ev.energy and Flexitricity have come together to utilise EV charging flexibility in National Grid ESO’s (NGESO) Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) service for the first time. The new activity builds on and reinforces the UK’s pioneering work in opening up power markets to aggregated distributed energy resources. Unlike other similar activities, this participation in power reserve markets is not an innovation or pilot project, but part of business-as-usual commercial flexibility.
Flexitricity has included 500 ev.energy users in its virtual power plant participating in the STOR service. NGESO calls upon the STOR when demand is greater than expected or when generation capacity has gone offline unexpectedly. When this happens, Flexitricity will ask ev.energy’s users to temporarily reduce their charging. ev.energy’s smart charging platform will respond to the request while also ensuring that drivers will have enough charge in their car when they need it.
Andy Lowe, CEO at Flexitricity, said, “Flexitricity is now the first organization to participate with 500 EV charging points in Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR). This milestone marks another industry first and showcases Flexitricity's commitment to innovation in the energy sector. By joining Flexitricity's virtual power plant (VPP), more organizations can now contribute to GB's largest VPP, which has recently surpassed the impressive 1GW milestone. This accomplishment not only highlights Flexitricity's leadership in the industry but also opens up new opportunities for to be part of a more sustainable and efficient energy system.”
Nick Woolley, CEO at ev.energy says, “ev.energy is participating as many EV drivers into grid services programs as possible and are a leader for independent EV charging flexibility. We were one of the first and biggest providers of services to distribution system operators and our participation in STOR now highlights our continued leadership in the sector.”
This latest work fits into a larger effort to open up energy markets to more sources such as EV chargers, residential batteries, and heat pumps in order to better connect users with the power system, lower network costs, and support the integration of more renewable energy. The British energy system operator, National Grid ESO, is working on similar initiatives, such as the Demand Flexibility Service and the Live Balancing Mechanism Trial. Meanwhile, the UK’s Distribution System Operators have been world-leading in their efforts to tap into resources to address local network issues. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero and the British energy regulator, Ofgem, have helped to lay the groundwork for these initiatives and encouraged new players to take part.
Looking to the future, this STOR involvement hints at more to come. New National Grid ESO flexibility services, Quick and Slow Reserve, which will further unlock the potential of flexible EV charging, providing value to EV drivers and reducing costs for everyone connected to the grid.