MW Dispatch

We are accelerating connection of over 1.5GW of generation and battery projects by 10-15 years in the transmission constrained area in the South East part of our network by introducing the MW Dispatch service.

MW Dispatch RDP solution

We’re collaborating with National Energy System Operator (NESO) to assist them in managing their network while enabling our Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) customers to earn new revenue streams by opening them up to NESO market. This is one of the first industry implementations of this kind that addresses Transmission-Distribution coordination and Whole System approach.

MW Dispatch solution integrates the DER assets to the Control centres at UK Power Networks and NESO using advanced cloud and Web API based technologies.

Through coordination and data exchange between NESO and UK Power Networks control rooms, the project will enable NESO Control room to reduce excess generation from the network at the time of transmission system constraint, by instructing UK Power Networks solution which will dispatch the available DERs.

The added benefit is that this solution enables customers to receive constraint payments for the electricity they would have otherwise generated. This will, in turn, provide a cheaper alternative to the existing constraint management process used within the balancing mechanism, helping to reduce the whole system costs benefitting the bill payers.

Initial customer projects with generation and battery assets have already been onboarded to participate in this service in readiness for the launch of the service.

Read an overview of this service
MW Dispatch | National Energy System Operator

Progress to date

Following the publication of the MW Dispatch Service Terms in February 2024, we reached a major milestone of delivering our technical solution in March this year. This meant all the systems and integrations between NESO and UK Power Networks were completed to make way for DER integration and the launch of service.

In July 2024, we onboarded our first customer and integrated the customer asset to our technical solution followed by an operational trial in September 2024.

How to participate in this service

We have been registering DER customer assets for the service through NESO’s Single Market Platform (SMP) since Q1 2024.
To register, you will need to have the ‘Control and Visibility’ clause in your Connection Offer and all of the key information (i.e. the list of information found in the Participation Guide in Appendix 4).
To participate, you will need to onboard your asset to UK Power Networks Dispatch platform via Web API.
Please note both the registration of the service in SMP and the Dispatch onboarding can take a few months.

Next steps

We are currently undertaking the operational trial of the service, which will be shortly followed by the Service Launch and real dispatch of DERs from Autumn 2024.

If you have any queries. Please contact UK Power Networks at mwdispatchservice@ukpowernetworks.co.uk or the NESO’s Markets Team at Commercial.Operation@nationalgrideso.com.

Register here

Supporting whole system coordination

Through the development of the MW Dispatch Service, we have delivered one of the first practical implementations of advanced Transmission–Distribution (T–D) coordination, including a pioneering application of the Energy Networks Association (ENA) primacy rules.

To achieve this, we developed an industry-leading data exchange with NESO, providing unprecedented visibility of operational plans and actions while removing the need for complex coordination protocols. Data is shared in real time, day-ahead, and intra-day via secure digital links, ensuring DER flexibility is used where it is most valuable across the wider system. This approach creates more opportunities for DER participation in NESO flexibility, reduces network risks by enabling more accurate sizing of transmission dispatch requirements, and minimises the likelihood of conflicting services.

Key achievements

Following the publication of the MW Dispatch Service Terms in February 2024, we reached a major milestone of delivering our technical solution in March 2024. This meant all the systems and integrations between NESO and UK Power Networks were completed to make way for DER integration and the launch of service.

In July 2024, we onboarded our first customer and integrated the customer asset to our technical solution followed by an operational trial in September 2024.

The service officially went live in March 2025.

Participation guidance

We have been registering DER customer assets for the service through NESO’s Single Market Platform (SMP) since Q1 2024.

To register, you will need to have the ‘Control and Visibility’ clause in your Connection Offer and all of the key information (i.e. the list of information found in the Participation Guide in Appendix 4). To participate, you will need to onboard your asset to UK Power Networks Dispatch platform via Web API.

Please note both the registration of the service in SMP and the Dispatch onboarding can take a few months.

Assets can also participate in the DSO Flexibility Services at the same time as the MW Dispatch Service, but they may only provide one NESO service at a time.

Dispatch API Specification now available

In line with our DER customer feedback, we have published a simpler, more user-friendly version of the Dispatch Application Programming Interface (API) Specification document.

Covering both MW Dispatch and Flexibility Services, this document serves as a comprehensive guide for developers, outlining the functionalities, endpoints, request and response formats, and other technical details of the dispatch interface.
Read more at the button below, or in the documents section at the bottom of the page.

If you have any query or feedback on this specification, please contact us at mwdispatchservice@ukpowernetworks.co.uk or flexibility@ukpowernetworks.co.uk.

Customer engagement and stakeholder feedback

We actively engage with our customers and stakeholders to ensure transparency, collaboration, and the smooth delivery of the service and DER onboarding.

This includes joint activities with NESO and industry partners, as well as presentations at events such as DER Forum, DSO Flex Forum, Utility Week, joint webinars with NESO, and more. These sessions highlight how we work together to optimise grid flexibility and keep customers informed about service developments.

Document library