In this conversation, Louis Jabbour (Head of Partnerships, Podero), Michael Hannal and Dr. Moritz Lauster discuss the Viessmann/Podero partnership around heat pump flexibility and smart home energy management. Viessmann, as a system provider and “intelligence backbone” of the connected home, has built an open developer portal and Cloud API that allows third parties like Podero to integrate and co-steer Viessmann devices. They cover how the partnership manages control sharing, technical safeguards, response speed – and how Viessmann’s energy management intelligence, including flexibility forecasts, can help optimize grid flexibility services.

Podero: Welcome and thank you for joining us. Maybe before we get into the partnership, you can introduce yourself and I would love to hear when you tell friends or families that you are working at Viessmann. What’s their first reaction?  

Michael: Thanks for having us here. I’ve been working for Viessmann now for more than seven years.  When I tell them, they say, hey, can you get me a new boiler or a new heat pump? Do you have some discounts on that? I unfortunately have to say no. But by now they all know what Viessmann is about, and they are happy to hear that I’m working for them. 

Moritz: I’m on the technical R&D team at Viessmann. And that’s also what reflects when I talk to my family or friends; they often see me more as a technician. So I’m often asked about how a heat pump works or if it’s not working, if I can do something about it. But usually it’s beyond my capabilities.  

Podero: So as you know, Podero enables utilities across Europe to access residential flexibility  in the form of inverters and batteries, electric vehicles, but also a very important segment for us is heat pumps. When we got in touch with Viessmann, what were your reservations or motivations to work with third parties like us, when it comes to flexibility?

Michael: Our motivation was, especially when we talked about integration and partnership with Polero, that you were one of the first who really approached us and had interest in getting integrated, or integrating our systems into your solution. And at that time, we also were reaching out and rolling out our developer portal. So that was really great to see that we had sort of a great interest – great timing. 

And when we look at the hesitation that comes sometimes, for us it’s really important that we ensure the comfort of the user. That the user has his comfort level at home, he knows his house is warm enough. Therefore, we always need to secure that. But together, in this partnership, we’re confident that we always have the consumer and his preferences as the priority, and first thing on our mind. We have the same goal.  

Podero: Comfort is extremely important for us. And that’s also my next question. How do we, maybe in this partnership, ensure that the asset owner trusts both Viessmann, and also Podero, that handing over control to a flexibility platform like ours actually works? What technical safeguards do we have implemented on hardware and software level that help towards ensuring this safety and trust? 

Michael: So I wouldn’t really say that it’s handing over the control, maybe more sharing the control across each other. So we still have, with the Cloud API, the interface that is used by Podero to connect or integrate the heat transfer to your system, which gives a nice constraint and framework for others, for third parties, to work with our systems in a secure way. So, of course, the hardware is not doing something not suspected or could break in any way. The API already gives a great framework for that. 

And on the other hand, I think with anything you are working on, how you work with the assets or devices, or when we change something, we are in a great exchange within this partnership to make sure that among this joint steering of devices, we always get the best out of it. Therefore, having a close relationship with others who we share control is key for us.

Moritz: I would say it reflects nicely on the level of control that you get. So the customer expects from us, from Viessmann, that we make sure the device works as expected and it’s fulfilling the priority need, which is keeping the home in its comfort zone. And then secondly, there is the need to provide flexibility, which is for the homeowner an addition, and creates value – though comfort has to be kept. 

And that also reflects on the level of control we can give to companies like Podero, because it basically means we need to ensure comfort is always kept, while giving you the right access and the right level of control, so that you can also fulfill your needs when it comes to flexibility. That’s what you mentioned with constraints and the framework. That’s what it’s all about. It’s about understanding what you can do with the device without breaking the device. We make sure we have certain guards in place, but furthermore, it’s more important to ensure that you have the right understanding of what you could do (and what you should do) with the device. It’s all about partnership from that perspective.  

Podero: Strong domain knowledge is key to implementing an API correctly, while cloud APIs provide the right abstraction to balance device control with safety and warranty commitments.

Could you briefly explain how to become a Viessmann steering partner? It would be valuable for other utilities to understand how to connect to your ecosystem.

Michael: I mean, getting a connection or getting an integration of a Viessmann system is quite easy. It’s like self-service. That’s how we built it up. 

So, for example, for end users who would like to also use the Cloud API, for their own third party applications or systems. You can join the developer portal and get an API key so that everything is in place in order to get a connection as a self-service. And also other third parties or commercial partners can already use this. Access in order to test out the API without us having to do anything from Viessmann’s side. Everything is already in place. 

When it comes to the partnership, we want to know who really wants to commercially use the API or to steer many systems, not just one of their own. So the way to do this is of course approaching us, then we jointly come together and discuss use cases. We also have a lot of good things we do within our ecosystem, but where is the benefit for the user within this partnership? And from there, we can set up the agreement. The API still stays the same, the access stays the same.

Podero: You just mentioned the Viessmann ecosystem. I know Viessmann has invested a lot of time and effort into building an ecosystem where a customer is not necessarily limited to buying a Viessmann heat pump, but they can also equip themselves and their family with multiple Viessmann assets. As far as I know, they are all accessible via the cloud. Can you share more about how you intend this ecosystem to work and how third parties can engage with it?

Moritz: That was a strategic decision made years ago, that Viessmann sees itself as a system provider. So it’s not only about one heating device, or heating itself, it’s about energy in your home. And it also comes with a digital ecosystem. With touchpoints to end customers, and to partners, and additional services that offer additional value. So it’s the typical story of digitizing a certain part of the industry. Viessmann was always one of the first movers in that regard when it comes to the energy industry within the home. That also means we provide value propositions on the system level and also on a higher ecosystem level for all stakeholders. 

Then, if you play that system game, you always have those two aspects. We have our own ecosystem and everything that is within our ecosystem we handle best. On the other hand, it’s a common use case that a customer doesn’t buy an entire Viessmann ecosystem out of the box. Usually, you have something from a third-party provider. And then we need to make sure we can integrate those devices.  So, we have different levels and different standards we apply to be able to connect to all those devices that you have within the home. We want to provide value to stakeholders in all different dimensions. 

Michael: It’s the same we see when we look at our utility partners. Some of them already have a provider for battery storage. And they use a solution like Podero to get all their assets sent to their customers, getting them connected. And of course, we also want to be part of that with the utility. So we also see great benefit in jointly providing solutions there as well. 

Podero: Viessmann positions itself as the intelligence backbone of a comfortable green home. When you think about a third-party integration, what is your ideal way of being compatible with third-party steering? On the Podero side, we look at prices, we look at capacity of the home and then schedule a load. And this is the load we also use when marketing the flexibility of the device. However, what gets lost here is Viessmann intelligence that can be used to integrate other locally connected devices or even data points that are not accessible through the API that we just can’t include when steering. How can we bridge that gap? 

