Demand Flexibility Service (DFS)
The Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) helps households and businesses participate in the electricity market by providing incentives, through suppliers and aggregators, for reducing or shifting demand.
DFS was introduced during the winter of 22/23 as part of the winter contingency toolkit. Its initial objective 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 days when the system could have been placed under stress.
DFS has been viewed as a pioneering initiative, enabling households and businesses to join a flexibility market with lower entry barriers than established markets. The service received industry recognition, 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.
DFS is evolving and in its third year, there are a few key changes. DFS will be an in-merit margin service in line with the normal electricity market, meaning that it will no longer be enhanced.
Ofgem approved our proposals on 21 November 2024 and the service will go live on 27 November 2024. View a summary of the approved proposals.
Should you have any questions or would like to schedule a call with the DFS team, please email us.
Registered providers
We’ve listed all the registered providers in the Demand Flexibility service. There are two tables: one for domestic households and micro-businesses, and another for all other businesses. These tables detail contacts for the providers and how to participate in the service. They also show if the providers are members of the Flex Assure compliance scheme or aligned with the HOMEflex voluntary standards.
The indicative timeframe for the consultation is outlined below.
| Completed | Published | Mid-July | August | September-October | November |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Webinar and industry engagement
DFS Post Consultation Update
DFS Evolution Design Proposal
DFS Evolution – Initial Service Design Proposal
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.
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 |
|---|---|
| Comparison of DFS Service Terms 2023 against 2022 | 14 Jun 2023 |
| DFS Service Terms (Consultation Draft 14.06.23) | 14 Jun 2023 |
| DFS Pricing Proforma June 2023 | 14 Jun 2023 |
| Comparison of DFS Procurement Rules 2023 against 2022 | 14 Jun 2023 |
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.
Registered providers list
We’ve compiled a list of all the Registered Providers taking part in the Demand Flexibility Service.
Demand Flexibility Service explained
Find out why we have introduced the service, how you can take part and more in this DFS explainer.
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