Supporting vulnerable customers with domestic battery storage could also help balance the grid

Since we’re so used to accessing electricity at the flip of a switch, it’s easy to believe that the process of getting it to us is simple: a plant somewhere generates power, and it travels along a series of cables and into our homes. 

While this is correct in a sense, there’s a lot more to it, and one of the most important and challenging aspects of keeping our homes well-lit and warm is balancing the UK’s national grid. 

Balancing the grid is about ensuring that the supply of electricity matches demand. If it doesn’t, one of two things is likely to happen: 

• If there is not enough electricity to meet demand, the frequency of the grid begins to drop. Power plants are only able to work within a certain frequency range, and if it falls too much they could stop working,  which could lead to blackouts. 

• If there is more electricity than demand for it then the grid’s frequency rises, which can lead to power going unused and plants potentially disconnecting.

Keeping the grid balanced has always been relatively complex; however, as the UK becomes increasingly electrified and more of our power comes from renewable sources that cannot be ‘fired up’ on demand but are subject to variable conditions such as wind and sunlight, the challenge has grown significantly. 

Fortunately, there are a number of potential solutions progressing at pace that will be vital for the clean energy transition. One of them is battery storage. 

Using domestic batteries to help balance the grid 

By keeping the electricity produced by renewable generators stored in batteries when demand is low and then sending it back into the network when it’s high, the flow of power can be maintained and the grid kept balanced. While large-scale, industrial batteries will need to play a significant role here, there is also a part for small-scale, domestic systems. In fact, the Government’s recently launched Clean Power 2030 Action Plan points to the need for a significant increase in flexibility and interconnection through consumer-led battery storage to reduce the need for new infrastructure and costly generation.

Combined with domestic batteries, innovations such as smart meters and Time of Use Tariffs can allow and incentivise households to store electricity when supply is higher than demand, and then use it when conditions are reversed, with some batteries even allowing homes to send power back into the network. Both cases help to keep the grid balanced, but are primarily available to those with the financial resources to install a battery system in the first place. We want that to change. 

As part of our 15-year partnership with Coventry City Council, we are running a pilot to help vulnerable customers enjoy energy security and lower bills by installing battery systems in their homes at no upfront cost. Our estimations show that over an average battery’s 20-year lifespan it can save between £5,000 and £6,000 in energy costs, which would cover the price of installation and be roughly double what would be given to help a vulnerable customer through the Warm Home Discount in the same period. 

This means that, for the same amount that is currently spent on helping vulnerable customers through energy discounts, we could potentially put batteries in their homes, provide them with even better savings and access to renewable electricity, and help to balance grid. That's a win-win for customers, suppliers, and the country. 

Putting more batteries in people’s homes 

We have already started surveying properties in Coventry with plans to install new batteries, and in cooperation with the city council we hope to upgrade at least thirty homes before the pilot is over. This will help us streamline our installations and make a long-term case for putting sustainable technologies in people’s homes not just for the environmental benefits, but the economic ones. 

As the results of our pilot become clear, we will continue to work closely with the Government to make it easier to upgrade people’s home sooner, and at no upfront cost to the end user. This could be through green financing grants and guarantees for sustainable lenders, updating the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to permit third-party ownership of domestic devices, or by reassessing what might be the most effective long-term ways of spending money to give help to customers who need it. 

Fighting fuel poverty, putting batteries in homes, and balancing the grid in a new, renewable age will likely require elements from all these approaches and more. That’s why we’re working constantly to solve present and future challenges to the UK’s energy plans – because it’s on us to make new energy work. 

To found out more about our pilot in Coventry, take a look at: Helping vulnerable customers in Coventry with  home energy upgrades