Electricity Demand Turn Up Trial EOI 2026: Up to £3 Million per Flexibility Provider for Verified Consumer Demand

Electricity Demand Turn Up Trial EOI 2026: Up to £3 Million per Flexibility Provider for Verified Consumer Demand

Innovate UK is inviting UK flexibility service providers to submit an expression of interest for Phase 1 of the Electricity Demand Turn Up (DTU) Trial. The competition is designed for organisations that can already work with electricity consumers and participate in the Great Britain electricity market. Its central question is practical: can consumers be encouraged to use more electricity at the right times, especially when renewable power would otherwise be curtailed, if eligible Final Consumption Levies are rebated?

This is an important distinction for applicants. The current competition is an EOI and does not award money by itself. Innovate UK says successful EOI applicants may be invited to a later award stage. The full trial is jointly funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), with up to £16 million available across the trial. Funding for an individual participating Flexibility Service Provider (FSP) is capped at £3 million over the full trial, but the later award remains subject to its own eligibility, assessment and approval process.

The current EOI opened on 20 August 2026 and closes at 11:00am UK time on 16 September 2026. Phase 1 is expected to start on 1 December 2026. If your organisation cannot recruit consumers, measure electricity activity, work through eligible National Energy System Operator (NESO) markets and deliver a live proposition at the start date, this is probably not the right round.

Key details

The deadline is a precise time, not the end of the day. Give your organisation time to complete every section and resubmit before the portal closes if you reopen the application.

What the Demand Turn Up trial is testing

Demand Turn Up means increasing electricity consumption when additional load helps the electricity system. That is different from demand response programmes that ask consumers to reduce consumption during periods of stress. The trial is concerned with times when renewable generation is available but the network cannot move all of it to where demand is located. In those conditions, generators may be instructed to reduce output, known as curtailment.

The official brief focuses on Scotland and parts of the East of England because high renewable generation and network constraints can coincide there. A proposition elsewhere in Great Britain can still be eligible if it can deliver DTU in response to relevant system needs through an eligible NESO market. Geography is therefore part of the evidence case, not an automatic restriction to two regions.

The economic problem is that Final Consumption Levies are applied to electricity consumption. Those policy costs can make it cheaper for the system to curtail renewable generation than to pay consumers to increase demand. The trial will test whether payments equivalent to eligible FCLs for measurable and verified DTU can change that calculation. It also wants evidence about consumer participation, supplier and aggregator behaviour, system impacts, value for money and possible market distortions.

This is not a general electricity discount scheme. The provider must connect the financial benefit to verified DTU activity and pass the benefit to participating consumers, subject to eligible participation costs agreed in advance. The trial does not create a permanent price reduction, and it does not cover every charge on an electricity bill.

What support and funding are available

The first thing to budget for is the EOI itself: it carries no award. A successful EOI applicant may be invited to the subsequent Phase 1 competition, where the grant request can be up to £3 million and the project can last up to four months. The project work must take place in the UK, intend to exploit results from or in the UK, start on 1 December 2026 and finish by 31 March 2027 under the stated Phase 1 project conditions.

The £3 million figure is the maximum rebate cost that can be claimed per participating FSP over the full trial. It is not a guaranteed grant amount, an amount paid simply for applying, or a promise that the provider will retain the money as unrestricted business income. The brief says FCL rebate payments are intended ultimately to benefit participating consumers. Providers will continue to receive normal payments from NESO for accepted bids, while FCL rebates will be calculated, verified and paid separately through the trial arrangements.

The trial does not rebate every charge. Balancing Services Use of System, Transmission Network Use of System and Distribution Use of System charges are listed as ineligible during Phase 1, along with other taxes, levies or network charges that the trial does not expressly identify as eligible FCLs. A good internal finance model should separate ordinary market payments, eligible trial rebates, consumer payments and the provider’s allowed participation costs.

The programme may also provide value that is not a cash award. It gives a provider a structured opportunity to test a consumer proposition, demonstrate delivery in a recognised market, and contribute evidence to future policy. Those benefits matter only if the organisation can meet the monitoring, consumer-protection and data-sharing obligations. They should not be described to customers as guaranteed savings until the trial rules and a later award are confirmed.

Who can apply

The lead applicant must be a UK registered business of any size or a not-for-profit organisation. It must be a Flexibility Service Provider operating in the Great Britain electricity sector. The official examples include energy suppliers, aggregators, and industrial or commercial organisations that participate directly in energy markets.

The organisation must confirm that it has an existing base of domestic or non-domestic electricity consumers, or both. It must also be active in, or able to participate in, at least one of the named NESO balancing markets: the Balancing Mechanism, the Demand Flexibility Service, or the Local Constraint Market where it continues to operate separately from DFS. The application should make that status concrete. Name the relevant market, explain what the organisation does there, and distinguish current participation from a capability that still needs to be established.

