Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
The Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) was introduced during the winter of 22/23 as part of the winter contingency toolkit. Its purpose in the first two winters of operation was to act as an enhanced action, in addition to the normal electricity market, to be used to access additional megawatts (MW) during times of high national demand, particularly on peak winter days when the system could have been placed under stress.
The DFS aimed to incentivise domestic consumers and industrial and commercial users through suppliers/aggregators to voluntarily reduce or flex their demand. The DFS has been viewed as a pioneering initiative that allowed households and businesses to participate in a flexibility market, lowering the entry barrier compared to established markets. The service gained recognition in the industry, winning the Whole Energy System Innovation category at the Green Energy Awards and the Net Zero Engagement category at the Utility Week Awards in 2023.
The DFS is evolving and in its third year we have proposed a few key changes. The DFS will be an in-merit margin service in line with the normal electricity market, meaning that it will no longer be an enhanced action. Details of the new proposals and the post consultation update are outlined in the recording below.
We submitted our final DFS proposals to Ofgem for approval on 24 September. Details on our final position on each of the proposed changes, along with a summary of the feedback received from the consultation responses can be found in the EBR Article 18 submission tab below. Click here for a summary of the submission. Thank you to everyone who took part, the feedback has been critical in shaping our final service design.
Should you have any questions or would like to schedule a call with the DFS team, please reach out via email.
The indicative timeframe for the consultation is outlined below.
| Completed | Published | Mid-July | August | September-October | November |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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DFS Evolution – Initial Service Design Proposal
Want to find out what is next for DFS? The following presentation will talk you through our early design ideas and proposed changes for this winter and beyond.
| Name | Published Sort ascending |
|---|---|
| DFS API Schema document v1.4 | 5 Nov 2024 |
| DFS Participation Guidance document v12 | 18 Oct 2024 |
| DFS Stacking List v1 | 7 Oct 2024 |
| DFS Market Guidance | 7 Oct 2024 |
| DFS Communication Principles v5 | 3 Oct 2024 |
| DFS Pricing Pro-Forma July 2024 | 31 Jul 2024 |
Webinar and industry engagement
DFS Post Consultation Update
DFS Evolution Design Proposal
Domestic households
More information for households looking to get involved in DFS can be found on our explainer document.
Industry and commercial
Please read our open letter to find out more about participating in DFS as a business.
Are you interested in becoming a registered provider?
Here’s a quick guide to getting set up.
1: Contact our Demand Flexibility Service team to arrange an introductory call
Let us know about your campaign and your audience and we can talk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. You can reach us at [email protected]
2: Register on the Single Markets Platform (SMP)
This is our platform to create and register units for DFS and to take part in a DFS event. This is also where your contract with NESO is submitted. Take a look at our DFS unit registration provider manual for more details.
3: Complete the DFS IT process check
Once you are ready, we'll agree a date for an IT process check to make sure you're prepared for an event. This check will cover the API, data transfers, data formatting, and more.
4: Submit an online form to become a registered provider on our website
Once you have completed all of your onboarding steps and submitted the form, your organisation will appear on our website as a DFS registered provider. This is so that consumers can find out which organisations are taking part in the service, and how to sign up.
Request to become a DFS registered provider
5: Once all steps are completed, you’ll be ready to participate in a Demand Flexibility Service event
As part of the process, you'll need to submit a number of files to us, including your initial unit meter point schedule file and onboarding weekly indicative forecast.
The participation guidance document will have full details for you to follow.
