EUK and ENA piece together demand response jigsaw

Demand response could be provided by aggregators, by suppliers offering enhanced services or by a dedicated demand response market operator.

These were among the long-term outcomes in a discussion document on the evolution of smart demand response produced jointly by Energy UK (EUK) and the Energy Networks Association (ENA). They said they had tried to avoid “landing on solutions” and had instead considered how demand response could reduce overall energy use, shift demand out of peak times and provide short-term response to help balance the market.

The industry associations also identified barriers to smart demand response, including lack of detailed information on how electricity is used, poor market incentives and customer confusion.

Assessing likely developments such as variable tariffs, as well as the needs of the physical system, they said simple market mechanisms may not be enough to change consumer behaviour and aggregators or market intervention may be necessary. For example, there would need to be transparency so the activities of different demand-side response aggregators were balanced.

The document also asked what measures should be included in network price reviews to facilitate smart response.

EUK and the ENA said this was an evolving document and they wanted responses from all stakeholders within a few months.

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 20 July 2012.

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