The report “Clean Flexibility Roadmap Update July 2026”, jointly published by UK’s Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), Ofgem and National Energy System Operator (NESO), is a comprehensive and actionable plan for how to achieve the flexibility required to deliver clean power by 2030 and net zero by 2050. This roadmap shifts focus from the delivery of important but intermediate milestones to the longer-term outcomes envisioned for consumers and the wider electricity system. The report includes the following commitments:

  • The government will rapidly assess the feasibility of consumers accessing government support for low carbon technologies to do so using a flexible tariff, with the option for the consumer to opt out. 
  • The government will take primary legislative powers when parliamentary time allows to enable removal of final consumption levies for demand turn up, supporting the use of consumer-led flexibility in addressing network constraints and boosting the commercial case for bidirectional electric vehicle chargers and domestic batteries. 
  • The government will also take primary legislative powers to enact the hydrogen to power business model and provide more certainty for investors, helping to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen to power. 
  • The government will future-proof technical specifications for energy smart appliance interoperability to ensure they can be expanded to incorporate bidirectional electric vehicle charging and Home Energy Management Systems. 
  • The Government Commercial Agency is designing the next generation of procurement frameworks to supply schools, hospitals and government buildings with energy that will include a range of clear routes for public bodies to access flexibility-enabled supply arrangements, including flexible tariffs and aggregator-led service models. 
  • Ofgem will set out the immediate priority steps for adapting its regulatory frameworks for consumer-led flexibility innovation and diversification of flexibility propositions. 
  • Ofgem will support the delivery of window 1 LDES Cap and Floor projects, including through published regulatory instructions and guidance. 
  • NESO will publish skip rate figures for CLF behind thermal constraints by Q3 2026 and assess the impact of previously delivered load response actions to determine next steps. 
  • NESO, and where relevant government and Ofgem, will ensure that in impact assessments and cost-benefit analysis for Reformed National Pricing (RNP) Programme balancing and settlement reform, options are assessed against prevalent consumer-led flexibility business models for accessing markets, such as virtual power plants made up of multiple small assets. 
  • NESO will ensure that consumer-led flexibility (including demand turn up) and electricity storage participation is modelled in all RNP dispatch reform and network constraint management options. 
  • NESO will also include an assessment of regional flexibility market development within its RNP Constraints Management Market and dispatch reform option analysis. 
  • NESO will, for better consumer-led flexibility forecasting, connect the CrowdFlex innovation project outputs within a sandbox environment to live and near-real-time data sources by June 2027. 

Access the report here