Innovative Project Aims to Unlock the Flexibility of Heat Pumps

The Equinox project (Equitable Novel Flexibility Exchange) aims to develop and trial innovative commercial arrangements and supporting technologies that unlock flexibility from residential electric heat pumps. Unlocking flexibility from heat pumps enables Western Power Distribution (WPD), an energy provider to over 8 million customers in the Midlands, South West, and Wales, to support the decarbonisation of residential heating in the most cost-efficient way for consumers. An important aspect of the project is the commitment to ensuring that all customers are able to benefit from the innovative solutions, including low-income communities.

The four year project, led by WPD, will be delivered by a consortium of Project Partners including Guidehouse, Welsh Government, West Midlands Combined Authority, Octopus Energy, Passiv, Sero, and SP Energy Networks.

The £15.38 million project is partly funded by Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition (NIC) and is the first NIC-funded project dedicated to addressing challenges faced by distribution network operators (DNOs) from the electrification of heat.

The decarbonisation of heat is crucial to the UK’s achievement of its net zero targets. As recently announced by the UK government, 600,000 heat pump installations will be expected per year by 2028. Managing the impact of these heat pumps will be crucial to delivering a cost-efficient and reliable energy system in the future