Smart charging platform Ohme has revealed that during Ofgem’s Winter CrowdFlex trial, it rewarded electric vehicle (EV) drivers over £100,000.
CrowdFlex is a domestic energy flexibility study, and the largest Ohme has been involved in.
During the energy flexibility trial, Ohme encouraged drivers to plug in their EVs whenever they were parked at home. Ohme is a smart charging platform provider that offers cheaper EV charging if customers plug in at off-peak times.
The summer stage of the CrowdFlex project, which first began in 2021, was completed in August. The project incentivises consumers to use their electricity flexibly through usage adjustments or offering assets, such as EVs, to the grid which takes automated control of when these assets are charged.
Ohme ran its initiative under the scheme over summer, too. This round will complete in April 2025.
Ohme CEO, David Watson, said: “With grid flexibility services estimated to save consumers £10 billion per year in energy costs by 2050 and with Ohme looking to help even more customers in 2025 with our ongoing trials, we are looking forward to further demonstrating the important role domestic customers can play in the drive towards net zero.”
The flexibility trial was awarded funding through Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund, which is managed in partnership with Innovate UK. Other firms involved in CrowdFlex include OVO, the Centre for Net Zero, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and National Grid Electricity Distribution.
Demand flexibility and the UK grid
The UK’s National Energy System Operator (NESO) control room issued an Electricity Margin Notice (EMN) in the evening of 7 January for the period between 4PM and 7PM on 8 January.
To balance supply and demand on the electricity grid, NESO issued the EMN when its control room became aware that there would be less spare capacity than usual. It it signalled that it would need the market to be ready to provide additional capacity.
Utility company Octopus criticised the system that saw NESO pay up to £5,750/MWh to the gas-powered Rye House and Connah’s Quay Power Stations, far more than its demand flexibility service (DFS) payments.
Further, Octopus highlighted that a “drastic” reduction in DFS payments this winter has seen a 50% drop in household participation in flexibility services. As the UK’s transition to clean power by 2030 is predicated on demand-side flexibility to support the electricity grid, this is a cause for some concern.
Studies like CrowdFlex seek to prove the efficacy of demand flexibility, as well as exploring the best way to encourage user participation. Early indications suggest that low payment levels, the timing of events and the notice period of events can all influence the flexibility response from consumers.
CrowdFlex is also exploring how the national electricity system can coordinate with the distribution networks to help manage thermal constraints, the likes of which caused last week’s EMN.