National Grid Distribution System Operator is launching a new flexibility service designed to help manage voltage constraints on local electricity networks.
The Local Voltage Management service will be included for the first time in National Grid DSO’s annual long-term flexibility procurement round, which opens on 21 September.
The tender will cover more than 800 zones and seek more than 2.8TWh of flexibility, representing a potential market opportunity worth up to £4.6 million.
It will also include National Grid DSO’s largest ever high voltage flexibility procurement, covering 99 HV zones.
Successful providers will receive contracts in January 2027, with delivery running from April 2027 to March 2028.
Flexibility services allow households, businesses and energy providers to adjust how much electricity they consume or generate in response to local network conditions.
That can help reduce pressure on the grid, avoid or delay expensive reinforcement and create additional revenue for participants.
The new Local Voltage Management service will initially cover 100 targeted low voltage zones across National Grid DSO’s four licence areas.
It is the first time the operator has procured flexibility specifically to help manage voltage constraints at this level of the network.
Doerte Schneemann, Head of Flexibility Markets at National Grid DSO, said: “This new service gives us the opportunity to explore whether flexibility can help support voltage management on local networks and complement more traditional network solutions.
“We hope the insights gained will help shape the flexibility markets of the future and inform our thinking as we prepare for ED3.”
National Grid DSO is also expanding its Demand Turn Up services across more zones and will procure FlexUp for a second consecutive year.
The tender is open to aggregators, energy suppliers, community energy groups and commercial and industrial organisations.
There is no minimum asset size, with technologies including batteries, heat pumps, storage heaters and electric vehicle charging infrastructure all able to participate.
The aim is to make greater use of flexible demand and distributed energy resources as more low-carbon technologies connect to local electricity networks.
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