Published 18 June 2024
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution will unlock greater volume and value from flexibility across its networks, following its decision to select Electron’s “ElectronConnect” platform to streamline and expand its procurement of Flexibility Services.
SSEN’s DSO Acceleration Action Plan identified the selection of a new Flexibility Market Platform during Spring 2024 as a key enabler for further growth. SSEN has worked closely with its stakeholders to gain the best-possible understanding of what they need from the platform which runs its distribution flexibility market. The feedback from the people and groups SSEN works with has informed the decision to select Electron’s platform.
Flexibility Services are vital to enabling the net zero energy transition in a cost-effective way. They quickly and efficiently maximise the capacity of the existing network and work alongside strategic investment to release further network capacity in the most effective way possible.
This three-year partnership allows SSEN to use ElectronConnect to streamline the entry into the market for Flexibility Service Providers (FSPs). This will open up new opportunities for both long-term and short-term flexibility from a single platform, in line with the ambitions set out in SSEN’s Flexibility Roadmap.
The platform provides the end-to-end procurement and contract management process, with an intuitive application programming interface, to meet the needs of SSEN’s stakeholders.
The growing need for flexibility – and what’s needed to deliver it at scale – has also influenced SSEN’s choice to select Electron’s solution. It provides DSOs like SSEN with a configurable market platform that offers compliance and alignment with industry standards straight out-of-the-box.
SSEN’s Head of Network Operations, Nigel Bessant, says:
“Digitalisation is at the heart of DSO transition, and it’s key to accelerating our Net Zero plans. In our DSO Acceleration Plan, we identified Flexibility Services as a key area where we needed to refine our digital tools. With our partnership with Electron, we’re doing just that. This new platform is critical to further building our flexibility portfolio to meet the requirements identified in our Distribution Network Options Assessment. Electron is a great partner for SSEN on this digital journey, with a well-aligned product and service vision, and a commitment to collaborative development.”
Electron’s CEO and Co-Founder, Jo-Jo Hubbard, says:
“We’re incredibly excited about the ambition of SSEN’s vision for scaling flexibility markets; they’ve contracted over 700MW of flexibility in the past few months alone. Being selected to support this expansion across both central southern England and north of Scotland is hugely significant for Electron. We’ve built our platform to unlock flexibility at scale, so we’re delighted to be bringing this to life with the SSEN team and the Flexibility Service Providers who’re active in their licence areas.”
May’s planned Mini Competition and Bidding Window will use the existing platform and processes. Migration of data to Electron’s platform will happen over the summer. The first bidding windows will be accessible through ElectronConnect from August. Planned Procurement activities are published in SSEN’s Procurement Statement.
About SSEN
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution is the electricity distribution arm of the FTSE-50 energy company, SSE. We serve over 3.9 million customers across the diverse and unique geographies of the north of Scotland, and central southern England.
Our role has never been more important. The communities we serve depend on us to deliver a safe, reliable supply of electricity to their homes and businesses so they can thrive today. And for us to deliver the infrastructure to create a net zero tomorrow. To do this we’re inspired every day by our vision to be “powering change with every connection”.
For further information please contact SSEN’s Media Team: 0345 0760 530
About Electron
Electron runs flexibility markets for DSOs and the grid edge, unlocking fast, low-cost capacity from millions of flexible distributed energy resources (DERs). By pairing grid analytics with flexibility markets, Electron reveals where DERs are and what they’re worth, so flexibility can scale wherever it makes technical and economic sense. Trusted by customers across the UK and North America, Electron is helping build a more cost-effective, reliable, and resilient energy system.
For media requests, please contact Emma Lovell at emma.lovell@electron.net.