Moritz: So definitely this intelligence is at the core of what we do. The system only provides additional value when you have that intelligence. And for sure we would like to make sure that this intelligence can also be applied when others send us any kind of control signals. We would like to provide you with all the information. 

For me, the key here is when we talk about our own ecosystem, we have our own energy management system at the heart of our system. It’s not an extra box. It’s just whenever you get a Viessmann heat pump or battery system, then you have this intelligence, this energy management system in your home.  Then it’s all about how we can expose this intelligence towards others. So it’s about cooperation, so that you can make use of the intelligence as well.  

For example, we make a flexibility forecast for you; this is the flexibility band you can expect from this home. We take all the (household) decisions we are already aware of into account. We let you know there’s a certain self-consumption over this day, so do not expect the same amount of power drawn from the grid as you would have if there had been no PV. We take all this into account and deliver you a flexibility band. And then it’s also about updating those forecasts all the time. So there’s a lot of intelligence we can gain from each other because ultimately what we could offer is aggregating our homes as one flexibility pool that we claim we have best control over, because those are our devices… and we would hand over this flexibility to you, because we are pretty sure you can handle flexibility better and bring it to the market more effectively than us. Collaboration.  

Michael: Exactly. It always starts with a kind of asset steering, purely controlling the operating parameters or other similar signals to single assets. But, as Moritz said, the intelligence we already provide, I like to see that we go with these integrations to a different level. And for us this also means that we build solutions or services that we know… but we also need to think of new services we build together with a partner. So we can provide the benefit to the consumer.

Podero: The key is the partnership and I think we have a very fruitful partnership here where we put our heads together on the problems – and also the progress we make on the ground on Viessmann heat pumps. Maybe going a bit away from the technical details, one of the questions we usually get asked by utilities is, if you send a signal to the heat pump, how fast does it act? 

Michael: So whenever you send us a control command or something being changed on the system, the API immediately responds in milliseconds that this request has been accepted and sent to the device. It depends on the device itself when the change is actually being carried out.  But usually, depending on which kind of steering it is, it can go within seconds. An example: if you would like to have hot water immediately, because you see there’s cheap electricity, I want to use it. You send us the signal: I want the hot water to now heat up. Then this is usually carried out immediately.  Of course, there are constraints to the system, especially when we talk about the heat pump and the compressor, run times, etc. Local constraints… but usually this is carried out within seconds. 

Podero: When users opt into a steering service from their local utility which uses the Podero platform on the backend, how can we build trust on the end user side to tell them, well, yes, your device is controlled, but your warranty is not at risk?  

Michael: Simply what you can tell them is that, again, with the Cloud API, it’s basically the same interface we are using, like vCare, that we provide to our end customers directly. So we’re talking about the same interface, same data points, same control that you also have as an end user via vCare.

Podero: Maybe thinking a bit about the future, I think every heat pump owner should participate in flexibility. And right now, it takes the user to learn about the offer from their local utility, then to connect to ViCare with their credentials, then the device is connected. Maybe we can turn this around and there’s a future where Viessmann enrolls users automatically?  

Michael: What we currently have is a situation where the user wants to connect his heat pump, he has to log in within the app of the third party and remember his login credentials for the VK app, not often already present. Like you log in once within vCare and then you forget about your credentials sometimes. So this is kind of a hurdle.  What I can imagine is in the future, perhaps like in an app, something where you can confirm or allow access to third parties with one click for example. There’s nothing concrete now. We are currently really working on making this more seamless. But I think it absolutely makes sense.

Moritz: It’s of course about standard procedures, right? So data and also cybersecurity is of highest importance for us. So we apply all the methodologies and techniques that are out there.  And it also reflects in how we allow authentication in the apps. So whenever there’s a good way, we are exploring this to make it easier for the customer without compromising on data or cybersecurity.  

Podero: Thank you. Any final thoughts on the partnership between Podero and Viessmann?  

Michael: I really enjoyed the partnership since it also brings new aspects for us, new things we are thinking about at Viessmann and also, let’s say, the successes, the savings you achieve.  So a great feature for us to see what the steering can bring to the consumer. Going from this asset steering to another layer of integration, that’s really something I would love exploring and evaluating together with you guys from Podero.  

We’re launching a new chapter in distributed energy monetization: intraday asset-backed trading.

Residential battery fleets can now participate in continuous intraday electricity markets in a fully automated, physically backed way, without hardware changes, without disrupting homeowners, and without requiring utilities to build new trading infrastructure.

This release builds on our existing day-ahead optimization product and extends it with real-time trading capabilities – generating additional value from assets that are already installed and connected.

Intraday Trading Enablement

Podero now enables utilities to monetize distributed battery fleets directly on European continuous intraday markets.

The system continuously monitors intraday price movements and re-optimizes battery schedules when market deviations create profitable opportunities. Instead of treating batteries as reserve providers or interruptible loads, this approach uses real, physical capacity as the backing for intraday positions. Every trade corresponds to a real, updated battery schedule that respects household usage and PV production. The total daily energy balance of the fleet remains naturally constrained: the system shifts energy across time rather than creating speculative exposure.

Intraday trading operates on top of the existing day-ahead baseline:

• Day-ahead optimization captures daily price spreads.
  
• Intraday trading captures additional margin when prices deviate during the trading day.

The result is a layered revenue model: baseline optimization plus intraday. Built-in safeguards ensure disciplined execution. Each trade must pass predefined risk thresholds – including minimum volume, positive expected margin, and slippage protection – before it is submitted to market.

For more information about the trade enablement visit our Trade page.

Seamless Market Integration

Intraday asset-backed trading integrates directly with existing algotrader platforms, requiring virtually no additional integration effort. For utilities operating proprietary trading systems, Podero supports API-based execution workflows.

For existing Podero energy management customers, activating intraday trading is a configuration step rather than a new technical project.

We are launching intraday trading with residential batteries, the most deterministic and scalable distributed asset class. However, the platform is designed to extend to EVs and heat pumps, using the same aggregation and optimization architecture.

Trading Dashboard

To support trading desks, this release introduces a dedicated web-based dashboard providing full transparency into performance and fleet behavior.

The dashboard offers:

• Multi-day performance overview
  
• Detailed single-day trade insights
  
• Drill-down visibility into individual trade positions 

For a full overview of dashboard functionality, visit our Trading Dashboard page.

