National Grid ESO published the final Triad dates for winter 2023/24 in early April. Triad demand averaged 42 GW, with a record-low Triad demand of 39.5 GW on January 4th. But how do batteries earn revenue from Triads, how well did they perform this year, and which operators best predicted Triads?
The confirmed final Triad dates and demands for 2023/24 were:
- Tuesday 5th December 2023, 17:00 - 42,400 MW
- Thursday 4th January 2024, 17:00 - 39,530 MW
- Wednesday 17th January 2024, 17:30 - 43,984 MW
Triad revenue depends on a battery's average power output across the three Triad periods, alongside the Embedded Export Tariff for the region where the battery is located.
For example, in North Wales, the Embedded Export Tariff is £410/MW. A 50 MW battery that exported 50 MW, 30 MW, and 19 MW in each Triad would therefore earn:
(50 + 30 + 19)/3 x 410 = £13,530 or £270/MW.
Batteries exported 52% on average during this year’s Triads
33 Balancing Mechanism-registered batteries totaling 1.2 GW of power were eligible for the Embedded Export Tariff this winter. Across the three Triads, all 33 batteries exported power, but some captured revenue better than others.
The Triad at 17:30 on January 4th was the lowest-ever at just 39.5 GW, slightly below last years’ record. Despite this, 31 batteries exported 48% of their total power during this period. Only one battery correctly predicted the lowest Triad last year.
On January 17th, batteries exported 64% of their total power, bringing average power output during Triads to 600 MW, 52% of eligible battery power.
No batteries were caught out importing energy during a Triad this year, unlike in 2022/23. This meant no batteries paid the import tariff, which was drastically lower this year.
Location has a big impact on Triad revenue
Triads are designed to encourage increased generation and reduced demand in areas with the highest transmission costs: mainly the South of England. This year, batteries in the North of England and Scotland received zero export or import Triad tariffs, so could safely ignore Triads.
Batteries further South could earn more revenue than those in the Midlands and North Wales, due to higher export tariffs. The highest-earning battery received £7.8k/MW and was located in Southern England.