Flexibility Dispatches

Introduction

This dataset reports on UK Power Networks' use of paid flexibility services. UK Power Networks uses flexibility (demand/generation turn up/down) in London, the South East, and the East of England to manage electricity flows on the local electricity distribution network.

Flexibility dispatches data can be used to understand historical volumes, prices paid, geographic locations, providers, and technologies used. Using the Analyse tab, users can visualize and explore the growth of flexibility dispatches. These transparent insights can inform current and prospective flexibility services providers on how often flexibility is dispatched and at what price, including local authorities, electricity suppliers, industrial/commercial energy users, and generation operators. The data can also be used by wider stakeholders such as market analysts, advisers, regulators, and policymakers.

A wide variety of energy resources and low carbon technologies already provide flexibility services to UK Power Networks, including grid-scale batteries, electric vehicle charge points, solar farms, wind farms, and residential energy users. These are grouped using the industry standard technology categorizations as used for regulatory reporting. To find out more about how to participate in flexibility tenders and become a flexibility provider, visit our webpage: Flexibility - UKPN DSO (ukpowernetworks.co.uk).

Flexibility dispatches are currently reported from 1 April 2023, with new dispatches added monthly. Each row includes the timing, location, product, capacity, technology, and provider for our growing volume of flexibility dispatches. The data is assessed for errors using algorithmic quality control as well as being evaluated manually by a flexibility engineer before publication. The dataset can be downloaded or incorporated into the user’s interface via API.

Requested volumes may not match delivered volumes, depending on performance against the relevant baseline. You can find actual dispatch data in the yearly Procurement Statements and Reports at Tender Hub - UKPN DSO (ukpowernetworks.co.uk). This includes our annual Flexibility Statement (forecasts for the next regulatory year), Flexibility Report (outcomes from last regulatory year), and data appendices.

Methodological Approach

• Dispatches are made by a control engineer in the DSO Operations team to manage local constraints. Dispatches of flexible units (FUs) may be made either by API or email, depending on the FU's technological capabilities and preference.
• This dataset reports on dispatches made under Secure, Dynamic, and Day-Ahead products. Flexibility provided through our Sustain product is not dispatched and hence is not included within this dataset.
• Requested volumes may not match delivered volumes, depending on performance against the relevant baseline.

  Historic data may be updated from time to time where data errors are identified.

Quality Control Statement

Dispatches are passed through a quality control algorithm to flag anomalies and erroneous data. Quality control checks include:

• Times are consistent with the contracted service window;
• Dispatches are matched to the correct flexibility zone;
• Dispatches are unique (no duplicates);
• Dispatches are issued at the contracted price and volume;
• Dispatches are matched with an active contract.

Assurance Statement

The flexibility dispatch report is reviewed by a flexibility engineer and a member of the Data Science team to ensure the data is accurate before publication on the Open Data Portal. Any data errors in previous reports are corrected on an ongoing basis and updated monthly.

Other

Download dataset information: Metadata (JSON)

Definitions of key terms related to this dataset can be found in the Open Data Portal Glossary: Open Data Portal Glossary