The challenge

An estimated 1.63GW of low-carbon technology and distributed energy resource (DER) projects are waiting to be connected to the electricity network in the North West. DERs – such as solar panels, battery storage and managed EV charging – are small-scale generation and storage systems that provide electricity directly to nearby homes and businesses.

Without an alternative solution, some of these projects would need to wait several years for transmission and local networks to be reinforced. The vast majority of connections held in transmission reinforcement queues are renewable generators or battery storage sites.

The solution

Working with Schneider Electric, SP Electricity North West developed a new digital tool to enhance its existing network management system (NMS), resolving network constraints, facilitating flexibility service agreements and enabling faster, more flexible connections. The system combines ANM and NMS functionality into a single real-time topology and, according to SP Electricity North West, is the only system in existence that combines paid flexibility services, network assets and flexible connections in a single application.

Flexibility services and flexible connections help balance the network and reduce the need for costly, time-consuming reinforcement by compensating consumers and generators for using their electricity differently – for example, by adjusting usage during peak periods, or by storing excess renewable energy for later use.

How the project works

The ANM carries out network modelling in real time, using real-time data to monitor and manage the import and output of each DER against its connection or flexibility service agreement, while gathering data for analysis and planning. It detects and resolves network overloads rapidly while staying within safe operational limits.

Its centralised nature and region-wide reach allow for seamless scalability with lower additional costs to system users. Although originally designed primarily to resolve distribution network constraints, the system has been enhanced to deliver whole-system benefits by accelerating projects held in National Grid Transmission queues. Through partnerships with other GB distribution network operators, National Grid Transmission (NGET), the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and Ofgem, SP Electricity North West has developed the processes needed to use DNO-owned ANM systems to resolve constraints on transmission networks.

The results

Following successful testing, the first customer connected using ANM was a 30MW operational battery site in Wrightington. By agreeing to temporary import limits during peak periods, the customer benefited from a faster connection, completed without the need for network reinforcement. The connection saved an estimated £4.7m of additional costs: £1.5m for the customer and £3.2m of reinforcement costs that would otherwise have been funded by bill payers.

The battery is now able to participate in whole-system energy trading two years earlier than if it had waited for conventional reinforcement. In its first six months, the connection was curtailed by just 0.38% of its total potential capacity, compared with approximately 32% under conventional flexible connection options – a difference forecast to save the customer approximately 84.9GWh of curtailment over the year.

SP Electricity North West expects ANM to accelerate many of the low-carbon technology and DER schemes awaiting connection in the North West by up to ten years, supporting the electrification of heat and transport while helping to provide the UK with energy security.