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Posted 4 months ago | 4 minute read

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What are Ancillary Services?

To guarantee a consistent and reliable power supply, it is essential to keep frequency, voltage, and power load within specified limits. This stability is achieved not automatically, but through ongoing adjustments provided by ancillary services.

Ancillary services refer to functions that help grid operators maintain a reliable electricity system. These services are managed by grid operators, including those overseeing transmission and distribution networks.

They keep the proper flow and direction of electricity, address imbalances between supply and demand, and help the system recover after a power system event.

Ancillary services include a wide variety of efficiency and safety nets, all focussed on ensuring the power system delivers enough output to meet demand yet remains stable. These can include:

As the electricity mix continues to change, so do its requirements for ancillary services.

These services have historically been delivered by thermal power stations, but the switch from a few very large power stations to a greater variety of electricity sources, some of which may be dependent on the weather, as well as changes in how we use electricity, means there is a greater need for ancillary services to keep the grid stable.

A smart, flexible system that makes the best use of all the energy resources available will enable a balanced, efficient and economical electricity system for the future. Innovations are enabling renewables to provide inertial response and overcome changes in frequency, batteries to store reserve power and enabling a wider variety of energy consumer to get involved with demand response.

At GridBeyond we work to build a shared energy economy that delivers sustainability, resilience, affordability and adaptability through collaboration and innovation. By bridging the gap between distributed energy resources and electricity markets, our technology means every connected asset, whether its utility-scale renewables generation, battery storage or industrial load, can be utilised to help balance the grid.

By intelligently dispatching flexibility into the right market, at the right time, asset owners and energy consumers unlock new revenues and savings, resilience, manage price volatility, while supporting the transition to a Net Zero future. 

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