The research, conducted by the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) and the Centre of Sustainable Energy (CSE), explores the attitudes of flexibility service providers (FSPs) towards the HOMEflex Code of Conduct. The report's recommendations are based on the insights of domestic flexibility sector participants and outline key components for a future compliance scheme to complement the existing Code of Conduct.
The research revealed that a significant majority of participants support the establishment of a compliance scheme for the domestic sector. The report suggests that such a scheme should build upon the existing HOMEflex Code of Conduct and facilitate the transition of HOMEflex-aligned organizations into compliance scheme membership.
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Participants also identified key roles for a compliance scheme, including:
• Setting quality standards to ensure customer protection
• Building trust and protecting good practitioners from being undermined
• Preparing industry for future formal regulation, if required
• Protecting customers through informing them of their rights, effective of auditing providers and providing access to effective dispute resolution mechanisms
• Incentivising high-quality service by recognising trusted companies
SSEN's Future Networks Innovation Project Manager, Simon O'Loughlin said: "While commercial and industrial flexibility markets are already functioning well, we're aware that our domestic customers and micro-businesses are still new to this way of trading and we want to make sure they are fully included and that their participation in research, such as this, will ensure their voice is heard as we bring them into this marketplace.
"The existing HOMEflex Code of Conduct serves as the cornerstone of a robust flexibility market built on transparency and inclusivity, and we are certain this latest piece of research – and its recommendations – will enable everyone who wants to participate to do so with confidence and fairness in the transition to net zero.”
Scheme Administrator for Flex Assure, Charlotte Roniger added:
"It's fantastic to see from the research carried out that a majority of providers of National Grid's winter 23-24 Demand Flexibility Service and other key stakeholders in flexibility sector support the creation of a compliance scheme, within the currently unregulated domestic flexibility marketplace.
"Domestic flexibility will continue to play an important part in the UK's journey to Net Zero and the standards set out by HOMEflex's Code of Conduct as the basis for a compliance scheme for providers could could be highly influential in building strong customer confidence in an inclusive, fair and transparent domestic flexibility market. Flex Assure looks forward to submitting its final HOMEflex project report to SSEN and the ENA with a full set of recommendations for how a compliance scheme could work best within a world of future government regulated markets."
