Do low-income and vulnerable households participate in distribution system operator (DSO) flexibility markets? And if not, what can DSOs do about it?

These are the questions National Grid DSO are seeking answers to through a collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE).

Recognising the lack of data on who takes parts in DSO flexibility markets, National Grid DSO asked CSE to review their current flexibility markets and identify tangible steps for widening participation. We carried out three stages of research:

1. Analysis of flexibility procurement in low voltage constraint managed zones and a review of market rules and innovations that minimise barriers (see the 2025 report here).
2. A workshop with stakeholders on the common challenges and exploring practical solutions that could be led by DSOs to widen participation (see the workshop summary here).
3. Developing two case studies with Flexibility Services Providers: We worked with Connected Response, ev.energy and Motability Operations to identify real world opportunities.

Click here to download the 2026 report, ‘Access to Flexibility: Scoping interventions‘.

Working with flexibility service providers

Our analysis focused on two demographics that are associated with flexibility barriers:

1. Social housing tenants with storage heaters

Storage heaters, common in low-income and socially rented homes, offer substantial untapped flexibility potential. Social housing tenants with storage heaters therefore offer a clear opportunity for a DSO to increase utilisation. Our modelling indicated 2.3 GW of capacity across NGED’s license areas, and identified clusters in CMZs that need night-time turn down services, a period when storage heaters turn on. Diversifying when storage heaters are turned on to charge could reduce these constraints. The analysis also found around 40 Low Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) with more than 1MW of storage heater capacity that could present opportunities for both turn up and turn down services. NG DSO will take forward a collaboration with Connected Response to explore this opportunity.

2. Disabled drivers with electric vehicles

EVs are the largest source of domestic flexibility currently. Our research found that tailored support reduces opportunity gaps. We found that disabled EV drivers on the Motability scheme have fewer technical barriers to flex market participation than other EV drivers. This difference shows the effectiveness of Motability Operations’ support which includes providing households with smart chargers, and working with installers and FSPs to enable EVs to be registered in different flexibility markets.

Next steps

• National Grid DSO are working to take forward a trial of storage heater turn up services with Connected Response.
• National Grid DSO have also published their own roadmap in response to CSE’s research and the recommendations for widening access to flexibility services.
• CSE will continue to monitor how well flexibility markets are working for different types of households and support advice organisations and intermediaries to develop tailored advice that helps a wider range of households participate in and benefit from flexibility services.

Monitoring inequality

The case-study work and National Grid DSO’s roadmap builds on our early work that evidenced a correlation between household income and procurement of flexibility services.

In 2025, we analysed procurement in low voltage constraint managed zones (CMZs) and as the chart below shows, significant disparities in flexibility service provision were found.

The top 10 accepted flex category (left) shows that there were higher incomes in the households present in the 10 CMZs that provided the 10 highest amounts of flexibility. In contrast, households in CMZs where less than 1% of the tendered flexibility was procured is skewed towards lower incomes.

Flexibility provision was driven by technologies such as electric vehicle (EV) chargers and air source heat pumps. However, households in low-income areas and rural regions are much less likely to deliver flexibility to DSO markets. This is despite their potential to contribute. The research therefore confirmed that comfortably off households in wealthier areas are more likely to benefit from financial incentives linked to flexibility. And that more targeted support is needed to support low-income households engage with flexibility markets and deliver flexibility where it is needed within the low voltage network.

Access to Flexibility is our report which explores the accessibility of domestic flexibility services within the region covered by National Grid Electricity Distribution.