The consumer experience of energy flexibility, what to expect in 2027 and beyond

Last week I was lucky enough to catch up with Patrick Goodman, a senior BDM at ev.energy, which provides EV drivers with an app that optimizes against tariffs, pushing the charging to times when electricity is more plentiful on the grid for a cheaper, greener charge. Through its partnership with Joulen, it then enters those units of flexibility into the wholesale market (in fact, Joulen enters them on ev.energy’s behalf). The revenue from Joulen’s trading strategy is used to generate additional rewards and benefits for ev.energy’s drivers.

What is smart charging, and what does it need?

The combination of tariff optimization and earned rewards makes EV ownership an even better financial proposition for those who are able to take advantage of smart charging. This term “smart charging” covers a lot of ground: the tariff can be quite simple, for example one rate for peak times and another for off-peak use (familiar to anyone who has ever bought a train ticket). Or it can be more complex, with multiple set times with different prices per unit of electricity. These are “static time of use” tariffs. Then there are “dynamic time of use” tariffs, in which the energy retailer receives signals from the grid in near real time, combines that data with forecasts of likely demand and generation on the system, and translates it all into a cost per unit expressed in half-hour blocks. Generally a property will need to be metered on a half-hourly basis to take advantage of these “intelligent” tariffs. That metering is called half-hourly settlement.

Not all British homes are half-hourly settled. Most industrial and commercial electricity meters became mandatorily half-hourly settled nearly a decade ago, but the process to “enrol” smaller commercial and all domestic meters is ongoing, with the target for full completion by May next year. This is called Marketwide Half-Hourly Settlement, MHHS, and it is one of those unsung but hugely important regulatory and technical advances that will help to make smart energy management a standard feature of British homes.

What does the near future look like?

Government and industry have worked together to roll out millions of smart meters and migrate millions of homes into half-hourly settlement. We have devised dozens of innovative products, smart tariffs and rewards schemes for smart energy charging, but there are still a lot of people who risk being left behind. I think the coming years will be filled with innovative solutions to “the driveway problem”. Many of these will involve finding different places to charge the vehicle, such as workplaces or long-stay carparks. We will also see a rapid acceleration in the rollout of other smart electrical assets to take advantage of flexibility: smart electrical heating or cooling systems, and of course home batteries.

So the next few years will see more British homes with the technology and the incentives to participate in energy flexibility, with a greater diversity of asset types. The business case for consumer-led flexibility relies on more than just raw revenue (though there's that too) but also on providing the very best consumer experience - with innovative extras on top.

The consumer experience three years from now will be highly automated, built on deep trust and confidence. Consumers will find information easy to access but have little need for in-depth knowledge: this transition needs to engage people who just want their stuff to work, without the complex details. Above all, flex will be business as usual, the rule not the exception.

Smart charging is a great way for EV drivers to save money and earn rewards, but it relies on a consumer trust that is hard to win and easy to lose, so load controllers and flexibility service providers (FSPs) need to be hyper focused on the consumer experience. In early 2028, it remote load control for the purposes of demand-response and the provision of flexibility services will become licensable activities, under a Load Control Licence issued and regulated by Government.

This is a hugely important change that will be especially important for the continued cyber security of the grid and the assets we manage. It is also designed to improve standards of customer service and care, further improving public confidence in flexibility services.

How can Joulen help?

If you are a load controller or an FSP wanting to know more about the Licence, what it could mean for their business, or how Joulen is working with our partners and clients to support a safer, better, more secure customer experience of flexibility, please get in touch. Joulen has been closely involved in this process for some years and we are committed to supporting our partners and clients to understand and comply with all these requirements.

The Load Control Licence a great opportunity for this sector to build consumer trust in our products and to ensure world-class cyber security of our networks and infrastructure, but there remains a great deal of work to be done to make smart home management the default and obvious option for everyone.