The second report for the Household Or Microbusiness Energy flexibility (HOMEflex) Project has been published by Flex Assure in collaboration with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution and highlights its findings and recommendations for the domestic flexibility market, to ensure a just and fair transition to net zero.

Through research carried out by project partners - the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) and the Centre of Sustainable Energy (CSE) - this most recent report investigates the attitudes of flexibility service providers (FSPs) towards the HOMEflex Code of Conduct. Its findings provide recommendations from participants in the domestic flexibility sector on the key components for a future compliance scheme to sit alongside the previous established Code of Conduct.

 This latest body of research has found that the majority of participants support the creation of a compliance scheme for the domestic sector and that should it be implemented; building on the existing HOMEflex Code of Conduct and making it easier for HOMEflex-aligned organisations to transition into compliance scheme membership.

 Participants also identified key roles for a compliance scheme, including:

  • Setting quality standards to ensure customer protection
  • Building trust and protecting good practitioners from being undermined
  • Preparing industry for future formal regulation, if required
  • Protecting customers through informing them of their rights, effective of auditing providers and providing access to effective dispute resolution mechanisms
  • Incentivising high-quality service by recognising trusted companies

SSEN’s Future Networks Innovation Project Manager, Simon O’Loughlin said:

“While commercial and industrial flexibility markets are already functioning well, we’re aware that our domestic customers and micro-businesses are still new to this way of trading and we want to make sure they are fully included and that their participation in research, such as this, will ensure their voice is heard as we bring them into this marketplace.

“The existing HOMEflex Code of Conduct serves as the cornerstone of a robust flexibility market built on transparency and inclusivity, and we are certain this latest piece of research – and its recommendations – will enable everyone who wants to participate to do so with confidence and fairness in the transition to net zero.”

Scheme Administrator for Flex Assure, Charlotte Roniger added:

"It's fantastic to see from the research carried out that a majority of providers of National Grid's winter 23-24 Demand Flexibility Service and other key stakeholders in flexibility sector support the creation of a compliance scheme, within the currently unregulated domestic flexibility marketplace.

"Domestic flexibility will continue to play an important part in the UK's journey to Net Zero and the standards set out by HOMEflex's Code of Conduct as the basis for a compliance scheme for providers could could be highly influential in building strong customer confidence in an inclusive, fair and transparent domestic flexibility market. Flex Assure looks forward to submitting its final HOMEflex project report to SSEN and the ENA with a full set of recommendations for how a compliance scheme could work best within a world of future government regulated markets."

Background information:

The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) were commissioned by Flex Assure and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to develop a compliance scheme for the domestic flexibility sector, with the aim of establishing best practices for energy flexibility services through common standards and accountability. The HOMEflex Code of Conduct (CoC) serves as a foundation for this future compliance scheme.

The September 2024 report includes feedback from participants in the domestic flexibility sector and recommendations for the HOMEflex CoC. Data was collected in two phases: a survey of Flexibility Service Providers (FSPs) involved in National Grid’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) 2023-24, and a workshop with FSPs and other stakeholders.

The workshop gathered qualitative data on the scheme’s need, design, structure, principles, governance, monitoring, funding, and public awareness.

HOMEflex is a two-year project which has received Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) funding of £331,000 and is supported by the Energy Networks Association’s (ENA) Open Networks Project.