What is flexibility?
“Flexibility is a key tool that helps us manage growing network demand while keeping costs down for everyone. It supports the UK’s Net Zero goals by encouraging customers to adjust how and when they use electricity.
“Flexibility works by offering payments to customers who can change their energy use during busy times on the network. For example, a homeowner might charge their electric vehicle at a quieter time, or a business might turn on a generator to help ease demand.
“By shifting energy use, flexibility reduces strain on the network, making it more efficient. It also avoids costly network upgrades to handle temporary demand spikes.”
~ National Grid
Why do we need flexibility?
In a traditional electricity system, there is no co-ordination between generation and consumption: the system operator must adjust power station output in response to variations in demand. As the electricity system becomes greener, this becomes more challenging because – in the simplest terms – you cannot tell the wind when to blow or the sun when to shine. With less control over generation, the system operator requires more flexibility from the users consuming the electricity. This is demand-side flexibility.
For a more detailed explanation, download our whitepaper Powering Net Zero: FlexGO and the Rise of Consumer-Led Flexibility
How can I provide flexibility?
Anything that can pause consumption for a period (from a few minutes to a few hours) or start consumption earlier than planned, can deliver useful flexibility. For example:
An electric vehicle charger at a workplace car park can charge more slowly to reduce consumption or reschedule its charge to a more optimal time, while still ensuring the battery is charged ready for when the employee drives home.
A commercial refrigerator or freezer – whether in a cold store or as part of a manufacturing setting – can be turned off for short periods of time, with thermal inertia keeping temperatures within required ranges.
A factory may be able to defer an energy-intensive step in its process for a short period without affecting production targets.
LED grow lights, used to artificially light plants, can be turned down or off for short periods without affecting growth as the plant stores a certain amount of energy.
The time at which a water company operates pumps for water treatment and transport can be deferred, especially in winter months when water consumption is typically lower.
Large-scale heat pumps connected to district heating networks can produce heat when electricity prices are at the most attractive and turn down or turn off generation during times of peak demand, with heat stores providing addition flexibility to store and draw down heat. For those district heating networks with combined heat and power, the engine can be called upon to generate electricity to create flexibility, and the heat stored for use later.
These are just some of the hundreds of assets across a wide range of industries that can provide energy flexibility. To date, Flexitricity has worked with customers across water, chemicals, recycling, food and drink, datacentres and others, and has identified and monetised flexibility in all of them. In the past this has sometimes been limited by the rigid requirements set out in advance by the electricity system operator and the networks. However, the market is transforming, making it easier to access and to benefit from.
What if providing energy flexibility doesn’t always suit my operations?
If an energy customer doesn’t want to shift their consumption at a particular moment, they can simply not offer to do so. This might be because – for example – the cold store is at the lower end of its temperature range, the tomatoes really need the light, or there are production targets which simply must be met.
What are the benefits to providing energy flexibility?
When we asked our LinkedIn followers what they thought the biggest benefit to being flexible with energy assets is, fifty-two percent said earning revenue, and forty-six percent said reducing costs. Only two percent said reducing emissions.
The great news is that providing energy flexibility can achieve all three of these benefits, creating revenue streams and reducing costs – potentially worth tens of thousands of pounds per MW per year – while contributing to a more sustainable energy system.
What next steps should I take?
Contact us! Flexitricity has devised a simple way for commercial and industrial users to unlock flexibility from their assets without disrupting core operations. Central to our offer is that we provide an end-to-end service from identifying which assets can provide flexibility, through to market participation and payment. Here is a step-by-step guide of what we do:
1. Asset integration
Flexitricity identifies which assets to connect and then connects to them directly via low-cost FlexGO Devices for most sites, with full outstations for large, complex facilities, or via API for multiple smaller assets such as charge points or domestic flexibility. This ensures precise control beyond just “on/off” switches, using real operational data such as temperatures or tank levels.
2. Metering and data capture
Flexitricity monitors the power consumption of your site.
Operational metering tracks real-time consumption (seconds-level data) for system balancing and performance checks.
Settlement metering aggregates half-hourly totals to underpin financial settlement. Increasingly, operational meters can also serve as asset-level settlement meters, offering higher accuracy.
3. Availability modelling
Using live and historical data, Flexitricity forecasts how much flexibility can be offered at any given time. This modelling accounts for site-specific rules, operating conditions, and recent usage patterns.
4. Market participation and settlement
Flexitricity manages the complexity of energy markets, including auctions, trades, and balancing services with the National Energy System Operator (NESO). After each event, contributions from individual assets are calculated precisely, ensuring accurate and transparent payments to you.
FlexGO is a groundbreaking new product that will offer a smarter way to unlock revenue from energy flexibility at a lower cost of connection, with no disruption to your daily business operations.
If you want to discover what flexibility potential you can unlock, visit flexgo.energy to get started.