Covid-19 has had an enormous affect on how power is getting used throughout the UK. On common total demand is down 20% since lockdown, and with two financial institution holidays in Could, we’ve seen a mix of document low ranges of demand with giant quantities of renewable power from photo voltaic and wind.
In a method, this has given us the flexibility to take a sneak peak into the longer term. A future the place giant quantities of inexperienced power can be found at zero marginal price – if we are able to benefit from it.
However with out altering some previous habits, the unstable nature of renewable power – pushed by fickle British climate – will make the job of balancing the grid more and more tough and costly.
There’s loads of bits of intelligent know-how which might be effectively positioned to assist with this downside – battery storage, both within the house or on the driveway, will play a giant function.
A rising variety of sensible merchandise across the house have gotten clever about after they use power, because of API pushed power alerts, corresponding to these from our Agile Octopus tariff.
Nonetheless vehicles, batteries, and sensible house merchandise are costly, and out of the attain of many.
To attain a zero carbon power system sooner, we’d like new concepts that everybody can profit from.
So we used the unprecedented occasions of Could to run a sequence of trials, to know whether or not there was one other method.
What did we do?
Over the course of the 2 financial institution holidays, we invited simply over 100K prospects with eligible sensible meters to affix our trials. That is successfully a random pattern of Octopus prospects, apart from a slight bias in direction of prospects within the North of England because of the nature of the sensible meter rollout.
Clients have been provided the chance to be paid for the electrical energy they used throughout key occasions – occasions at which there was both extraordinary provide from photo voltaic & wind, or unprecedented low demand, such because the wee hours of the morning.
The rewards on provide weren’t giant: the typical buyer earned below 50p for becoming a member of in one among our trials. This was intentional – we’re occupied with whether or not small nudges can have a giant collective affect, very like the 5p bag levy, and the incentives are in step with what we may realistically provide prospects given small however significant modifications within the present power system.
How did it go?
We had a unbelievable response, with over 50K individuals throughout our six trials. Encouragingly, we additionally noticed actual behaviour change.
On the second financial institution vacation weekend, Octopus prospects used an extra 71MWh of electrical energy within the trial home windows – greater than 200% above what was forecast. For comparability, Europe’s largest grid-scale battery at Gresham Home in South Yorkshire has a complete capability of 75MWh, so that is genuinely important.
This type of “collective flexibility” has by no means been seen earlier than, however exhibits actual potential as a brand new methodology to assist us preserve a balanced grid because the UK’s power combine grows ever greener.
If you would like to know extra about our Could sensible trials, check out our unique submit for patrons getting concerned.
