Smartest Energy to provide DSR service to businesses

Business energy supplier Smartest Energy is set to provide a Demand Side Response (DSR) service to its customers through the Capacity Market auction expected to take place in January 2016.

Customers signing up to the new Smart DSR service will receive payments for reducing consumption in periods of high demand.

Smartest Energy said customers will also receive some payment for taking part even if not called on to cut demand, while also being provided with wider energy saving and efficiency opportunities.

The DSR service will place customers into groups to share the capacity obligation, allowing customers the flexibility to only opt to reduce their usage at peak hours in winter months when they choose to. If a customer chooses not to reduce its demand at a certain time, the capacity will be covered by others in the group.

The company said the move to help customers become smarter consumers was a “natural development for the company.”

Chief executive Robert Groves said: “Demand side response offers an exciting opportunity for the businesses we work with to turn their energy use into an asset and make significant savings.

“At a time when larger businesses are increasingly looking to be more responsible over their energy use, it also has wider benefits in terms of making energy demand more responsive and sustainable, reducing CO2 emissions and helping the nation avoid the risk of blackouts.

“Many customers are already exploring forms of energy efficiency and we want to help them realise commercial benefits.”

National Grid has said it wants DSR to pay a larger role in providing a secure energy system. It has estimated that if just 5 per cent of peak demand is met by DSR solutions it would save £790 million.