The COVID-19 lockdown has recently seen demand for electricity drop by as much as 20%. This has led to the National Grid looking for more ways to balance supply and demand, resulting in the launch of a new scheme paying generators to switch off.
The Optional Downward Flexibility Management (ODFM) service, scheduled to run until 31 August 2020, is open to small scale renewable generators, with a capacity of 1MW, who can receive payments from National Grid ESO, if they volunteer to turn off their generation of electricity. The payments should cover operating costs, lost income and provide additional profit.
