GB network operator Electricity North West to trial flexibility trading

Electricity North West’s BiTraDER project is planned to trial options for the introduction of a bilateral flexibility trading market.

Specifically BiTraDER, which is intended to launch in May, will investigate how flexibility providers can trade their position in a merit order stack determining the order in which they are asked to curtail their output at times of high demand on the network.

In this way, BiTraDER is aimed to reduce barriers to the connection of low carbon generation on the network and boost value for connected resources.

Partners include GB blockchain pioneer Electron and engineering and energy research consultants AFRY Management Consulting and Delta-EE. Ofgem is providing £6.8 million ($9.1 million) in Network Innovation Competition funding to support the £8.4 million ($11.3 million) initiative.

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“Ofgem’s decision represents a wonderful outcome for Electricity North West,” says Dan Randles, head of network innovation at Electricity North West.

“By offering the chance to trade, more customers are likely to sign up to flexible services meaning we can reduce our requirement to reinforce the network and customers can boost the value of their assets by using them to participate in providing services to both the network operator and electricity system operator.”

Currently, Electricity North West has an ordered list of customers that it can call on to reduce electricity demand in the event a constraint on the power network needs to be resolved.

The list will be sent to the BiTrader market and customers will have the facility to trade bilaterally meaning the order they are switched off in will be changed. Once the trading window is complete, the re-ordered list will be sent back to Electricity North West who will then complete any necessary actions.

The BiTraDER market will be run via Electron’s ElectronConnect platform, which has been deployed in several marketplaces, including project TraDER in Orkney where it is delivering a real-time local marketplace.

Electricity North West states that BiTraDER could provide a benefit of £35.5 million ($47.8 million) and a major carbon reduction for the North West region by 2050. If rolled out nationally, the benefit could reach £581 million ($782 million) with further significant carbon reductions.

Electricity North West is the network operator for northwest England, from Stockport and Manchester in the south up to the border with Scotland.