Press Release
July 17, 2025 10:30 AM
Piclo and NESO Extend the Local Constraint Market to January 2027
Piclo, the UK’s leading flexibility services marketplace, is delighted to announce the extension of its collaboration with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to continue to support their Local Constraint Market (LCM) until January 2027.
The LCM plays a critical role in managing the transmission constraint between Scotland and England by enabling flexible energy resources to support the electricity grid in real time. Since its launch in 2023, the LCM has seen significant growth and innovation in its operation and participation model.
Over the past year, the LCM has:
- Enabled 7x growth in market value from Q1 to Q2 2025
- Introduced features such as ABSVD opt-out: enabling providers to 'opt-out' of ABSVD, and be paid the wholesale DA price in addition to their bid price
- Supported asset-level metering, allowing participation from meters at asset level, breaking down barriers of access to data
- Attracted a growing ecosystem of Flexibility Service Providers, including Axle, CUB, EDF, Ovo and Octopus
This extension reflects the LCM’s success and its increasingly important role in enabling a flexible, resilient, and decarbonised electricity system.
James Johnston, CEO and Co-founder, Piclo, said:
“We’re thrilled to extend our work with NESO and continue delivering one of the UK’s most innovative grid services. The LCM proves that local, dynamic flexibility markets are not only viable but essential in supporting the energy transition. We look forward to working with NESO to enable even more participation and unlocking greater value for consumers and the system.”
NESO and Piclo will also collaborate with Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to further integrate LCM learnings into wider market frameworks and enhance value across the system.
Get Involved
The LCM remains open to participants with flexibility assets in Scotland. Whether you manage EV charging, residential demand, or distributed generation, the LCM offers an opportunity to earn revenue whilst supporting grid resilience and decarbonisation.
🔗 For more details visit: https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/balancing-services/local-constraint-market
About Piclo
[This notice was updated on 11 June 2025]
Piclo is the world’s leading independent marketplace for energy flexibility. Our mission is to accelerate the decarbonization of electricity grids by connecting flex sellers - such as EV and battery operators, and DER aggregators - with every potential buyer, everywhere.
Through Piclo’s platform and services, flexibility providers can maximize the value of their assets by accessing a wide range of commercial opportunities across multiple markets and geographies. At the same time, flexibility buyers - including utilities, system operators, and energy retailers - gain access to the world’s largest pool of vetted flex sellers. Our platform helps them procure, operate, and settle flexibility services in a secure, streamlined, and scalable way.
Piclo operates across the USA, Europe, and Australia. Today, over 250 flex sellers - including Octopus Energy, Enel X, and Sunrun - have registered more than 350,000 assets, representing 30+ GW of flexible capacity on the platform. Flexibility buyers on Piclo include NESO, National Grid, SP Energy Networks, Northern Powergrid, E-Distribuzione, E-Redes, and Powercor.
To date, Piclo has enabled over $100 million and 3+ GW in flexibility contracts through its marketplace.
To learn more, get in touch, follow us on LinkedIn, or watch our story on YouTube.