In this conversation, Tania Barr (Head of Marketing, Podero) and Doug Jones discuss the gap between EV adoption and smart charging uptake. Doug argues that while EVs are growing fast, smart charging remains complex and confusing for average consumers, and the industry needs to simplify the experience rather than waiting for solutions like vehicle-to-grid to mature. He makes the case for the car app as the natural starting point for the customer’s ‘EV flex’ journey, but that utilities and car manufacturers don’t need to compete — they can complement each other. The overarching theme is that simplicity should be the priority, making smart charging feel effortless rather than something customers have to actively figure out.

Podero: Eliq works closely with energy retailers across Europe, and EV adoption and smart charging is a hot topic now. From the outside, it feels like smart tariffs and flexibility offers are becoming standard. But you’ve suggested that smart charging adoption is actually lagging behind EV uptake. What’s happening there?

Doug: Yes, EV adoption is growing quickly, and there are some excellent smart charging products on the market. But in reality, most of these are still being used by early adopters. For the average EV buyer, it’s not straightforward. They have to figure out which apps to download, how to connect their car, whether to use their energy supplier’s platform or a charging provider’s – and what “smart charging” even means.

If we want flexibility at scale, the experience needs to be much simpler. It has to be embedded into the places customers already interact with – whether that’s through their car manufacturer or energy provider – and framed in a way that’s easy to understand. Only then can smart charging and flexibility keep pace with EV adoption.

Podero: Do you see vehicle-to-grid as the big opportunity right now, or are we still waiting on regulation and legislation before it can really take off?

Doug: Vehicle-to-grid is a huge topic, and it’s clearly important for the future of EVs. But right now, a lot of focus and funding is going into small-scale pilots – programs with 10, 20, maybe 30 cars. Meanwhile, the bigger challenge is getting customers into flexibility programs in the first place.

We shouldn’t wait for the perfect vehicle-to-grid solution that maximizes value. We need to start with what’s already possible. V2G will come, but it depends on regulatory changes, warranty updates, and other structural shifts that will take time. If it’s available, great, people should use it. But the industry can’t rely on it as a magic solution. The priority should be scale: making smart charging simple and understandable for everyone, not just early adopters or energy enthusiasts. The goal is to reach the mainstream, so that for any EV driver, smart charging just makes sense.  

Podero: Moving from petrol to EV is already a big shift. You start thinking about your car differently. Then we ask people to see it not just as mobility, but as an energy resource too: that’s quite a lot. I suppose the key is making it simple and interesting enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming.

Doug: Exactly. And even the term “energy resource” can be part of the problem. People don’t think of their car that way: they have a relationship with it. They remember their first car, they care about it. They don’t have that same emotional connection with their energy supplier. So the framing really matters. Instead of talking about optimisation and energy markets, it’s far more powerful to offer something simple and tangible, like free charging. Everyone understands free charging. You don’t need complex explanations or extra steps.

That’s why we believe the journey should start in the car ecosystem itself. When someone buys a new car, the first thing they download is the car app. That’s where they set everything up. So why not start the energy connection there too? From the car app, you could connect to smart charging services and unlock those benefits, instead of sending customers off to manage multiple apps and platforms.

Podero: At Podero, we really believe fewer apps are better. Our view is that utilities should build an “everything energy” app as the main hub for managing the home, including EVs. But you’re suggesting the journey should start in the car app. How do those two worlds connect?

Doug: I don’t think it’s an either/or. Both approaches need to exist. If you embed energy offers in the car app – where customers naturally start – you’ll get more people connected faster, and scale is the name of the game. Getting thousands of customers to connect straight away is far easier than expecting them to buy a car, then later notice a utility campaign, then switch provider, then sign up.

That said, utilities still play a crucial role because the energy bill sits with them, and they’re the experts in trading, flexibility, and control. So there’s a real need for an all-in-one utility energy app, but also a need to let customers start their journey elsewhere. The two don’t compete; they complement each other. Car companies focus on cars, and energy companies focus on energy.

Podero: Could the answer be a dual-branded “Intel inside” model, where customers stay in their Tesla or Polestar app, but charging and flexibility are powered by an energy provider in the background, so the car and energy worlds connect seamlessly?

Doug: Yes, and connecting those two worlds is exactly the challenge. For car manufacturers, partnering with energy companies across multiple countries is complex, and many current schemes still feel like side pilots rather than something truly integrated into the customer’s energy bill. The goal should be to make the benefit seamless and real. EVs are a special case because people don’t think of them as electricity assets, they think of them as cars, and they have a relationship with them. Unlike heat pumps or solar, which clearly “stay in their lane,” EVs sit in both mobility and energy. That’s why the energy side needs to be made efficient for customers, but not something they feel they have to think about.

Podero: I’d love to see a world where people recommend EVs not just because they’re cheaper to run, but because they automatically plug you into an energy ecosystem. It should feel like a no-brainer – the car, the tariff, the battery, all working together. But today you almost have to “hit” the customer twice: once on the car decision, then again on the energy decision. Utilities have great tariffs and bolt-ons, but they don’t always feel like the natural companion to the car.

Doug: That’s exactly where utilities can shine – through smart, confident tariff design. Simple, tangible offers like free charging work because everyone understands them. We’re already seeing people respond to that. It shouldn’t feel like a side trial or a voucher scheme; it should connect seamlessly into the energy bill and feel like a real benefit.

This isn’t about one side dominating. Car makers and utilities each have strengths, and if they collaborate properly, everyone gets a share of a much bigger pie. The market is still nascent, so we should be experimenting, car-first journeys, energy-first journeys, depending on where the customer starts. Someone might enter through their EV manufacturer and later realise they could add solar or a home battery. Others may already be energy-engaged and then add the car. If we make it simple, compelling, and integrated, EV adoption can naturally open the door to broader energy participation, without customers feeling like they have to think about it too much.

Podero: Yeah, absolutely. Lots of opportunities, for sure. Thank you.  

Doug: Thank you very much indeed. Thank you for having me. It’s been really fun.

How we’re working with E.ON Next to help more UK households access smarter, cleaner energy living.

Summary

E.ON Next Gen Home is a UK pilot that demonstrates how an “Energy-as-a-Service” model can remove the biggest barrier to household participation in the clean energy transition: upfront cost. The project bundles low-carbon technologies, installation, smart energy management, ongoing support and a household energy allowance into a single, fixed monthly bill. 

Delivered with carefully selected partners and tested through a controlled pilot in the Midlands, E.ON Next Gen Home is showing how integrated, intelligently optimised home energy systems can lower bills, reduce emissions and build customer trust. 

The first phase has generated valuable technical, commercial and customer insights, providing a robust foundation for enabling more UK households to take part in a flexible, future-ready energy system.

“If customers love it, we can really spread our wings and fly.”

