Energy Security Bill factsheet: Defining electricity storage
Updated 1 September 2023
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Flexibility from technologies such as electricity storage could save up to £10 billion per year by 2050 by reducing the amount of generation and network needed to decarbonise and create 24,000 jobs.
Why are we legislating?
Electricity storage covers a range of technologies that store low carbon energy for when it is needed, for example in batteries on the wall of your home or business, or in facilities that pump water to higher reservoirs when electricity is abundant, and let it flow back down through a turbine when it is scarce.
We are legislating to clarify electricity storage as a distinct subset of electricity generation in the 1989 Electricity Act.
Formalising electricity storage as a distinct subset of generation removes current ambiguities and provides long term clarity and certainty over its treatment within the existing frameworks (e.g. planning and licensing) and possible future frameworks. This will ensure continuity with the current treatment of electricity storage and allow flexibility for treating storage differently to other forms of generation where it is appropriate to do so.
This measure will facilitate the deployment of electricity storage.
How the Bill will achieve this
The Bill amends the Electricity Act 1989 to, in effect, clarify that electricity storage is a distinct subset of generation, and defines the storage as energy that was converted from electricity and is stored for the purpose of its future reconversion into electricity.
Background
Government is facilitating the deployment of electricity storage at all scales through the joint Ofgem and BEIS Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan. This focuses on actions to create a best-in-class regulatory framework by removing regulatory and policy barriers to the implementation of storage, ensuring that markets reflect the value of flexibility to the system and investing in innovation. Defining electricity storage in primary legislation is central to this approach.
Further information
The following documents are relevant to the measures and can be read at the stated locations: