Flexibility allows us to adjust power generation or consumption in specific areas to prevent the network being overloaded. Managing the flow of electricity maximises network capacity, supports our infrastructure development plan and accelerates the transition to Net Zero. We procure Flexibility Services from various energy assets such as generators, storage systems, and aggregated consumer energy. We regularly announce new areas facing capacity constraints where we procure Flexibility Services to manage the network.
Our day-ahead bidding rounds are the final opportunity to procure flexibility and can include a range of needs. Shortfall from long-terms and short-term rounds and any Control Room requirements that are identified nearer to real-time. These rounds are run day ahead.
The Flexibility Dispatch report is a weekly ahead flexible services utilisation report which provides a summary of the dispatch instruction for both SEPD and SHEPD licence areas. The data identifies the area where the service products will be dispatched and how much capacity will be instructed from different flexibility providers. The Flexibility Dispatch report is intended to give our stakeholders an insight about the future usage of flexibility services and help them to better understand the potential opportunities for flexibility utilisation. The dataset also contains historical dispatch information dating back to 2023.
The Near Real-time Data Access (NeRDA) Portal aims to examine how near real-time energy demand and usage data can be best used by stakeholders. The data identifies areas where flexibility could be used or where network reinforcement will be needed. NeRDA is intended to provide open data and share electricity demand estimates with stakeholders. The Portal currently contains EHV/HV datasets from SCADA, LV datasets from LV Monitoring devices, and Load modelling data. There are two ways to access the data using the NeRDA Portal: navigating to and around substations within the Portal itself or via API Access.
Orkney Live provides real time information on the status of the Active Network Management System. Orkney Islands Electricity Demand: The graph shows the live demand for electricity as a proportion of the winter peak demand. The peak winter demand is a static figure that is reviewed annually by Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD). Orkney Islands Renewable Generation: The graph also shows the total live Orkney Islands renewable generation as a proportion of the total renewable capacity. The generation can be greater than the live demand, which means that the excess will be exported to the Scottish Mainland. The additional renewable generation attributable to the Orkney ANM system is shown as a proportion of the total renewable generation. The total renewable generation does not include the significant amount of microgeneration (
Our short-term bidding rounds are run to ensure we procure the flexibility volumes we need, but where previous long-term rounds did not fulfil all the requirements, Flexibility Service Providers (FSPs) declare their unavailability or where updated forecasts require more flexibility. Short-term bidding rounds are run a month ahead of need.
Outcomes of procurement activity and list of contracts from various parties to provide flexibility services.
The Seasonal Operability Report is a quarterly operational usage report, which will enable current and future providers of both flexibility services and distributed energy resources to understand how the SSEN Control Room has used various services in the past three months and highlight areas of potential curtailment in the future.
Our long-term bidding rounds typically involve flexibility requirements from our Distribution Network Options Assessment (DNOA) process that determines flexibility needs from our Extra High Voltage (EHV) network in the next three years. In addition, we include High Voltage/Low Voltage requirements at year ahead. This is normally flexibility needs for reinforcement deferral, or where our Control Rooms require flexibility for outage planning.
This statement by SSEN provides the Exceeded Import Curtailment Price and Exceeded Export Curtailment Price using flexibility market data which has been determined in accordance with this Schedule 2D of the DCUSA. Separate statements are published for the SEPD and SHEPD Licence Areas.
Contract Award Notices as found on 'Find A Tender' .