KALUZA, OVO Group’s intelligent energy platform, has announced that it is the first residential technology platform to provide a paid flexibility service to a UK Distribution Network Operator, Western Power Distribution.
Through Western Power Distribution’s flexibility interface ‘Flexible Power’, Kaluza successfully delivered a flexibility service using a portfolio of domestic sonnen batteries in Lincolnshire.
Conor Maher-McWilliams, Head of Flexibility at Kaluza, commented on the news: “This milestone is a significant moment for the industry.
“It clearly demonstrates how domestic flexibility, alongside new innovative markets like Flexible Power, can play a vital role in the transition to a smart, resilient grid.
“With this technology in place, we are enabling people at home to get the most out of their products, pay less for their energy and reduce their carbon footprint.”
Kaluza discharged the batteries in automated response to live signals from Western Power Distribution’s control centre, reducing local network strain during the evening peak periods over several weeks.
Western Power Distribution’s Flexible Power has been procuring flexibility services from commercial customers and aggregators since 2017 but this is the first time domestic customers have helped manage peak demand on an electricity network.
Ben Godfrey, WPD’s Network Strategy Manager, added: “There is acute pressure on grid operators to find innovative ways to accommodate the UK’s growing electricity demand, without having to build larger networks.
“Technologies like Kaluza’s, that are able to securely connect and scale to many different IoT devices, create an exciting opportunity for the UK’s future energy system.
“We look forward to seeing the full impact that flexible technology can have as we push towards net-zero.”
