Negative DSR narrative risks missed opportunities, says O’Hara

A negative public narrative which links demand side response to energy crisis situations needs to change in order to achieve flexibility and decarbonisation in the power system, Utility Week was told by Cordi O’Hara, director of system operation at National Grid.

O’Hara said that changing this narrative will be an “absolute focus” for National Grid’s Power Responsive campaign in its second year.

She made her comments shortly ahead of the one-year anniversary of Power Responsive, which will be celebrated this week at a London event.

“One of our main objectives through power responsive is to change the industry and public narrative about DSR. It’s really important that we talk about the opportunity and the cost efficiency of working with demand side participants rather than defaulting to traditional sources of flexibility – thermal generation,” said O’Hara.

Following recent NISM events in which National Grid dispatched its Demand Side Balancing Reserve, O’Hara observed that press coverage has “unfortunately” framed the use of the mechanism in the context of crisis.

“We need to change the narrative and show that this is not about crisis management. It is an opportunity and it is a future way of managing our network in which businesses and, ultimately, consumers are going to play an evolving role,” O’Hara asserted.

“Actually, that narrative [about DSR] needs to change from one of energy crisis to one of energy opportunity – a new system with new sources of flexibility. We must change that narrative or we won’t realise the full potential,” she added.

Ahead of this week’s event to mark the one-year anniversary of Demand Responsive, O’Hara explained that National Grid will do more work to quantify the value of DSR, alongside other key technologies like energy storage.

She also said that she sees the new demand turn-up mechanism being trialled by the system operator as a prime opportunity to shift to a more positive DSR narrative. Demand turn-up triggers increased energy demand at times when surplus wind and solar energy is available on the system, often in the early hours of the morning.