WG 9 Flexibility Markets
Working Group 9 (WG 9) addresses all aspects of market design for power system flexibility. This includes the whole range of market timescales, from long-term investment signals to second-to-second balancing and response. It also extends to cover the whole physical system from large centralised generation to behind the meter sources of flexibility within domestic settings and interfaces.
WG9 considers all sources of value that flexibility conceivably could capture, going beyond MWh to include physical grid characteristics like voltage control, repeatability, inertia, locational constraint alleviation, in addition to various aspects of the market that goes beyond the trading rules such as consumer support, or how obligations such as with respect to grid stability are understood and checked.
The objective of the combined impact of the Working Group’s activities will be:
To enrich and disseminate participant’s
understanding of flexibility market design
To create and curate an evidence base all can draw upon to support decision making in the flexibility market space
To further the debate on best practice in market design
Tasks
WG 9 countries are delivering three new tasks in FY 2024–2025.
Flexibility-Aware Distribution Network Planning
Lead: Austria and Switzerland (supported by Belgium, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Spain, and the UK)
This task explores strategies to consider flexible resources into long-term distribution network planning of network reinforcement, including potential implementations of local flexibility markets. The advantages and challenges associated with such approaches will be evaluated and compared. Expected outputs include:
A fact sheet on the possibilities of considering flexible resources in distribution grid planning
A fact sheet on the overview of possible flexibility concepts for distribution grid planners
A fact sheet or comparison table of local flexibility markets and network reinforcement solutions
A knowledge exchange webinar
Price Signals and Tariffs for Consumer Flexibility
Lead: the UK (supported by all WG9 countries)
This task investigates price signals and tariffs for consumer flexibility, and how they are emerging to support the flexible operation of grids. A key aspect of flexible grids is the provision of flexibility from consumers through consumer action to turn up, turn down or shift their energy consumption.
Flexibility from consumers is often described as explicit or implicit, and consumers are more frequently taking part in flexibility not just through temporary calls for response but also through engaging with new tariffs and services from suppliers and aggregators. The output from this task will be a short paper on the state of play of flexible tariffs for consumers covering international aspects.
Operational and Long-Term Planning
Lead: Spain and the UK and Spain (supported by Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland)
This task aims at identifying how flexibility markets (markets in which flexibility is bought or sold) are located within the overall electricity market landscape and reviewing and presenting the options for coordinating them that are emerging.
The objectives include reviewing and enhancing market-based coordination among system operators for increased accessibility of wholesale electricity markets, particularly for small local resources.
Additionally, the task aims to review tools and platforms developed to facilitate the coordination and standardization of flexibility markets. The task plans to produce the following outputs:
A short report on different coordination mechanisms for flexibility markets
A knowledge-sharing webinar
Published outputs from Working Group 9 can be accessed below.
Working Group Manager (UK)
Craig Fraser
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
