How can we drive coordination of digitised markets?

Facilitators:  

Doug Cook, Deputy Director,  Ofgem  
Lily Frencham, Chief Executive, ADE  

Flexibility is vital to deliver a low cost and low carbon energy system. Variable wind and solar generation needs a flexible demand-side to balance the system. Deploying flexibility avoids spending billions of pounds overbuilding generation and reinforcing networks. This is a huge opportunity for consumers to lower their bills. It is also a huge opportunity for technology, finance and energy companies to provide the solutions which unlock flexibility. 

To enable distributed flexibility to roll out at scale, providers need easy access to multiple markets. As a foundation, marketplaces must be digital, but they must also be well integrated. We can learn from innovation work to date, but how do we scale that and transition to BAU. 

We want to hear about the challenges faced today, but more importantly to identify ways forward with specific suggestions and examples of best practice. Therefore, we invite participation from the energy sector (flexibility providers and market operators), technology companies (including platform and IT providers) and the finance sector (investors in public infrastructure or consumer assets). By gathering in the same room, we can learn from each other about solutions that could unlock flexibility. 

In this peer-to-peer collaborative session share your experiences with a focus on these key questions (please note discussions may be technical in nature): 

• What data is needed? How can it be made accessible and interoperable across systems? 

• How to integrate digital platforms? Discuss challenges, best practice examples and possible solutions. Consider any core common functions and centralised and decentralised implementations. 

• How to successfully drive product coordination across markets? Discuss challenges, best practice examples and possible solutions. 

• What governance structures might be needed to develop, deliver, and maintain integrated digital markets? 

• What is the desired destination and key milestones on the way? What are the roles for industry and government in delivering them? 

• How to ensure wider stakeholder needs are prioritised?