Monthly Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) Forecast Data
Summary
NESO's monthly BSUoS forecast publishes a 24-month-ahead projection of balancing services costs, the charge that recovers the cost of operating the system second-by-second (constraint payments, reserve, frequency response, black start). This is a routine recurring data release giving the next month's forecast plus a rolling two-year horizon, explicitly disclaimed as not binding on indicative or actual tariffs. It tells users what NESO expects to charge, not what changes.
Why it matters
BSUoS is a volume-driven socialised charge: every supplier and generator pays a per-MWh rate set by total system balancing cost divided by demand, so nobody who causes a constraint payment bears it directly. The forecast is useful for cost planning but the underlying design is the problem, it spreads constraint costs across all users rather than charging the parties whose location or behaviour created them.
Key facts
- •24-month-ahead rolling forecast plus next-month forecast, published monthly
- •Forecast explicitly without prejudice and may not match indicative or actual tariffs
- •BSUoS recovers balancing services costs: constraints, reserve, frequency response, black start
- •Published by the Electricity System Operator (NESO predecessor) as of November 2019
Areas affected
Memo
The Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) costs are reported on a monthly basis with a forecast for the next month and a rolling 24 month period. Here you can find the data for the 24 month ahead forecast. <br/><br/> Disclaimer: This forecast is published without prejudice and whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy based on the assumptions and models used, it is subject to several estimations and forecasts and may not bear relation to either the indicative or actual tariffs Electricity system Operator will publish at a later date. <br/>