Zac Curtis, Innovation Lead, E.ON Next

What E.ON’s customers were saying

E.ON knew there were a lot of people in the UK keen to be part of the clean energy transition. Reading about the unstoppable growth in rooftop solar, hearing about the wonders of heat pumps. Thinking about an (increasingly affordable) EV as their next car. Caring deeply about the environment – and about lowering their household bills.

But the barrier was the upfront investment. While solar panels will pay back, the upfront installation cost is prohibitive for many. And even with heat pump grants, there is still significant outlay to get one up and running at home. An EV charger can set you back £1,000 – that’s a material expense on top of the car itself.

A 2024 survey by Accenture indicated that 78% of consumers across Europe are not yet actively participating in the energy transition – and expense is the top reason for holding back. Closer to home, E.ON’s own customer surveys confirmed this.

E.ON wanted to pull together a package that could strip away these barriers, and present customers with a simple solution they could buy into, that would tick all the boxes. By removing the need for a large initial investment, they’d be making sustainable upgrades achievable for more households across the UK.

“Energy-as-a-Service”; with the emphasis on service

So E.ON set out to package up devices, installation, ongoing support, smart energy optimization and a household energy “allowance” into one fixed monthly bill. There’s a precedent here; it’s exactly how people have been buying their top of the range phones and bundled mobile services for years.

It takes a brave household to sign up to a new initiative; E.ON found early adopters in the Midlands. Understandably, they’ve had a lot of questions from the start – and the logistical challenges of installing and connecting residential hardware should never be underestimated. 

“Making the whole process as easy as possible is very important. There are lots of challenges and homeowners are all on their own.”

Chris, E.ON Next Gen Home customer

Making sure there was a cross-functional, cross-partnership team on hand – who would be responsive, transparent, knowledgeable and reassuring –  has been a key factor in successfully progressing from idea to install and beyond.

E.ON also knew a pilot stage was critical. A controlled environment facilitated testing, learning, and refining every aspect of the proposition. Ironing out the wrinkles, gathering invaluable data, and ensuring a robust and seamless mass market launch in time. It’s about getting it right, not just getting it out there; households are placing a huge amount of trust in E.ON and their partners.

Picking the partners

E.ON looked for industry leaders who would share their commitment to quality and reliability, as well as be ready to roll up their sleeves and get involved.

• Podero for intelligent, price-based device scheduling optimization
• SolarEdge for inverters and robust, efficient batteries
• Vaillant for reliable and high-performance heat pumps
• Myenergi Zappi for smart and convenient EV chargers

Home energy management was a key inclusion, ensuring both the household and E.ON could get the best out of a fully optimized, typically multi-device setup. We wanted the Next Gen Home to be as future-ready as possible, with innovations that actually work together, not just sit side-by-side. 

In the short term, choosing Podero meant autonomous, smart scheduling of multiple device types, to deliver on user preferences, but with cheaper, greener electricity. Longer term, Podero’s trading integrations will enable E.ON’s Next Gen Home households to participate in a future of flexible demand trading, adding even more value to the proposition – for everyone. 

A Day in the Life of an EaaS household

Pete now lives in a house with rooftop solar, a heat pump and a wall charger for his EV, all running on Podero’s intelligent, price-based optimization.

Every evening, Podero pulls the day-ahead spot electricity prices and the PV production forecast for the next day, and creates an estimate of what the household will consume at which time, including Pete’s user preference settings for his car and heating / hot water. 

Then it builds a control schedule to maximize the economic return, by strategically deciding:

• if the weather forecast is looking promising, when to charge the battery, export to grid, or even curtail (if day-ahead prices are negative)
• when to shift EV charging to ensure enough charge is achieved by Pete’s deadline, but timed for economically optimised periods (including charging from the battery)
• when to switch on/off the heat pump to buffer heat and keep the temperature where it needs to be / have hot water ready as per Pete’s timings (based on pre-tested understanding of heat storage limits etc.)

Here’s how it would play out on a sunny spring weekday:

All of this is controlled via Podero’s API; fully automated, price-driven, and optimized for return.

It’s been so nice coming home to a warm, cosy house. It’s been a doddle to manage and monitor it… we just forget about it.”

Chris, E.ON Next Gen Home customer

Key learnings for launching EaaS

We’re excited for what E.ON’s Next Gen Home initiative can unlock – bringing more customers along for the clean energy transition. But the team is also learning a huge amount about what it takes to deliver a bundled energy product, which will be taken into Phase 2 of the initiative in 2026.

1. Customers are keen, but they want good visibility and understanding of the whole proposition; they need to feel they can trust it
2. Early stages need to involve a lot of practical test-and-learn activity rather than too much over-thinking; it is key to try things, learn and iterate from one installation to the next
3. The financial model will be challenging, but done right, it’s still possible to offer bespoke pricing per customer, particularly with Podero’s more advanced trading mechanisms in place
4. Be ready for complexity. Don’t let it put you off.
5. Keep up regular communications across stakeholders, partners, suppliers and customers. This has to be a highly collaborative effort.
6. The best smart energy propositions will build in optimization & flex trading enablement as an invisible default – the customer is happy it’s there, but doesn’t want to think about it.

“We’re really excited about going forward, knowing that we’re sustainable, that all the kit being put in is future-proofed…that we’re going to be saving money. I’m excited for the feeling of not being worried about the thermostat.”

Meg, E.ON Next Gen Home customer

Watch this space for more in 2026!

Interested in knowing more about Podero’s trading capabilities? You can read this other article.

In this conversation, Tania Barr (Head of Marketing at Podero) and Jon Ferris explore how residential and grid-scale batteries use similar technology but create value in different parts of the grid. While grid-scale storage competes in increasingly crowded national markets, residential batteries and EVs can deliver unique local benefits. The discussion also highlights that mass adoption will depend on flexibility being automated, customer-first, and packaged as simple savings, not exposure to volatile prices.

Podero: Thank you so much for coming to see us on the third day of E-World. It would be great if you could start by just talking a little bit about LCP Delta and your role in flexibility.

Jon: Thank you. I’ve been working in flexibility for about 20 years now, and it’s evolved enormously over that time. From really being the interest of only the very largest industrial businesses providing demand response, to what we see today, where flexibility is everywhere from the residential customer up to the largest traders. It’s really become a core part of the energy system.

LCP Delta provide research and consulting in the energy transition, focused a lot on what’s happening on the consumer side of the market, looking at the uptake of EVs and heat pumps, and also how they can be monetized in the markets, looking at the evolution of flexibility markets, the development of big batteries and the huge investments that we’re seeing in batteries across all of Europe now.

Podero: It’s obviously music to our ears, because we’re trying to fly the flag for flexibility, and obviously device flexibility specifically. What do you see as the place for the residential battery flex opportunity versus these massive grid investments? Could you talk a little bit about the role for those two very different levels of battery capacity?

