Balancing Market Review reporting timeframes published

• Consultants confirmed for Balancing Market Review

• Final report due by early April

National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has announced a timeframe and appointed external consultants for its review of the Balancing Market.

The ESO has appointed Frontier Economics to work on the review. They have partnered with Cornwall Insight who will support with stakeholder engagement and Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) who will undertake data analysis.

Initial insights from the data analysis are expected by early March, with the final report due to be published by early April.

Consideration of market rules will begin alongside data analysis. Engagement with interested stakeholders is due to start in February and will initially be staggered to allow the team to review some data before formulating proposed questions.

To mark the start of stakeholder engagement a webinar will be held in partnership with Energy UK at the beginning of February.

The Balancing Market Review follows some very high-cost days in the balancing mechanism. It aims to fully understand the factors driving the market, particularly at a time when households’ budgets are under strain.

A National Grid ESO spokesperson said:

We are pleased to announce the timeframe and the consultants for our Balancing Market Review, which is set to provide an important insight into the factors impacting on the market.

Stakeholder engagement will play a vital role in the review process and we look forward to publishing our findings in early spring.