Projects

Started

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
Northern Powergrid

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 July 2025

31 October 2026

ENA months

£215,000

Power

Yorkshire & Humberside

NULL

Project Contact, Northern Powergrid

Project Contact, Northern Powergrid (Northeast) Limited

The project will use a phased approach across six work packages to assess how flexibility services can be embedded into the new connections process. It includes constraint mapping, modelling flexibility coordination, benefits quantification, potential uncertainty analysis, and a 6-month pilot. The project will identify network, process, and regulatory constraints to embedding flexibility into the new connections process. It will quantify benefits, test solutions through modelling, and pilot a process in Northern Powergrids new connection process, if deemed suitable. To enable quicker, more cost-effective connections to the distribution network by using flexibility services as an alternative to reinforcement or curtailment. The project aims to produce actionable recommendations to support integration into business-as-usual.

The project will identify and suggest ways to use customer flexibility services to accelerate new connections. Flexibility services will be assessed on their ability to resolve the network, process and regulatory constraints which delay the connection of new generation, storage and demand projects while mitigating or removing the need for the new connecting customers to accept a curtailable or flexible connection agreement, which might result in them having reduced access to the network. It will also explore the potential for associated benefits to be realised such as customer flexibility working as a bridging solution to allow for the real-world impacts of the new connection on the network to be realised. By allowing such real-world impacts to be better understood, network planning engineers are then able to optimise network reinforcement based on this or potentially avoid the need for network reinforcement at all, lowering costs for the development of the network.

24/04/26