| Name | Published Sort ascending |
|---|---|
| DFS Registered Providers List Winter 2023/24 | 5 Jun 2024 |
| Market Information Report March 2024 | 12 Mar 2024 |
| DFS – Market information report winter 23/24 – January 24 | 25 Jan 2024 |
| DFS participation guidance document v.11 | 18 Dec 2023 |
| DFS - information for consumer groups winter 23-24 | 16 Nov 2023 |
| DFS procurement rules v2 | 27 Oct 2023 |
| DFS service terms v2 | 27 Oct 2023 |
| DFS communication principles v4 | 27 Oct 2023 |
| DFS - EBR Article 18 consultation responses summary | 5 Oct 2023 |
| DFS – Market information report winter 23/24 – October 23 | 4 Oct 2023 |
| Name | Published Sort ascending |
|---|---|
| Registered provider list 22-23 | 30 Jun 2023 |
| DFS Show and Listen 08.02.23 Collated Feedback Summary | 3 Mar 2023 |
| DFS Show and Listen 08.02.23 Workshop Slides | 3 Mar 2023 |
| DFS Show and Listen 08.02.23 Collated Feedback | 3 Mar 2023 |
| DFS Participation Guidance Document v6 | 8 Feb 2023 |
| DFS Communication Principles Document v3 | 16 Jan 2023 |
| DFS Declaration and Terms and Conditions | 4 Nov 2022 |
| Ofgem EBR Article 18 DFS Consultation Mapping Document | 4 Nov 2022 |
| Ofgem Decision on the Demand Flexibility Service | 4 Nov 2022 |
| DFS Service Terms Consultation Documentation | 18 Oct 2022 |
Webinars and industry engagement
Winter 23/24 – End of Year Report
We have produced a Demand Flexibility Service Winter 23/24 End of Year Report to provide industry with an overview on headline statistics from this winter. It covers a number of topics including an overview of the service design changes, key learnings, test analysis, commerciality of DFS and industry feedback.
| Download the DFS winter review |
Share your ideas on the future of the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
Are you interested in the evolution of DFS? Following our recent webinar, please share your feedback and ideas with us on what the DFS could look like moving forward.
| Download the questionnaire summary |
DFS overview and what's next webinar – March 2024
View the content from our webinar held on 22 March to learn about the performance and use of DFS during winter 23/24 so far and the future of DFS.
| Watch the webinar | Download the slides | Download the Q&A |
DFS winter review 22/23 – 30 August 2023
DFS Winter 2022/23 review which details the results from 20 Tests and 2 Live events.
| Download the DFS winter review |
Consumer evaluation webinar – 6 July 2023
The ESO has worked with the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to carry out an evaluation of DFS from over 23,500 consumer perspectives. This includes who participated, why they did so and how they took part.
The work also explores the barriers to taking part in DFS and benefits of participating as well as findings of the social research carried out via diaries, opinion poll, surveys and interviews.
| Download the slides | Watch the webinar | Download the report |
Pre-consultation webinar - 9 June 2023
A recording and the slides from our pre-consultation webinar held on 9 June outlining the next steps for DFS winter 23/24 and sharing our the final design proposals.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording | Download the Q&A |
Deep dive workshop 3 - 27 April 2023
The third of our series of deep dive workshops, covering process and operational delivery.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording |
Deep dive workshop 2 - 25 April 2023
The second of our series of deep dive workshops, covering commercials.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording |
Deep dive workshop 1 - 25 April 2023
The first of our series of deep dive workshops, covering the role of the DFS.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording |
Webinar - 16 March 2023
We ran a webinar on 16 March to provide an update on what's next for the Demand Flexibility Service, covering feedback received to date and potential future options for the DFS.
| Download the slides | Watch the recording | Download the Q&A |
Aug 2023: DFS overview webinar – winter 23/24
Here you can find a recording and the slides from our DFS overview webinar for winter 23/24 held on 7 August.
| Download the slides | Watch the webinar |
World-first Demand Flexibility Service exceeds expectations
Our innovative Demand Flexibility Service has been a great success for participants, delivering a reduction of almost 800 megawatt hours (MWh) throughout events to date, with some companies earning up to £8,000 so far.
| Read the news article |
Nov 2022: DFS launch webinar
The launch of the new Demand Flexibility Service following Ofgem approval on the 4 November 2022.
| Download the slides | Watch the webinar |
Oct 2022: Communications workshop
Slides from the Communications Workshop held on 20 October.
| Download the slides |
Sep 2022: Post-consultation launch webinar
A deeper dive into the proposed service design for a new Demand Flexibility service.
| Download the slides | Watch the webinar |
Mid-point consultation: questions and answers
A summary of the questions and answers following our post consultation launch webinar.
| Download the slides |
Aug 2022: Pre-consultation webinar
An overview of the proposed service design for a new Demand Flexibility service.
| Download the slides | Watch the webinar |
We've launched our DFS Data Portal where you can subscribe to receive the latest updates and find information relating to both live and test events and datasets relating to the service.
More from Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
Register for our DFS newsletter
Sign up to join our mailing list and get the latest news on the Demand Flexibility Service.
Contact the DFS team
You can email us if you have any questions, feedback, or ideas or want to arrange a call with the team.