The Electricity System Operator (ESO) has shared early results from its CrowdFlex project, which explores how offering discounted electricity can encourage consumers to adjust their energy use to support grid management.
This summer, around 37,000 customers participated in trials run by OVO Energy, where they were incentivised to shift their energy use during specific periods.
The trials tested both “turn-up” events, where consumers were encouraged to use more energy when it was abundant, and “turn-down” events, where they were asked to reduce their usage.
The turn-up events, which used discounted electricity as an incentive, saw a higher level of energy shift compared to the turn-down events.
Ohme EV conducted similar trials with 1,300 electric vehicle owners, testing how incentives could influence when they charged their vehicles.
The trials showed that discounted electricity led to an increase in plug-ins during preferred time windows.
These findings from the summer trials will inform the next phase of CrowdFlex, which will continue to investigate how consumer flexibility can be a reliable resource for managing the UK’s electricity grid.
ESO CrowdFlex Project Lead, Sanna Atherton, commented: “CrowdFlex is developing this deeper understanding of consumer flexibility and forecasting and will start to establish domestic flexibility as a predictable resource for the control room, also helping consumers reduce their energy costs and another step towards decarbonisation of the energy system.”
David Watson, Ohme Chief Executive Officer, said: “Ohme is pleased to be part of Crowdflex – we believe that domestic customers can have a material impact in providing grid flexibility services, which could save consumers £10 billion per year in energy costs by 2050.”
