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Freedom to Flex: Helping customers to access the benefits of more flexible energy

Nationwide polling finds most people would use energy more flexibly if it helped lower their energy costs, and we want to make it work for them

To unlock all the potential of the energy transition, we need to build on the opportunities offered by more flexible energy use. 

Renewable resources like wind and solar sometimes generate more or less power than we need in a given moment, but a large part of this challenge can be overcome through technological innovations like battery storage, which can be used to store surplus renewable energy when supply is abundant, then discharge it when needed. 

That said, the way people choose to consume energy is also part of the picture, and encouraging more flexibility of demand would provide valuable support for net zero. 

There is understandable concern around asking retail customers to be more flexible in their energy use, but there is also evidence to suggest  many people are willing to get onboard – especially if we can make it work for them. 

Most people willing to use energy more flexibly 

According to nationally representative polling we recently commissioned from YouGov, most people would be more willing to be flexible in how they use their energy, but motivations matter. 

A majority 61% of people said they ‘would be willing to be more flexible in when and how [they] use electricity if it helps the UK achieve net zero,’ compared to 17% who said they would not. 

On the other hand, 81% of people said they would be willing to be more flexible if it helps lower their energy bills, compared to just 5% who would not. 

It’s highly encouraging to see that a majority of people would consider using energy more flexibly with net zero as their sole motive, but we can’t ignore that creating incentives through bill savings makes a significant difference. 

Fortunately, there are ways we can make flexibility of demand work to the benefit of customers. For example: 

  • Putting batteries in more  homes and businesses can empower them to buy energy when supply is high and rates are low, then use it when the situation is reversed. The result is lower bills, and the benefits are especially pronounced for  more financially vulnerable customers. This is exactly why we’re running a pilot in Coventry to put batteries in homes at no upfront cost, proving that flexibility can be good for customers. 
  • Introducing Innovative new tariffs like the E.ON Next Smart Saver Tariff, which offers peak, off-peak, and super off-peak rates at different times of day, giving customers incentives to use energy more flexibly, and more control over their bills. 
  • Helping consumers become flexsumers by upgrading their homes with technologies that allow them to not only buy, but also generate, store, and export electricity. As we’ve mentioned, batteries can play a major role here, but so can smart meters, solar panels, and EV charging facilities

More flexibility for customers will be key to ensuring the energy transition, and making sure flexibility benefits customers will be essential to getting them on board. 

There are a number of things the Government and Ofgem can do to help make flexibility work for consumers, including: 

  • Making battery storage a part of the new ECO5 scheme when ECO4 expires in 2026, which will deliver the benefits described above to more financially vulnerable households. 
  • Ensuring market-wide half hourly settlement comes into effect on schedule, which will make it possible for suppliers to assess more accurately how customers are using energy, and help them benefit from doing so flexibly. 
  • Keeping an open dialogue with suppliers over the smart meter rollout, so that all parties can work together to overcome challenges and seize opportunities as the process continues. 

Any one of these measures could help us build powerful incentives for customers to use energy more flexibly, establish the kind of flexibility the UK’s existing infrastructure needs to keep up with the energy transition, and make new energy work for everyone. 

To find out more about the need for greater flexibility, and how we can get there, go here.