The remaining eligibility requirements are operational. The provider must be able to recruit new and existing customers, design and deliver an innovative DTU proposition that would become viable or significantly more attractive with FCL rebates, provide relevant consumer and electricity consumption data, and give participants access for primary research where appropriate permissions are in place. It must also work with DESNZ, UKRI, NESO and the appointed trial Delivery Lead through regular meetings and reporting.

Only one application may be led by an eligible organisation. Subcontractors are allowed, but they must be identified in the EOI, selected through the organisation’s usual procurement process and justified. Overseas subcontractors require a case explaining why a UK contractor cannot be used; a lower price alone is not sufficient.

What a Phase 1 proposition must deliver

Phase 1 is intended to move quickly. The organisation must propose a proposition that is already operational or can begin live delivery on 1 December 2026. A feasibility study, technology-development project or proposition design exercise without live delivery is outside the stated scope.

The selected FSP would need to identify, recruit and support consumers; communicate the proposition; deliver measurable and verifiable DTU through eligible NESO markets; and collect the information needed to calculate and verify FCL rebates. It must pass the financial benefit to participating consumers and invite them to take part in research and evaluation. The provider must also support analysis of consumer characteristics and electricity consumption data while complying with market rules, consumer protection requirements, trial terms and data-sharing requirements.

Phase 1 can use the Balancing Mechanism, Demand Flexibility Service and Local Constraint Market, subject to the final confirmation of market status and requirements at the later award stage. Distribution System Operator flexibility markets are not eligible in Phase 1 because the initial focus is on transmission-system needs and transmission constraint costs.

The trial is planned in three phases. Phase 1 focuses on rapid consumer propositions and early evidence. Phase 2 is expected from April 2027 and Phase 3 from September 2027, but later phases may change after lessons from Phase 1. The current EOI concerns Phase 1 only, so applicants should not assume that a Phase 1 invitation guarantees access to later phases.

How to Apply for the EOI

Start the application in the Innovation Funding Service and read the service’s application guidance before drafting. The application has project details followed by application questions. All questions must be answered, and the brief specifically warns applicants not to include website addresses or URLs in their answers because assessors will not open them.

The opening project information asks for the project team, project title, start date and duration. The project summary can be up to 400 words and should explain what is innovative; Innovate UK uses it to assign relevant assessors. The scope answer can also be up to 400 words and must show that the proposition fits the trial. If it is out of scope, it will not be sent for assessment.

Questions 1 to 8 are not scored, but they still matter. They cover the organisation’s location, animal testing, permits and licences, international collaboration, Trusted Research and Innovation information, acceptance of trial eligibility requirements, the organisation and customer base, and feedback on the wider trial design. Question 6 requires a yes-or-no confirmation of all core FSP requirements. Selecting no means the application will not be considered for Phase 1.

Questions 9 to 11 are scored. They ask about the Phase 1 proposition and potential delivery, readiness for live delivery, and the organisation’s experience and capacity. Each answer can be up to 500 words. The review panel will include at least three people drawn from UKRI, DESNZ and, where appropriate, the appointed Delivery Lead. The brief says a proposition must score at least 2 on each scored question to be considered, but that threshold does not guarantee an invitation or a later grant award.

Materials and evidence to prepare

The EOI does not call for a conventional academic case for support. Prepare an operational evidence pack that can be translated into the portal’s word limits. Useful material includes:

• The organisation’s registered name, address, legal status and description of its services.
• A current customer-base summary, including approximate numbers, domestic and non-domestic split, geography and relevant consumer characteristics.
• Evidence of participation in, or readiness for, the relevant NESO market or markets.
• A simple flow of how a consumer receives a DTU signal, takes action, and receives the financial benefit.
• An estimate of participant numbers, locations, DTU capacity and volume, with the assumptions and method behind each estimate.
• A readiness plan covering customer recruitment, communications, support, market participation, data capture and delivery on 1 December 2026.
• Examples of prior flexibility, consumer, data-management or evaluation work, with outcomes rather than generic claims.
• A list of partners and subcontractors, their roles, procurement route and any overseas justification.
• A permissions and compliance register for licences, consumer protection, data sharing, sanctions and any trusted-research or export-control issues that apply.

The source asks applicants to provide evidence relevant to their proposition; it does not expect experience in every category. That gives a smaller organisation room to make a focused case. Explain which experience is directly transferable, identify the gap, and show how the team will cover it before live delivery.

What reviewers are likely to look for

The scored questions create a clear review logic. First, the proposition needs to be specific. Identify the consumer group, the signal, the action that counts as turn up, the market route, and the payment path. “We will encourage flexible consumption” is not enough without an explanation of what the customer will actually do and how the activity will be measured.

