The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has today published a report by Frontier (Europe) analysing the future potential for Demand Side Response (DSR) in Great Britain. The wide definition of DSR used for the report includes any actions that reduce demand on the electricity transmission network at a particular moment in time. This includes ‘flexible demand’ measures such as delaying an industrial process that uses electricity, which are of considerable current interest to the government.

The report (written with support from Lane Clark and Peacock and Sustainability First) provides a comprehensive reference guide, setting out the evidence on the volume, characteristics and cost of different types of DSR that could be available in the future. The findings highlight the substantial differences in capabilities and cost between different forms of flexibility, and the market conditions needed to bring forward specific types of DSR in the future.

At present, much of the capacity for DSR lies with industrial and commercial electricity users, including owners of backup generators. The report demonstrates that significant future sources of DSR potentially include heat pumps and electric vehicles within the domestic sector, as well as “smart grid” technologies (such as batteries) that distribution network operators are starting to deploy.

Frontier (Europe) regularly advises clients on issues relating to the future development of the electricity markets.

For more information, please contact Goran Serdarevic on g.serdarevic@frontier-economics.com, or call +44 (0)20 7031 7000.