Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched a call for evidence on improving delivery assurance of the Capacity Market and early actions to align the scheme with net zero.
According to the consultation document, the Capacity Market is at the heart of the government’s approach to ensuring a secure and reliable electricity system.
The Capacity Market provides all forms of capacity capable of contributing to security of supply with incentives to be on the system and to deliver during periods of electricity system stress – for example, during cold, still periods when demand is high and wind generation is low.
Ahead of the Ten-year Review, there is a need to make further incremental improvements to the Capacity Market’s design, including those identified through the Five-year Review in 2019.
However, BEIS states, the government also needs to account for a range of important developments, in particular:
- The increasing challenge of maintaining security of electricity supply, both in light of the
growing proportion of intermittent renewable capacity on the system and the retirement
of aging generation infrastructure. - The increased ambition to deliver legally binding commitment to net zero, exemplified by the publication of the Energy White Paper in December 2020, which outlines the importance of decarbonising the electricity system.
- The new context concerning the possible implementation of direct cross-border participation in the Capacity Market, which has been impacted by EU Exit and the end of the Transition Period, such that we now have the opportunity to consider a range of policy options for the future direct participation of overseas generation in the GB Capacity Market.
This call for evidence closes at
More information about this call for evidence and how to take part is available on the UK Government website.
