March 2024 Newsletter

FlexForum Workplan and to-do list for March and April

The FlexForum workplan for 2024 and beyond includes 23 tasks with 7 initial tasks to be progressed between March and July 2024.

A lot has been going on behind the curtain since January to finalise the initial set of tasks we will deliver, find people to help do the work, and coordinate with our friends in flexibility and partners.

Our partners include Ara Ake, EECA, the ENA Future Networks Forum, the Commerce Commission, the Electricity Authority and the Consumer Advocacy Council.

It is finally time to pull the curtain back…

Here is an overview of the initial 7 tasks, the purpose and main output.

Task	Purpose and main output
The many ways a household, business or community can benefit from distributed flexibility	Document the flexibility outcomes for households, businesses and communities to provide the ‘users’ perspective of what the electricity system and market need to enable
A plausible future state for distributed flexibility	Provide a blueprint for a future electricity market and system that delivers the flexibility outcomes sought by households, businesses and communities
Designing a smart EV charging workplan	Co-design a workplan for EECA and the electricity ecosystem to make flexible EV charging the easy and obvious choice for households and businesses
A stocktake of the existing flexible resources, their opportunities and beneficiaries	Identify the current potential of flexibility resources to provide services to the electricity system, and the incentives available to the owners for putting these resources to use
Set the scene for digitalising the electricity ecosystem	Provide a reference point of pain points and blockages in data flows necessary to realise the value of flexibility
Track progress with delivering the Flexibility Plan	See how things are going by reporting progress with delivering the steps in the Flexibility Plan
Update the Flexibility Plan	Add, amend and tick off steps in the Flexibility Plan based on experience and learning-by-doing

Come to a FlexForum Workplan Q&A

Join us for a FlexForum Workplan Q&A.

All are welcome.

Who: People interested in what FlexForum is doing to make electrification and flexibility easier for households, businesses and communities

When: 10:30 to 11:30 27 March 2024

What: An introduction to the FlexForum workplan, what it will deliver, how it fits with other things going on, and plenty of time for Questions and Reflections.

View here for more event details.

Get in touch at info@flexforum.nz to join the session.

A whole-of-system EV charging workplan

FlexForum is coordinating on behalf of EECA a co-design process to produce a workplan setting out the actions required to make flexible EV charging the easy and obvious choice for households and businesses.

We are not mucking around. The workplan will be handed to EECA by 31 July 2024.

The first step is an all-comers workshop to review and agree facts about the current and future state for EV charging.

The workshop will happen in early April 2024. More details soon. Get in touch at info@flexforum.nz if you want to be involved.

The workplan story and what we get for the effort

The initial workplan tasks collectively will produce 4 meta outputs which are necessary conditions for successful electrification and to enable flexibility.

Looking at the bigger picture, the tasks and outputs will provide a solid foundation for updating regulatory settings and develop capability necessary to achieve a consumer-centric, efficient and reliable power system and market.

The outputs of the initial phase of activity are:

A blueprint for the future market and power system which reflects the decision points, actions and interactions (operational and financial) of a power system and market which delivers the energy (and flexibility) outcomes that people want and need.

A list of the existing and potential future components of how flexibility can practically deliver value to households, businesses and communities, ie, the current and future flexibility value stack or ‘show me the money’. There is no detailed whole-of-system description of the flexibility ‘value stack’ and the specific financial incentives underpinning the integration of flexibility into the market and system.

A schematic of the digital architecture and a list of capabilities required to enable the signals and information flows to which are needed to underpin the future market and system arrangements.

A work plan for EECA that would result in flexible smart EV charging being the default choice for EV users and charging adoption. EECA is getting FlexForum to coordinate the co-design of a workplan setting out actions required to make flexible EV charging the easy and obvious choice for households and businesses.

March 2024 Newsletter

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Want to get involved?

FlexForum Members want to make it easier for households, businesses and communities to maximise the value of their energy resources and their flexibility. This flexibility will help deliver an affordable and reliable operation of the electricity system and enable accelerated electrification as part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a zero emissions economy.

If this sounds like you, check out our Intro to FlexForum for more on our what, why, how and who.

Or check out www.flexforum.nz to find out more or get in touch at info@flexforum.nz if you want to become a Member.