Triads 2019/20 Confirmed

Now that National Grid have published the confirmed Winter 2019/20 Triad periods, Strategic Account Manager, Mark Cox looks at the savings businesses would have made from reducing their consumption during these peak periods and how they can take the next steps to make the most of their flexibility.

Triads are the three highest half hourly periods of demand, 10 days apart, usually between 4pm-7pm throughout November to February. These three half hourly periods cover the cost of running the transmission network, also known as Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges.

Triad Periods confirmed

National Grid have confirmed the three Triad periods for winter 2018 occurred on:

• 18^th November 2019, 17:00-17:30, where the highest level of peak demand for this winter was recorded at just above 44.3GW,
• 2^nd December 2019, 17:00-17:30, where peak demand reached just over 44.1GW, 
• 17^th December 2019, 16:30-17:00, where peak demand hit 43.54GW.

This peak figure represents a reduction of around 2.6GW on the highest demand recorded for winter 2018/19 (46.9GW). The reduction has been caused by both ‘demand destruction’ where users are either removing or shifting peak load, and continued deployment of embedded generators helping to reduce the strain on the transmission network.

With our Triad warning service, we successfully notified our customers ahead of all these three confirmed triads periods. Our Energy Management Centre send a text or email notification to our customers when they predict a possible, likely, or very likely triad, so they can take action to reduce demand.

Triads remain for next winter

With Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review set to come into effect in 2021, there are plans to introduce fixed charges for TNUoS, which could have a big impact on the value of the cost saving opportunities presented by Triads. As a result, consumers are already looking at other ways to replace these cost savings with revenues from suitable Balancing Services and short-term wholesale market opportunities.

That said, businesses will still be affected by Triads next winter (and following the withdrawal of CMP332, the winter after that too. Look out for our next blog covering that in more detail). This means that it’s still important for consumers to reduce their consumption as much as possible in order to mitigate Triad costs in winter 2020/21, as those that can limit their demand can secure savings of around £50,000 for every MWh they reduce on average across these periods.

There’s no silver bullet to avoiding rising costs, or to future-proofing your business in this ever-changing energy landscape. But looking at how you can make money from the flexibility you have within your business is one way you can become a smarter energy consumer.