Second, the numbers need an evidence trail. If you estimate a certain number of consumers or a particular amount of capacity, state whether the estimate comes from existing participation, customer records, pilot data, market performance or a planning assumption. Separate an upper bound from a realistic Phase 1 forecast. The brief asks for variation by time, duration and location, so include those dimensions rather than offering one national average.

Third, readiness must be credible. Work backward from 1 December 2026: customer recruitment, terms and communications, market integration, baseline or verification method, staff coverage, data protection review and reporting arrangements. The plan should expose dependencies instead of hiding them. A provider that is still deciding which market it might join will have a weaker Phase 1 case than one that can show how existing capability will be mobilised.

Finally, address consumer value and public value together. The trial wants to explore participation by lower-income and vulnerable households, but it does not say that every application must serve those groups. If your proposition can include them safely and fairly, explain how. If it cannot, describe the consumer population honestly and show how the design avoids wasteful consumption, gaming or unequal treatment.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most serious mistake is treating this EOI as a guaranteed grant. No funding is awarded at the current stage, and an invitation to Phase 1 is not a grant award. Keep those statements clear in internal approvals and any external communications.

Do not submit a demand-turn-down concept. The trial requires verified demand turn up, meaning additional consumption that benefits the system at the relevant time and location. Do not build the budget around DSO flexibility markets, unverified consumption, or rebates for charges that the brief excludes.

Do not promise a permanent electricity discount. The financial benefit is linked to eligible, measured and verified activity during the trial. The provider must pass the benefit to consumers, subject to eligible participation costs agreed in advance, and must comply with the later trial arrangements.

Avoid unsupported capacity claims, an unexplained customer list, and a technology-first narrative that never shows live delivery. The brief is selecting providers that can operate a proposition at pace. A modest estimate backed by current records is more useful than a large estimate with no method.

Finally, do not leave the portal submission until 11:00am on 16 September. Check every mandatory section, ensure the acceptance answers are consistent with the proposal, and resubmit after any reopening. Contact Innovate UK at [email protected] or 0300 321 4357 if you need application help or accessibility support; the brief recommends contacting the service at least 15 working days before the deadline for reasonable-adjustment support, so urgent requests may have limited options.

Timeline and next steps

The EOI opened on 20 August 2026 and closes on 16 September at 11:00am UK time. Innovate UK aims to notify applicants on 24 September. The later Phase 1 award stage, if offered, is expected to support projects starting 1 December 2026. The trial’s live Phase 1 delivery is expected to continue until 31 March 2028, while some funded data, reporting and evaluation activity may continue until 30 May 2028.

An organisation that is not invited to Phase 1 may remain eligible to apply for Phase 2, subject to the final scope and eligibility rules. That is a possible future route, not a substitute for meeting the current Phase 1 requirements. The official brief says the later design may change in response to evidence from earlier phases.

If this fits your organisation, the immediate next step is to appoint one lead, confirm the relevant NESO market, assemble the consumer and delivery evidence, and draft Questions 9 to 11 around one operational proposition. Then complete the unscored questions carefully, including data, compliance and trial-design details. Before submitting, reread the official scope, eligibility and payment language and make sure the proposal never confuses an expression of interest with an approved award.

Frequently asked questions

Does submitting the EOI provide funding?

No. Innovate UK states that no funding is allocated at the EOI stage. Successful applicants may be invited to a subsequent award stage, where grant funding for a participating FSP is capped at £3 million over the full trial and remains subject to further requirements.

Can an individual household apply directly?

No. The EOI is for a lead FSP, such as an eligible UK business or not-for-profit organisation. Households may participate later through a selected provider’s consumer proposition, but the current application is not an individual consumer-benefit claim.

Is the full £16 million available to each applicant?

No. Up to £16 million is the investment across the full trial. The provider-level cap is £3 million, and actual awards or rebate payments depend on the later process, eligible verified activity and trial decisions.

Can an organisation outside Scotland or the East of England apply?

Yes, if it can deliver DTU in response to relevant system needs through an eligible NESO market. Those regions are highlighted because renewable generation and network constraints are expected to create significant initial benefits, not because they are the only eligible locations.

Are DSO flexibility markets eligible in Phase 1?

No. The official brief excludes Distribution System Operator flexibility markets from Phase 1. It names the Balancing Mechanism, Demand Flexibility Service and Local Constraint Market, subject to confirmation at the subsequent award stage.

What happens if an organisation is not selected for Phase 1?

The brief says unsuccessful applicants will receive reviewer feedback, and FSPs not invited to Phase 1 may remain eligible for Phase 2 subject to its final rules. Phase 2 is expected to be broader, but its scope is not guaranteed to match this EOI.

Official application link

Read the complete Electricity Demand Turn Up trial: EOI for flexibility providers competition overview and use its “Start new application” route in the Innovation Funding Service. The official brief is the authority for the deadline, eligible markets, consumer-payment rules, data obligations and any change made before submission.