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Powering up the consumer: UK power networks trial app-controlled off-peak charging with variable success
6/11/2024
8 min read
Feature
Trials carried out by network companies and utilities are aimed at proving it is possible to shift electricity demand by offering incentives to customers, reports Andrew Mourant.
There was something emblematic about the closure of Britain’s last coal-fired power plant in September 2024. The gigantic cooling towers of Ratcliffe-on-Soar seem redolent of dinosaurs in a world focusing on renewables and app-governed ‘smart’ systems.
The national grid has had to adjust to the intermittency of power supplied by sun and wind, with renewables last year accounting for over 40% of total production. Managing this entails boosting battery storage alongside smart approaches so that domestic demand is in sync with grid supply.
But whether power is produced by coal, gas or wind, one major preoccupation of householders – how to pay their bills – remains timeless. Financial incentives to alter consumption patterns began to take root a couple of years ago when the National Grid Electricity System Operator (now the National Energy System Operator, or NESO) introduced its demand flexibility service (DFS).