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Flex Provider Roundtable #2: optimising bidding in DSO flexibility markets

Piclo
August 06, 2021

Flex Provider Roundtable #2: optimising bidding in DSO flexibility markets

We hosted our second Flex Provider roundtable in July focusing on pricing and optimising bidding in DSO flexibility markets.

Piclo

August 06, 2021
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  1. Piclo Flex
    Flex Provider Roundtable: optimising bidding
    8th July 2021

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  2. Contents
    ● Flex Providers to Flex Providers: top tips
    ○ Summary of the tips, guidance and advice shared for Flex Providers participating in DSO flex markets
    ● Flex Providers to Distribution System Operators: market progress
    ○ Summary of the recommendations made regarding the barriers facing DSO flexibility market progress
    ● Bidding insights
    ○ Snapshot of the market insights from Piclo Flex
    ● New Piclo Flex feature: bidding in bulk
    ○ Latest update on the new feature on Piclo Flex that streamlines bidding in large volumes

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  3. Flex Providers to Flex Providers: top tips

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  4. Assets
    1) Upload your assets early
    ● This is important to do even if there are not flexibility competitions open on Piclo Flex. Once assets are uploaded, Piclo notifies you when
    there are relevant, new flexibility competitions that your assets can qualify and bid for
    ● You can do this on Piclo by: uploading the asset file. Reach out to us if you are interested in an Asset API at [email protected]flex.com
    2) Regularly update your asset data
    ● Whether it's uploading new assets or updating existing assets (e.g. an asset becoming operational after having been uploaded as
    planned) this step will minimise the risk of missing critical qualification deadlines when new flexibility competitions become available
    ● You can do this on Piclo by: updating and re-uploading the asset file
    3) Check assets near to the boundary of a flexibility competition zone
    ● If you have an asset that falls outside but near to the boundary of a flexibility competition, check the location again and reach out to us
    incase the asset is still able to participate at [email protected]flex.com

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  5. Qualification
    Qualify early: qualification involves several steps and can take longer than expected
    ● Uploading and updating assets: ensuring your asset data is uploaded, up to date and accurate is a key step and often where
    mistakes can be made. Leave yourself time to do this step carefully and make sure to double-check your data before the
    qualification deadline
    ● Dynamic Purchasing System: your DPS application must be accepted by the relevant DSO before the qualification deadline.
    Apply with plenty of time for the DSO to review your submission and to re-apply in case your application is rejected
    ● PQQs: Make sure to know if the DSO requires a PQQ for each flexibility competition you intend to bid for and leave enough
    time to complete this step
    ● Competition confirmation: to qualify for individual flexibility competitions you need to confirm you want to bid in them

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  6. Bidding
    Bid early, edit later: You can enter bids for flexibility competitions on Piclo Flex and return to edit them at any point before the
    competition closes
    ● Entering bids on Piclo Flex early provides you with the security that you will submit a bid for a competition, in case something
    happens preventing you from updating them at a later point
    ● Use the latest bid and competition data for your own analysis and strategies
    Need support? Email [email protected]flex.com if you have any questions

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  7. Flex Providers to Distribution System
    Operators: market progress

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  8. DSO flexibility market progress
    ● Low, standardised capacity thresholds
    ○ Flex Providers highlighted that reducing the capacity threshold for participation to 10kW for both HV and LV flexibility
    competitions across DNOs is helpful for smaller assets, aggregators and Flex Providers participating with EVs
    ● Qualification standardisation
    ○ The lack of standardisation when qualifying for DSO flexibility competitions is currently a barrier to participation. Different
    requirements make it difficult for Flex Providers to keep track of what is needed to be done and when.
    ○ Flex Providers mentioned that being able to complete all qualification steps in one place would be helpful
    ● For utilisation only contracts, estimates are essential
    ○ If there is no dispatch of the service, utilisation contracts are worthless to a Flex Provider. As such, it is difficult to strategise
    bidding for utilisation contracts without forecast estimates
    ● Contract stacking in future
    ○ Flex Providers signing contracts now are not able to revenue stack with other flexibility markets. Assurance is wanted that if
    these flexibility markets become compatible for revenue stacking in future, there will be room for this to be possible even with
    older contracts

