As changes in network management methodologies are rolled out, opportunities will arise for farms and rural businesses to benefit by:

• Reducing imported energy costs by managing demands to take advantage of more flexible tariffs i.e. by importing energy at advantageous rates at times of low demand on the grid.
• Increasing income by exporting renewable electricity at times of peak demand on the grid.
• By obtaining payments from the network operator for providing grid balancing services i.e. being available to adjust import or export of electricity temporarily as requested by the network operator.

• More efficient use and greater reliability on low carbon energy sources.
• Ability to accommodate changing patterns of demand.
• Reduction in the need for back up generation capacity (often fossil fuelled) as cover for periods of low output from renewables.
• Less requirement to upgrade infrastructure to accommodate theoretical maximum energy flows.
• Greater ability to meet local demand from local generation.
• Potential to increase the quantity of renewable generation connections onto currently constrained networks.

Some changes are already happening. Changes to electricity grid management are underway and power companies are developing commercial platforms that will make it easier for them to  trade in “flexibility” with generators and consumers, even at very small scale. It will be an on-going process over the next few years to roll out more sophisticated metering and control systems and to introduce new commercial contracts. This will allow small generators and consumers to obtain financial benefit from managing their energy supply/demand in a way that will allow the grid to operate more efficiently.

Benefiting from variable pricing may not require any specific new equipment only a change in routine to use cheaper power when available. In some cases more sophisticated controls may enable water heating or ice-building for example to be carried out automatically when lower energy prices are available or to enable “flexibility” payments to be obtained from the network operator for reducing demand during their peak times. Energy storage technology is likely to be more financially viable once a fully flexible market is introduced either by enabling the import of low cost power for use at a time when the price is higher, by storing home generated renewables for export at a higher rate at peak demand times or by receiving “flexibility” payments for being available to supply services to the grid.

This guide is intended to encourage you to think about how and where you use and/or generate power and how you may be able to benefit from upcoming changes. Further detail on the specifics of these changes including potential financial benefits, are required before any investment decision is made in terms of installing technology such as energy storage equipment for the sole purpose of benefiting from the reformed energy market.