On 4 November, Ofgem granted approval to the National Grid ESO proposal to create a demand flexibility service this winter. This will allow consumers and businesses to be paid for the first time to reduce or shift their electricity usage out of peak periods this winter following a signal from the ESO, completing the duo of new contingency measures the ESO have put in place to mitigate any potential system issues this winter.
This winter season, the ESO are anticipating that margins will be tighter than the previous winter, particularly over periods throughout December and January, according to the recent Winter Outlook report. This will likely mean the ESO will have to use Electricity Margin Notices or even Capacity Market Notices to flag tightness to surplus capacity. The use of such notices has grown in recent winter seasons as de-rated margins have fallen.
