Distribution System Operation

Regional variation in the uptake of flexibility services

In collaboration with Northern Powergrid and WSP this report investigates regional differences in using flexibility services for the electricity grid in Great Britain. Understanding these differences is crucial before creating new national plans, to ensure everyone can benefit.

While efforts have been made to increase flexibility service use across the country, there's a persistent lag in northern England. The report examines if there are additional barriers specific to certain regions and highlights the importance of coordinated regional approaches for overcoming these challenges.

The future of electricity distribution

Optimising distribution with automation, flexibility, and informed decisions

Our electric vehicle strategy sets out the actions we will take to lead and support our customers and wider stakeholders on our journey to decarbonise the region’s transport.

With the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the UK’s roads is likely to rise to more than 35 million by 2050, with over three million of these predicted to be within the North West.

As the region’s network operator, it’s our responsibility to plan for the future needs of our customers and stakeholders and prepare the electricity network for the rapid uptake of EVs and associated charging infrastructure needed to support this.

Our EV strategy focuses on five key principles and sets out the actions we will take to facilitate the transition to EVs and make the North West a cleaner, greener place to live and work.

• Making it simple - we will make it as simple as possible for our customers to connect their EV charge points to our network
• Listening to our customers - we will support and engage with our customers and wider stakeholders to help them decarbonise their transport
• Working smart - we will use innovation and investment to prepare our network for the rapid uptake of electric vehicles
• Leading by example - we will lead the transition to EVs in our region by identifying opportunities to decarbonise transport in our own business
• Playing our part in the national strategy - we will work with the rest of the electricity and transport industries to inform national policy.

While developing our strategy, we have considered and incorporated the customer and stakeholder feedback we have received to date. If you have any further comment on our strategy, please contact us.

Previous DSO documents

In 2017 we published an evidence paper ‘The vital role for distribution system operators’ which sets out the challenges and opportunities with the UK’s transition to a smart flexible energy system.

This was followed by a one day interactive stakeholder event ‘Shaping the future of your energy network’ in collaboration with Carbon Co-op where we asked our stakeholders to help us shape our thinking and plans regarding the future of the energy system. The presentations from this event can be found below.

In 2018 we published 'Transitioning to a distribution system operator - a collaborative approach' which describes our vision of how Electricity North West can support North West people, businesses and energy producers in meeting the challenge of de-carbonising energy.