party involvement.

The paper also looks to develop the Distribution System Operator (DSO) role by outlining different models for how the DSO will interact with the transmission operator and DERs. The evolution of the DSO role will be a crucial part of the smart energy system, a platform for new technologies, and is a priority for the Open Networks Project.

ENA fully recognises the importance of stakeholder engagement and ensuring that both large and small players and all those in between have a voice and are able to share their expertise in order to shape the Project’s direction and outputs.

Asheya Patten, Flexibility Workstream Lead at National Grid System Operator, will give an overview of the Consultation and what it is trying to achieve, followed by a Q&A session. Asheya comments:

“The ENA Commercial Principles for Contracted Flexibility paper is a key step towards enhancing access to networks and markets for all parties. It is very important that stakeholders from across the industry take this opportunity to input into the process through this consultation process.”

The webinar, ‘ENA Commercial Principles for Contracted Flexibility-Webinar’, will take place at 10am – 11am on Thursday 21 September. Although there will be opportunity to ask questions throughout the webinar, we encourage submission of questions in advance.