Octopus Energy and UK Power Networks (UKPN) will offer customers free electricity when energy supply exceeds demand due to excess renewable power on the grid. Through the ‘Power-ups’ scheme Octopus will send customers a notification of the times they are able to use their ‘Power-ups’ one day in advance. The scheme aims to tackle
Octopus Electric Vehicles is preparing a path for its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project Powerloop to become the first to enter National Grid ESO’s Balancing Mechanism. Developed by a consortium run by Octopus Electric Vehicles and Octopus Energy in partnership with UK Power Networks (UKPN), Energy Saving Trust, Open Energi, CPS, and Guidehouse, Powerloop has allowed
Tariffs, consumers and the government In July, energy supplier Good Energy launched the UK’s first ever heat pump tariff, raising a question about what will drive the adoption of the technology going forwards? A more mature technology One of the aspects that sets heat pumps apart from the growth of other green technologies in the
Over five million SMETS2 smart meters have been installed in the UK according to the Data Communications Company (DCC). The milestone was reached with the installation of a meter at a location in Lincoln by Bulb Energy yesterday (7 September 2020). It has been achieved despite installations pausing from March due the COVID-19 lockdown, and
Batteries can offer a cost-effective option for upward and downward reserve to the UK grid, a project run by AI and automation tech firm Arenko with transmission network operator National Grid ESO has found. The trial, first announced in May, found that the Electricity National Control Centre (ENCC) can effectively request the availability of
A combination of residential solar, storage and smart controls could "dramatically reduce" the evening peak. This is according to a new report produced by the Solar Trade Association (STA), Loughborough University and Advanced Further Energy. The report looks into the grid and consumer benefits of four generations of smart home, scaled up across a
A 25-megawatt battery-based energy storage system has been connected to the electricity grid to store surplus power from wind and solar plants. Located in a field near Taunton, it works by buying and storing electricity when it is cheap and then selling it at peak demand for a profit. It also helps the National
Double charging of battery storage is to end, as Ofgem approves changes to the Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC). The UK regulator announced last year it was consulting on the removal of Balancing Service Use of System (BSUoS) charges for energy taken from the grid by storage assets. BSUoS charges allow National
For a brief period a few days ago, Bordesholm in Germany became a showcase for how entire communities could switch over to renewable energy, with the backing of energy storage capacity. Solar inverter maker SMA’s devices, including its Sunny Central Storage battery inverter and SMA Hybrid Controller XL, were used in a trial whereby
Those digits won’t mean a lot outside of energy circles, but they’re likely to be etched into the UK industry’s folklore. Just after 16:52 on Friday 9 August 2019, the UK’s power system - one of the most secure in the world - tripped, causing power outages felt by more than 1 million customers. While