Jon: So from a technology perspective, a battery, whether it’s large scale or small scale, in someone’s home or in an EV,  it’s generally the same asset, but where it is on the grid makes a huge difference. And I think the markets, the industries, are starting to come round to the idea that flexibility is becoming a lot more nuanced.

Historically, flexibility was provided by the largest generators, whether it’s gas or coal-fired generators that could turn up and down, in response to shifting demand. Now, with a more renewable dominated system, we’re seeing a lot more need for flexibility because it’s weather-driven rather than responding to demand. But that also means there’s less flexibility from the generation side. And that flexibility is where most of the value has been up to now. 

So whether it’s in the wholesale market, being able to ramp from one hour to the next, and increasingly with a 15-minute market, shorter intervals and being able to adjust your schedule… to the ancillary services where we’ve seen not just the harmonization of markets across Europe (with AFRR, MFRR and FCR), but also new markets that provide faster-acting response, particularly in the Nordics, and GB, with the dynamic suite. That flexibility provided by the big generation is where historically value has been. And where the batteries have all moved into – as we’ve seen in countries like GB and Germany, where we’ve had a huge battery capacity. But even countries like Sweden, which have smaller FCR markets, a lot of grid-scale batteries have gone in. And that’s swamped the market.

So the markets that had higher value and higher prices, all of a sudden are no longer where the value is. And the big batteries are really looking at what’s become known as multi-market optimization. It used to be 5/10 years ago, if you had an FCR contract, you might get an annual contract and that would justify your business case. Now that’s traded on a daily basis, you’re competing with other assets, other entities. You’re having to think across frequency response, reserve response, wholesale markets, whether it’s day-ahead, even intraday, and balancing markets.  And that’s pushing value down; you’re seeing saturation of markets, or prices. So you have to become a lot more creative. And I think the question for the smaller assets… is can they compete in those markets? 

Podero: Is trying to create effectively one massive battery from a lot of distributed household ones the right game to be playing, or actually do they solve a different need or problem?

Jon: That’s where we’re starting to see the nuances come in, in the market. Obviously they can compete in those markets, they can in theory provide those services, but when you add in the cost of connecting to thousands of small devices and the metering and monitoring that’s required – the orchestration – can they compete on a cost basis? Can they compete for the TSO or dispatch, when instructing one large asset is a lot simpler than orchestrating lots of small ones?

But the fact that they’re on a lower voltage part of the grid does mean that they can offer  different services. So, even within the home, you can optimize for self-consumption and consume PV rather than spilling it out onto the grid when you’ve got negative prices. You can reduce your maximum import from the grid, reduce your demand charges. You can then think at the next level up of: can you coordinate at the distribution or local level? We’re starting to see more congestion at the local level and it’s harder to dig up the roads and increase the capacity.  But when everyone in the street wants an EV, can you accommodate more assets without increasing the size of the grid, and reduce costs by influencing how people behave?

Podero: Turn it into much more of a regional / zonal distribution.

Jon: Or even a very local market. We’re not quite at the super local market, but we’re seeing the emergence of distribution level markets. And there are lots of platform providers, pilots and projects that are appearing around Europe to try and manage that congestion at the more local level. The big batteries that are higher up the grid can’t play in those markets. So it’s a different game. Smaller batteries, domestic batteries, EVs, even flexibility from other assets can provide that local service in a way that the big batteries can’t. 

So we need to stop thinking about flexibility as this one big thing that happens at the top of the grid, and think about how you can optimize at different levels of the grid. What are the best assets, where the value is, and how you can layer value to create  the business cases.

Podero: Do you feel utilities that you speak to, or energy retailers with a B2C base, are thinking in this way? Are they geared up or even structured to think about that sort of distributed level of intelligence in servicing and delivery?

Jon: A lot of the companies are thinking about it. Whether they have sufficient scale among their customer base with assets is one of the key drivers. And some of them are supporting their customers in electrifying. The utilities providing electricity have seen declining demand for the last 20 years. Now there’s an opportunity to move away from thermal gas products and even for the electricity suppliers to eat into the oil industry’s markets by electrifying transport; increasing demand from their customers. So there’s a benefit to doing that, but that can create a challenge for them if they’re not encouraging their customers to charge smartly. 

It creates opportunities both for themselves and third parties to really help them optimize smart charging, particularly encouraging electrification of heat through heat pumps. And then you think about the flexibility that this brings into the system we’ve got used to, particularly in countries with gas fired heating, that will burn gas at a thousand degrees and heat the home up very quickly. That makes sense. So when we get up in the morning, or get in at night, we’ll turn it on.  But heat pumps are much more efficient at a lower temperature. Which gives more opportunity to pre-heat – but also means you have to think about how you manage that, over the course of the day. And that’s the optimization, the forecasting; building that buffer. Can you overheat an hour or two ahead of where you need to? Can you let the temperature drop when prices are high? The opportunity is there, the cost optimization is there – but it’s not something that the average household wants to be doing; they just want to be warm.

Podero: Absolutely. Podero’s perspective is to make it autonomous, hands-off for the household. The user’s preferences come first, but beyond that, the simpler the better in terms of: don’t worry, this is all just going to run in the background.

Jon: But it’s also hierarchical. What does the customer want first?

Podero: Yes, it has to be every time.

Jon: The old saying, they want cold beers and warm showers. A comfortable home. Lower bills. And if you’re cycling the assets, you can put a strain on the asset. You don’t want to have to replace your EV quicker because you’re providing services to the energy sector. You may be coming up against the warranty requirements. Then, where the retailer comes in, can they influence behavior through the tariff? And it’s only after that that you really should be thinking about the market signals and what’s left in order to optimize.

You talked about that local market. A lot of people don’t live in an area where you have that local congestion yet – where the markets don’t exist. But that’s starting to come. So you have the local market, then the national markets, the TSO markets. That optimization across multiple levels  becomes even more complex, increasing the need for the consumer to just hand it over to someone that they trust. Just do it for me, make sure my home is warm, and minimize my costs. 

Podero: How much do you explain any of it to the householder? Or do you just say, trust us, we’ll generate some value, you’ll see it on your bill.

Jon: There’s certainly a move towards that simplicity. Five years ago, the view was ‘markets are volatile, so we need to expose consumers to those volatile crises. Everyone should be on a dynamic tariff. They’ll change their behavior and respond to the market’.  And we’ve seen nearly every country with a high uptake of dynamic tariffs, as soon as you see high volatility, customers have run a mile. They don’t generally want that exposure.

Podero: Norway is a great example of this.

