National Grid DSO has awarded 52GWh of flexibility contracts to the so-called FlexUp service, a move the operator said will help reduce renewable curtailment by shifting demand into periods of high clean generation.
The FlexUp awards form part of the DSO’s latest long-term flexibility tender, which secured 196GWh of availability across its portfolio, a tenfold increase on the previous year.
Cathy McClay, managing director of National Grid DSO, said the results show momentum behind flexibility as a smarter and more efficient way to operate the electricity network.
She added that the strong response to FlexUp provides a foundation for expanding local flexibility markets.
The 2025 tender introduced wider availability windows and more service hours for providers across flexibility zones covering more than 4.5 million customers.
Alongside the long-term awards, further opportunities remain in the short-term market, which is shifting from a week-ahead to a day-ahead basis.
FlexUp was trialled across 23 high-voltage zones and is the first DSO demand turnup service of its kind, demonstrating how flexibility can extract more value from renewable output already on the system.
The DSO said the procurement round sets a benchmark in scale, accessibility and innovation.