Issue 100 Assessing BSC Black Start processes to support NGESO’s Distributed ReStart project

National Grid Electricity System Operator’s Distributed ReStart project seeks to enable distribution-connected Plant to participate in an updated version of Electricity System Restoration (currently defined as Black Start in the BSC). This will broaden the range of providers who can offer the service, the networks it can be provided from and the situations in which these providers may be utilised.

Distributed ReStart is a project exploring how distributed energy resources such as solar, wind and hydro, can be used to restore power to the transmission network in the unlikely event of a blackout, i.e., provide a Black Start service. It is expected that the provision of this new service will commence from 2025 onwards.

The Issue Group will consider any BSC impacts and whether any changes to the BSC, Code Subsidiary Documents or BSC systems are required.

Issue 100 was raised by National Grid ESO on 5 April 2022.

The first Workgroup meeting was held on Friday 24 June 2022. The Workgroup discussed the background to Issue 100, potential BSC impacts and agreed areas for further development at future Workgroup meetings. An Actions update from this meeting has been shared with the Workgroup and added to the meeting page on our website. 

The Proposer agreed to pause the work of Issue 100 pending the outcome of a subgroup of Grid Code (GC) Modification GC0156: Facilitating the Implementation of the Electricity System Restoration Standard. A note to the subgroup on BSC compensation and imbalances can be found in the Documents section below.

Elexon responded to the GC0156 Workgroup Consultation on 20 December 2022 to highlight the potential BSC implications, including seeking NGESO’s confirmation that Issue 100 can be closed – since it no longer reflects its latest thinking on the intended BSC changes.

Elexon also responded to the Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC) Modification Proposal CMP398: GC0156 Cost Recovery mechanism for CUSC Parties Workgroup Consultation on 10 January 2023, to highlight the potential interactions between the CMP398 solution and the BSC’s existing process for Black Start compensation claims.

Elexon’s consultation responses can be found in the Documents section below.

The Issue 100 Proposer (NGESO) confirmed that they are happy for Issue 100 to be closed.

P451 ‘Updating BSC Black Start provisions and compensation arrangements to align with NGESO’s new approach to System Restoration’ was raised by NGESO on 1 March 2023.

The Issue 100 Issue Report was tabled at the BSC Panel meeting on 11 May 2023.