Collaboration for Regulation: GridBeyond urges compliance with ADE Flex Assure for industry integrity

Last week, the Association of Decentralised Energy (ADE) published Flex Assure, a voluntary Code of Conduct for DSR providers.

Last week, the Association of Decentralised Energy (ADE) published Flex Assure, a voluntary Code of Conduct for DSR providers.

The guideline paper, developed in collaboration with major DSR stakeholders from across the industry, including aggregators, BEIS, National Grid and Ofgem, is the regulatory step the industry has been looking for to push towards better transparency and standardisation in the energy flexibility markets.

Flex Assure provides guidelines and specifies the minimum requirements for DSR providers in five areas: sales and marketing, technical due diligence and site visit, proposal and pre-contractual information, customer contracts, and procedures for handling complaints. The Code Compliance Scheme will be launched next year to facilitate the signing process and oversee signatories’ compliance with the Code.

“Quickly evolving grid balancing services and continual changes to DSR opportunities means the energy sector can be extremely complex and difficult to follow for industrial and commercial companies. This is why it is vital for businesses to be able to evaluate a DSR provider via a proven benchmark on their knowledge, integrity and technological acumen,” says Michael Phelan, Chief Executive at GridBeyond, the leading energy technology and services provider.

Image: Michael Phelan, GridBeyond’s CEO

“At GridBeyond, it is part of our ethos to provide clients, partners and prospects with accurate and objective information which enables them to make the best decisions for their businesses. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of transparency and professional integrity, and this attitude is shown in our long term relationships with both clients and partners. They trust our expertise and rely on our experience when making critical decisions that affect their business both financially and operationally. It is encouraging to see the practices and standards we have set in our own operations will become the industry norms.”

ADE Director, Dr Tim Rotheray commented on the publication of the Code:
“Aggregators have technical and policy expertise which can help sites fully capture the benefits of DSR, providing a route to market for those businesses which do not want to invest time and capital into energy specialisation. Flex Assure will give potential and existing DSR customers a common set of standards by which to compare aggregators and their claims and ensure they are able to quickly understand which providers meet those standards.”

It’s also in the spirit of clarity and simplicity that GridBeyond developed its Academy.

The GridBeyond Academy is a library of educational resources ranging from whitepapers, guides and blogs, through to reports, briefings and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) approved webinars and seminars on energy technologies and energy market trends and projections. The Academy aims to provide the necessary knowledge for prospects and clients to make enlightened decisions at every level of understanding from beginner, to intermediate and up to advanced.

The company remains committed to continued cooperation with the ADE, National Grid, Ofgem and Government in raising the profile of grid balancing services through education, collaboration and shared insights. An insight, GridBeyond were recently able to share with the ADE and BEIS, was a site visit to their client, Eurac.

Eurac is a leading European foundry based in Poole, which uses GridBeyond’s energy technology to participate in DSR programmes and the capacity market. During the site visit, the ADE and BEIS observed production processes and witnessed first-hand how smart sensors and technology powered by machine learning gives Eurac full control of their energy flexibility, whilst automating where required.

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