Jon: Yes, Norway is the most recent example. We’ve seen it in Spain, we’ve seen it in Texas four or five years ago. Customers are comfortable with volatile prices unless they’re too volatile.  

So if you were running your own energy retailer in Spain, lots of sunshine, increasing amounts of PV and battery penetration. What would that product look like for you if you could have a blank sheet? What would you be offering? Norway, there’s a lot of electric heating. A lot of EVs.  Spain is very sunny. You have a very different dynamic. So a summer and winter split.  And I think that sort of customer segmentation, even within a country, let alone across countries, is becoming more and more important.

You’ve got the early adopters with EVs, heat pumps, solar. But you also have people that maybe still have a lot of old appliances  and where just managing the cost of energy is so important to them, but they don’t necessarily have the ability to buy into devices that can provide flexibility. 

We’re seeing a move more towards broadband-type services where you can offer a fixed price. Now you know what it’s going to cost you for the month. For a lot of consumers, that certainty is really important. Whereas at the other extreme, you have customers that are monitoring their prices, watching the output of their solar panels, playing with their battery and heat pump. The mass market is somewhere in between. And there’s so much less homogeneity, even in one street, where a decade ago, a utility could assume that every house in that street had a fairly similar profile. Now, a house may have PV, a heat pump, an EV, people may be working from home. And forecasting demand has become even more important. So for the retailer, again, having some influence over those assets is a way to offset the increased risk that they’re facing as well. 

Jon: Even from customers that are not necessarily wanting to get involved on a day-to-day basis there’s much more awareness from over the last 3-4 years of the importance of when you consume energy. And being able to get free electricity when there’s excess solar is a lot more attractive a message than what we hear about demand flexibility in the papers of rationing power. Offering people something for free, particularly if they reduce their peak consumption.

So we need to get the messaging right. We need to get that automation.  And then we can get some flexibility even from disengaged households.  

Podero: 100%. There we go – you make it sound easy. Thank you very much, Jon. We will get on with solving that. 

Jon: Thank you.

To learn more about residential battery flex, check out our related article here.

As the energy landscape rapidly evolves, residential consumers are no longer just passive electricity users – they are becoming active market participants. In a recent conversation between Christian Steiner, Head of Customer Success at Podero, and Robert Zoufal, Senior Portfolio Manager at Inercomp, Robert shares his perspective on why residential flexibility is quickly becoming a critical lever for utilities, not only for managing volatility and imbalance risk, but also for creating value through smarter short-term trading and intraday optimization. With solar, batteries, and EVs making household demand far less predictable, he explains why better forecasting, active steering of flexibility assets, and the right incentive models will be key to turning residential flexibility into both a risk-management tool and a new source of profit.

Podero: Hi Robert. Thanks for joining us. We’re talking about residential flex today. What do you see happening that’s exciting on the residential flex side?

Robert: I think it’s an extremely exciting moment to talk about residential flex. In fact, circumstances demand that you really get into thinking about how to use residential flex.

Because, just think of it, nowadays consumers are no longer just sitting there and demanding the power, they’re actually becoming prosumers. They start producing energy with their solar panels, they implement battery storage, they have their EVs. So there is a lot in motion where people do not, let’s say, behave in a way which is easily predictable. And this causes a lot of problems. 

In the past, it was actually very easy to make a good prediction. You had your standard SLP, you had annual demand, you just rolled it out and finished. Nowadays, people start thinking,  okay, now I want to optimize myself, where do I shift my demand? So they’re not that predictable anymore. And here is where residential flex comes in. Because now you have to react to those different behaviors, so that you can avoid imbalance cost – because imbalance cost is what makes things expensive. 

And to go one step further, it’s not only necessary to avoid cost, but also to generate real profit. You can remember the last few years, we had several price spikes, which drove spot and entry prices up, which had never been seen before. And if you can shift even a little bit of the household demand into other time slots then, you can already create a huge profit. 

Podero: So generating value for users, for customers and also utilities, limiting risk. You’ve mentioned imbalance risk. Do you think this is a big influence for decision makers at utilities… or should it be?

Robert: Actually, it should be. We had these huge difficulties in the last two years with solar metering points, which were causing problems with energy imbalance. And now it’s time to also think about residential consumers, because they will become more and more volatile – and create problems on their own.

Podero: Imbalance and intraday always go hand in hand. You can try to correct the imbalance by moving away from anticipated peaks, but you never know, on the day-ahead. You can correct it on the intraday though. In your experience, is there anything around how you could forecast imbalance positions? Can you forecast them… or how would you react to that?  

Robert: Yes, you can – or you have to – react to it, especially with more data. So you have to know more and more about your customers, like do they have solar panels on the roof? When are they typically charging their vehicles? And so on. You have to get to know your customers much better than in the past, because when you know their specific “pasts”, you can also predict the future much better. And then of course there’s other data, like the weather forecast, which you can include into your prediction. All of this is getting more and more important.  

Podero: So knowledge is important, right? But how important do you think is the active steering of those devices, of those flexibility assets? Is it important to also control that part?

Robert: Definitely, because this might be also the biggest difference in what we are doing now with the large industrial customers – and what you (Podero) are doing now with your residential customers.

Industrial companies are already thinking about, or actually doing those things; they react to price signals, they’re thinking about processes, how can I switch my demand into time periods with lower prices and avoid high price zones? For residential flex they might have problems to really get it on their own. Then they might need the utilities, so that they can benefit from all the possibilities the energy market is offering now. That’s where steering comes into play, and where it can really activate the potential from residential users.

Podero: There’s a lot that residential can learn from industrial applications.  Because this has been in practice for a very long time already.  So are big industrial plants adjusting on the day ahead, and are they then using energy differently with whatever machines they are working with?

Robert: Yes, because more and more of them realize that they have the price pressure. There’s a huge similarity between residential and industrial consumers; both are looking for the cheapest price. Everybody’s looking at where they could shift their demand. What industrial consumers are now doing is different than in previous years, where the best strategy was to have a very constant demand over time to use nuclear power plants and all those baseload producers.

Now they are trying to shift as much demand as possible to the middle of the day, because through the increase in PV power plants, we have way too much energy in the system in the middle of the day, so prices are plummeting to levels never seen before.

Podero: I’m assuming you’re doing calculations, also looking ahead how things will develop.  This issue is not getting smaller, right? And active management just becomes more important.  

Robert: Extremely. As we said before, you need to know more about your customers in the short term for your scheduling, but you also need to know a lot more about your customers for the long term prediction. This is also why Inercomp developed eTools, which basically has a portfolio management system in it, where I can very actively get all the relevant information into my system, and then make a very educated decision on which position I need to hedge for my customers.

Podero: So that is something your industrial customers can use to build their own knowledge base and decide by themselves what is a good decision for tomorrow, or even intraday?

