Resilient Customer Response

Completed

Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Demographics)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis)
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour)

Project Contact
Northern Powergrid

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 April 2023

01 July 2023

3 months

£138,000

Power

Yorkshire & Humberside

Project Contact, Northern Powergrid

Project Contact, Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) plc

"In a smarter decentralised energy system, customers are becoming more integrated prosumers who can impact on the network and broader system operation. Historically resilience has meant providing consumers with a guaranteed supply, but future prosumers could have a role in supporting this resilience.Resilient Customer Response (RCR) aims to unlock the potential for DNOs to use customers behind-the-meter (BTM) assets and services to support network resilience, and enable networks to prioritise vulnerable customers who are subject to supply loss. RCR will explore the extent to which resilient consumers can support themselves and communities with their BTM assets when the restoration of supply is delayed.RCR meets the challenge aims by: Identifying novel methods and processes for DNOs to access support for improving resilience on low stability networks. Using customer BTM assets to provide grid/system support and improvedresilience allowing network investment to be prioritised where needed most. Developing a commercial and investment case for incentivising consumers to provide self-resilience. Developing new network processes and understanding the networks role to enable coordination of BTM assets to support network resilience and optimise network operations and investment.Northern Powergrid (lead organisation ) is responsible for resiliently supplying 3.9million homes and businesses. RCR will help NPG develop new ways to respond to customers in future events such as Storm Arwen.LCP Delta (project manager and lead researcher) is a leading European research and consultancy company providing insight into the energy transition, with a particular focus on customers and the interaction of customers with the energy system.The University of Southampton Sustainable Energy Research Group has internationally recognised expertise in socio-technical aspects of residential low­ carbon energy systems. Their ongoing research on semi-automated demand response through heat deferral and local storage as well as micro-grids for local energy resilience in East Africa will support RCR.Energy consumers and prosumers will directly benefit from RCR through improved resilience and potentially value generation. Vulnerable customers will directly benefit by improved prioritisation.Potential users the RCR solution are electricity DNOs, demand-side response aggregators, private homeowners and potentially energy communities. These users need a clear pathway to deploy resilience from BTM assets including understanding: The types of assets suitable and available, and the resilience they can provide New commercial arrangements to realise the whole systems value of private assets supporting network resilience. The costs and benefits to the people providing the resilience (and those on the PSR side receiving it)."

01/11/23