We played a vital role in DESNZ’s Flexible Assets and Smart Homes project (Project FLASH) which aimed to assess the value of domestic demand-side flexibility in the 2030 energy market. Working with EDF and Landis+Gyr, we provided insights and analysis into smart tariffs and assets, innovative business models, customer behaviour and system modelling.
The background
Project FLASH is aiming to address this challenge by combining a customer-centric approach with a whole systems view of the energy sector to develop new flexibility propositions. The overarching goal is to pioneer innovative flexibility propositions and business models that hold substantial value in a future energy ecosystem.
The key question
The key question was to understand the challenges faced by stakeholders across the energy landscape in developing solutions that strike a harmonious balance between benefits, costs, and risks for all parties involved. DESNZ wanted to understand policy and regulatory measures it could address or implement to support development of successful demand side flexibility solutions. The project also aimed to understand various barriers, both financial and non-financial (such as behavioural) and how best to address them for achieving wider benefits for the sector.
What was needed
Project FLASH was centred around three main objectives:
- Designing and simulating innovative domestic side flexibility propositions to be modelled against market scenarios provided by DESNZ.
- Modelling each proposition down to a household level to assess the flexibility potential of individual assets or combinations of those assets against specific tariff rates.
- Identifying policy and regulatory barriers and potential enablers that support the implementation of the flexibility propositions.
What we did
We assessed the whole system value that can be captured by different assets providing different flexibility services using its EnVision modelling simulation.
We led initiatives to creating a comprehensive list of residential tariffs, considering different customer needs and energy consumption habits. This list was then narrowed down to four specific tariff options, each with different pricing structures to suit various customer preferences and the combination of energy assets they have in their homes.
Our simulation approach was substantiated by eight focus group sessions that we led with a diverse range of customers. This approach ensured that our final choices not only supported effective energy management strategies but also met customer needs and expectations.
The LCP Delta difference
Our robust evaluation identified significant potential savings in the UK through flexibility solutions. The analysis established that with just 1% market penetration of flexibility solutions, nearly £19 million could be saved in the UK by 2030.