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  9. DSO flexibility market progress
    ● Revenue opportunities
    ○ For some Flex Providers, DSO flexibility was not the main revenue source. However, even these Flex Providers highlighted it as
    an important revenue stream to support a business case for their assets
    ● DSO flexibility and Balancing Mechanism
    ○ To date, Flex Providers in the roundtable had not stacked BM contracts with DSO contracts, especially for those where National
    Grid ESO markets were a main revenue stream. There was a general consensus that there had not yet been any crossover with
    assets participating in DSO flexibility markets and the BM
    ● Dispatch
    ○ Flex Providers new to DSO flexibility markets were concerned about enabling the dispatch of their assets before qualifying and
    bidding for DSO flexibility contracts

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  10. Pricing & bidding insights

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  11. CONFIDENTIAL © Open Utility Ltd
    12,524
    bids
    1,954
    competitions
    received bids
    £47.15
    million
    total value

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  12. CONFIDENTIAL © Open Utility Ltd
    £500/MWh
    average accepted bid
    (utilisation)*
    69%
    bids accepted
    ≤9FPs
    bid per
    competition
    *Data is available from the latest bid and competition files
    **This is not acting as a guide price for future bidding

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  13. When & where have bids been placed?
    *Data is available from the latest bid and competition files

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  14. Who’s winning business?
    EV Aggregator
    *Data is available from the latest bid and competition files

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  15. Product Update

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  16. Bidding in bulk
    ● Flex Providers are qualifying for increasing amounts of flexibility competitions
    ● Flex Providers submitting bids for a large volume of competitions (~30+) during short bidding windows have found it tricky
    using the user interface, leading to a risk of not bidding for all the competitions they want to participate in
    ● Problems discovered:
    ○ Requires a large amount of data entry in a short period of time
    ○ Flex Providers have concerns over the accuracy of their data entries at this scale

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  17. How we unpacked the problem
    Brainstorm & validate
    3 options explored
    with some FPs
    “Bulk bid submission”
    through a file upload
    was narrowed down
    1
    Build v1
    Aimed to launch for
    SPEN’s Spring 2021
    competitions
    2
    Beta release
    Selected FPs tried the
    feature and
    successfully used it to
    bid
    3
    Iterate
    Continue beta roll out
    Release to all users in
    near future
    Please contact
    [email protected]flex.co
    m if interested
    4
    * We haven’t forgotten about those who don’t bid into a large volume of competitions 😊

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  18. Qualifying asset data
    ● Your qualifying asset data is
    now available in your account:
    Manage > Qualification.
    ● The file will allow you to see
    your qualifying assets
    associated with competitions
    and will be available for as long
    as the relevant competition is
    open
    ● You may want to use this to
    double check your aggregate
    capacities per competition and
    the number of assets qualifying
    for each competition

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  19. [email protected]
    [email protected]
    Thank you
    Stefanos Anagnostopoulos
    Commercial Manager
    Meghan Collins
    Product Manager
    Matthew Smith
    Product Manager
    Gemma Stanley
    Policy & Comms Manager

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  20. Copyright Notice
    Whilst reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information contained within this presentation is
    correct, the authors, Piclo, its agents, contractors and subcontractors give no warranty and make no
    representation as to its accuracy and accept no liability for any errors or omissions. Nothing in this
    publication shall be construed as granting any licence or right to use or reproduce any of the trademarks,
    service marks, logos, copyright or any proprietary information in any way without Piclo’s prior written
    permission.
    Piclo is the trading name of Open Utility Ltd, a company incorporated and registered in England and Wales
    with company number 08384033 whose registered office is at 35 Holland Grove, London SW9 6ER. Both
    Piclo and Open Utility are registered trademarks of Open Utility Ltd.
    © Open Utility Ltd 2021. All rights reserved.
    Any queries, please contact us on [email protected]flex.com

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