“Hinkley C is about energy. Demand-side response is about flexibility. If built, Hinkley’s job will be to churn out as much electricity as possible. It won’t be flexible,” said Flexitricity founder Alistair Martin, in a statement.
“It’s the job of demand-side response to deliver flexibility, by moving consumption around, away from times of stress and towards times of excess.”
The firm insisted that Hinkley can work alongside DSR: “After eight years of using demand-side response to fill in when nuclear power stations fail, I do not understand why the GMB believes that Hinkley C nuclear power station and DSR are competing alternatives. They’re not.”
Yesterday, Flexitricity delivered emergency DSR to prevent a power cut after a sudden failure at Intergen’s 860MW Spalding Power Station.
Martin said he agreed that there is “untapped potential” to develop DSR within the industry and that leadership from National Grid could achieve this effectively.
Last week, the GMB union slammed National Grid for claiming a ‘smart energy revolution’ would avoid winter blackouts.
GMB national secretary Justin Bowden insisted too many players had responsibility for the UK’s power supply systems, and urged government to take control of National Grid’s actions in the interests of consumers.
He said National Grid is “using consumers’ money to pay firms to stop work” in order to avoid winter blackouts, which he called a “bonkers policy that only a natural monopoly would dare to implement”.