Robert: Correct.

Podero: We cannot do this for residentials; we cannot give them the tool in hand. But we can provide them with information on the apps that they are using, and try to use the flexibility for them. And the customer should care more.

Robert: Yes, but they might not have the incentive. So that’s actually a huge problem because, if you don’t get money out of it, you might say, why should I change my behavior? And I think that’s the very cool thing about Podero, that you give utilities the possibility to really create value out of this residential flexibility.

Help the utility generate their own product, where they can share this additional profit with the household who can say ‘yeah, okay, now it makes sense for me because I get money out of this for changing my behavior’. That’s something, in my opinion, that nearly every utility should think about in the next five to ten years.

Podero: Nice, we think even shorter term, but yes, generally we agree! Thank you.  

For more on how Podero monetizes device flex through day-ahead and intraday trading.

Nobody has the time to navigate all the complicated terms swirling around the ‘smart energy transition’. And when we found ourselves pulling together a handy glossary for our new joiners, we decided others new to this space might appreciate it too. It’s hard enough to explain to your mum what you do, without needing to call a heat pump a ‘distributed energy resource’, right? So here are some key phrases we keep tripping over, and what they mean in plainer English.

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) 

Distributed Energy Resources are the key devices that generate, store or use electricity within a household or similar location. Think solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles or heat pumps. 

They’re connected to the grid, but sit what’s called ‘behind the meter’, i.e. they’re involved predominantly in energy use on the premises. These days, they’re typically also connected to the internet, meaning they can be controlled – and optimized – remotely. Effectively managing your DERs allows a household to save money by using energy more intelligently (the ‘prosumer’ approach – see below), and often more responsibly. 

DER Management System (DERMS)

A DERMS is a software platform that utilities can use to monitor, control, forecast, and optimize a broad range of connected Distributed Energy Resources. Podero’s platform is an example of this kind of system. 

At scale, smart DER management allows utilities to help balance the grid, keep things stable, reduce their costs (and typically customer bills too) and purchase electricity more efficiently. 

By aggregating household DERs via these systems as if they were one big power plant, their combined energy demand, storage or supply can also be used as part of a grid network, and traded on the energy markets (see below). Clever stuff! Enhancing grid stability, improving power quality, and helping to integrate renewables much more effectively. 

Virtual Power Plant (VPP)

A VPP is effectively a big, distributed, cloud-based power plant of aggregated Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). These typically combine the capacity of connected household devices (rooftop solar, battery storage, heat pumps and electric vehicles) with flexible industrial or commercial loads, to operate as a single, “dispatchable entity” in energy markets. 

VPPs enable smaller, geographically-dispersed assets to participate in wholesale energy markets, plus ancillary service markets, and local flexibility schemes, run by the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs). VPPs provide increasingly critical services like grid balancing and congestion management – particularly as more renewables come on line, with their greater unpredictability. 

In simpler terms? You can charge up a whole bunch of household batteries to absorb excess midday solar from the grid, then discharge them back into the grid when demand peaks at tea time, and the sun isn’t shining. Voila – a veritable zen-level of balance! For utilities, creating VPPs also lets them monetize their consumer and industrial DER flexibility. Learn more about it here.

Demand Response (DR) 

Demand Response refers to programs or actions designed to encourage or force a response (you could say, demand a response?) from an electricity user, to alter electricity consumption from normal patterns.

Typically utilities implement DR programs that incentivise lower electricity use at times of peak pricing, or when system reliability is jeopardized. DR at scale helps dampen down peak demand and improve grid stability. Over time, it also means utilities can reduce their investments in new generation and network capacity – typically only needed to cope with the peaks. 

DR can be enabled through three key means:

• Behaviourally by incentivising changes in habits (e.g. Octopus UK’s Saving Sessions)
• Directly via load control by the utility
• Automatically through connecting smart devices to energy management systems, based on price/environmental signals alongside pre-set customer preferences (this is where Podero comes in)

DR can also refer to the balancing/ancillary services implemented at a whole (grid) system level to keep demand in balance, i.e. the services that utilities then step up to provide, by launching the programs outlined above.

Energy Flexibility / Demand-Side Flexibility (DSF)

Energy Flexibility, often referred to as Demand-Side Flexibility (DSF), is all about how electricity consumers can increasingly adjust (i.e. flex) their energy use or generation in response to external signals such as price, grid conditions or even direct incentives from their energy company such as a ‘time of use’ tariff. This includes actions such as:

• shifting household electricity use to off-peak hours
• reducing what’s used during demand/price peaks
• doing more with on-site solar generation and battery storage

As such, DSF is essential to the Demand Response activity described in the previous section. It’s the enabler for energy users to respond to the DR signals they receive.

It’s all very well having smart, connected DERs, but they don’t benefit anyone unless their energy use can actually be flexed. For utilities, harnessing DSF from residential, commercial, and industrial customers through smart technologies (like Podero) and the right kind of behavioural incentives is crucial for DERMS and VPPs to be able to do their thing – and for Demand Response to succeed.  Here is how Podero steers smart devices to enable energy flexibility.

Energy Trading (Spot, Day-Ahead, Intraday, Balancing Markets)

At a high level, Energy Trading involves buying and selling electricity in various organized markets to balance supply and demand, manage price risks, and optimize energy procurement or generation portfolios. But this is a whole thesis in itself, and we won’t attempt to cover all the details here. Trading also varies enormously by geography, even within one country. 

Key electricity markets include:  

• Day-Ahead Market: Participants submit bids and offers for electricity delivery for each hour of the following day. When all bids are in, the day-ahead’s price/load curve is agreed and set for everyone in that market. 
• Intraday Market: Allows for further trading closer to real-time, enabling adjustments for unexpected changes in generation (e.g., from renewables) or demand.  
• Spot price: The current market price for energy, usually accurate to the hour or quarter hour depending on the market. There is a unique spot price for each day-ahead and intra-day market.

Then there is the Balancing Energy Market (also termed Ancillary Services). The Transmission System Operator defines what energy shifts are needed to balance a grid over a certain period, then participants are chosen via a ‘merit order’ process. It’s used by grid operators to buy – or sell – what they need to maintain grid stability and frequency in real-time and avoid blackouts.

Examples include the Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) and automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR). Utilities and aggregators can leverage their DERMS to participate – essentially step in and save the day – optimizing short notice dispatch of DERs to provide grid support. It’s so heavily regulated and structured, it’s hard to call this a true market and isn’t really open to trading in the classic sense. So many acronyms! Find out how Podero helps utilities unlock and trade energy flexibility here.

