Flexible electricity use must play a larger role in the energy transition

Electricity generation is a crucial part of the energy transition, but the system is also shaped by when and how electricity is used.

Many of the resources that could contribute are already in customers’ homes. EVs, heat pumps and other electrical equipment can adjust their electricity use in certain situations. For that potential to become useful, the technology must work, the customer must understand the offer and the energy company must be able to coordinate many small resources.

Flexibility starts in the customer’s everyday life

Take EV charging as an example. The customer comes home, plugs in the car and wants it to be fully charged the next morning. The car does not always need to charge at full power as soon as the cable is connected. If it remains parked for several hours, charging can be distributed across that period as long as the car is ready when the customer needs it.

That room for adjustment is flexibility. The same principle can apply to other electrical equipment, although the conditions will differ. The equipment must be controllable, and there must be enough time to change its electricity use without disrupting what the customer needs it to do. Flexible electricity use does not automatically mean that the customer uses less electricity. An EV may need the same amount of energy overnight even if charging is shifted or temporarily reduced. The flexibility lies in when electricity is used and how much power is drawn at a particular time.

The customer’s task should remain simple: the car should be charged and the home should be warm. Customers should not need to follow every change in the electricity market or understand every part of the power system. They do, however, need to know which equipment may be affected, what limits apply and what happens if their plans change.

If the car needs to be ready earlier, the customer should be able to change the time or opt out of control for that charging session. When charging is adjusted, the customer should also be able to see what is happening and understand why. The customer’s choices are part of the offer, because the technical ability to control a resource is not enough if the customer does not understand or accept how it is used.

The energy company has an important role here. You already have the contract, the brand and the relationship with the customer. You can explain the offer, define the terms and provide feedback in an environment the customer already recognises. That relationship becomes particularly important when many small resources are brought together. A single EV provides limited flexibility, but when many customers choose to participate, their available capacity can be coordinated.

From technical potential to a working customer offer

Real-time measurement can help customers see what is happening in the home. When the car begins charging, the change is immediately visible, making electricity use easier to understand and showing where there may be room to adjust it. Measurement and control are different things, however. To change electricity use, the service needs compatible equipment, a relevant signal to respond to and clear rules for what it is allowed to do.

Flexibility cannot be estimated simply from the number of EVs or heat pumps in the customer base. What matters is which resources can be connected and controlled, how much capacity is available at the right time and what choices customers have made. When those elements work together, real-time data can provide a basis for control and many smaller resources can be coordinated.

The potential of flexible electricity use becomes real only when someone connects the technical opportunity with the customer’s everyday life. For the energy company, that means starting with resources that can be connected and controlled, a customer promise that can be explained and terms that customers can understand.

We believe energy companies have an important role in this development. You own the customer relationship and can make flexibility understandable. We provide the technology to measure, control and coordinate connected resources within the limits chosen by the customer. Flexible electricity use can then become a real part of the energy company’s offer rather than remaining a technical possibility.