Smart EV Charging

Smart EV Charging refers to the intelligent management of electric vehicle (EV) charging processes, allowing charging times and rates to be adjusted and optimized based on factors such as electricity prices, grid load, availability of renewable energy – and critically, user preferences. 

Unlike basic charging, smart charging enables communication between the EV and/or the charging station and a central management system (or the grid operator). This lets EV owners benefit from smart stuff such as automatically charging only during cheaper hours – they set their charging requirements, plug in and walk away. EVs today have pretty huge batteries, so being able to control their charging patterns significantly minimizes strain on the grid. 

Increasingly and excitingly, they can also act as a ‘capacity reserve’ for the grid (called Vehicle-to-Grid services) – participating in DR programs and earning money for the household in the process.

Home Energy Management System (HEMS)

At its simplest, a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) is any technology platform that ‘manages’ – monitors, controls, and optimizes – the energy within a household. But this is one of those phrases that can mean slightly different things to different people. 

A HEMS typically connects to and manages various Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) such as solar panel (or solar PV / photovoltaic) systems, batteries and EVs / EV chargers – but alongside controlling smart thermostats and other “smart appliances”. However, some people define a HEMS as always incorporating a solar PV system.

• A HEMS’ primary goal is to reduce energy costs and maximize ‘self sufficiency’ for the household. Getting the absolute best out of your home energy consumption, without compromising on comfort and need. 
• They work best when they’re also connected as a gateway into utilities’ own grid flexibility programs, automation and smart tariffs
• Leading to overall better management of distributed resources – and a truly smart energy ecosystem from the home to the grid

PV self-consumption optimization, a bit of a mouthful, is a form of HEMS that brings in solar energy considerations to how the household is optimised – maximising the use of all that lovely free energy. So your heat pump may automatically shift its schedule when the sun is shining. 

If the HEMS also optimizes pricing signals, things get even smarter. When the grid is paying well for your solar energy (export or ‘feed-in’ tariffs), the system may decide to prioritize exporting ‘now’ and wait to charge the car during lower overnight pricing periods – leaving you in profit overall.

Dynamic Tariffs 

Dynamic Tariffs are electricity pricing plans where the cost per unit of electricity varies. They can sometimes be called Flexible Tariffs, and they’re the opposite of a fixed tariff. Prices can flex based on the time of day, day of the week, or even real-time market conditions (“spot price tariffs” – see the earlier Energy Trading explainer). An increasingly common example in many countries is a Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff. This features different price tiers for on-peak, mid-peak, and off-peak periods (or sometimes a simpler day vs overnight rate). 

The goal of dynamic tariffs is to incentivize consumers to shift their electricity consumption from high-demand (typically higher-cost and higher-emission) to low-demand periods. Thereby reducing strain on the grid, facilitating better integration of renewable energy, and typically lowering bills. Smart energy platforms such as Podero can automate device responses to these tariffs, maximizing savings for consumers – with benefits for utilities and the grid.  

The downside of a dynamic tariff? They can feel risky for consumers if they are too tied to market movements, penalise unavoidable energy use during peak periods – after all, dinner needs cooking – and can make it more challenging to predict and prepare for the monthly bill. (We have some ideas on tackling this here if you’re interested.)

Energy Aggregation / Energy Communities

Energy Aggregation, sometimes known as Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), is the process of pooling multiple electricity consumers (residential, commercial, or industrial) or distributed energy resources (DERs) to purchase or sell electricity or provide grid services collectively. It’s not too common yet, but the trend for Renewable Energy Communities and similar collectives is definitely growing, and increasingly incentivised by government grants as a way for more people to participate in the cleaner, smarter energy transition. 

By combining their demand or generation capacity, participants can achieve greater bargaining power, access more competitive energy rates, or participate in wholesale energy markets and flexibility programs that might otherwise be inaccessible to individual or small-scale resources. New “aggregators” are emerging who facilitate this pooling and market interaction, often leveraging sophisticated software platforms to manage and optimize the aggregated assets.  

Energy APIs (Application Programming Interface)

An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications, devices, and platforms to communicate and exchange data seamlessly. APIs are pretty common terms if you work in the software world, however many in energy are less familiar with the concept. 

In energy, they are crucial for enabling interoperability – basically, mutual connection, communication and control – between different DERs, utility systems (e.g. billing, customer servicing and trading), and third-party service providers (e.g. the app that controls your electric vehicle). Podero’s API plays this role in enabling utilities to steer (control) and trade. This resource provides further insight into why energy management is shifting toward API-first solutions.

By facilitating secure and standardized data exchange, APIs help utilities integrate and manage DERs effectively, offer more innovative and informed customer services, automate energy trading, and ultimately build a more responsive and intelligent grid.

Grid Balancing

Grid Balancing refers to the tricky art of matching electricity generation with electricity demand in real-time to maintain the stability and operational integrity of the power grid, primarily by keeping the grid frequency within a narrow, predefined range (e.g. 50 Hz or 60 Hz). 

Any significant deviation between supply and demand can lead to frequency fluctuations, power outages – or even widespread blackouts. Grid operators achieve balance by flexibly dispatching various resources including curtailing renewables, activating grid-level energy storage and, increasingly, leaning on aggregated Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) that can provide new options for ancillary services (We talked about this in more detail here). Traditional power plants are the hardest to adjust in real time, as they tend to have significant lead time and cost to ‘fire up or down’.

Peak Shaving

Nothing to do with teenage boys, peak shaving is an energy management strategy aimed at reducing electricity consumption during periods of peak demand on the power grid. 

This is typically done to avoid the high charges imposed by utilities on commercial and industrial customers, or to alleviate stress on the grid infrastructure. Peak shaving can be achieved by temporarily turning off non-essential equipment, shifting energy-intensive processes to off-peak hours, or utilizing on-site energy resources such as battery energy storage systems (BESS) to supply power during these peak intervals. 

Effective peak shaving can lead to significant cost savings for consumers and improved grid stability for utilities.

Prosumer

A prosumer in the energy market is an individual, household, or entity that both consumes electricity from the grid and produces its own electricity, typically from renewable sources like rooftop solar panels. Literally – producer/consumer. Prosumers may also have energy storage systems (e.g., home batteries) and can potentially sell surplus electricity back to the grid or participate in energy sharing or demand response programs. They can also be considered as ‘professional consumers’ – both definitions apply.

The rise of the prosumer signifies a shift from the traditional, centralized energy system of legacy energy suppliers and passive consumers… to a much more decentralized, interactive and flexible model, where consumers play an active role in, and benefit from, a collective approach to efficient energy generation and management. 

It doesn’t even have to be hard work; with the rise of smart energy management tech, more households can ‘turn prosumer’ while letting the smart systems take the strain. Find some more insights about smart energy transformation and prosumers here.