Energy startup Delta Green has launched a platform that enables households to participate in so-called ancillary services. According to the needs of the grid, households supply or consume electricity in short time intervals, which can significantly reduce their energy costs.
In cooperation with the Czech transmission system operator ČEPS and Nano Energies, Delta Green has successfully certified a 1 MW aggregation block consisting solely of households in recent weeks. This makes it the first energy supplier to offer end customers the opportunity to participate in ancillary services. Delta Green is launching this innovation almost a year after it, together with ČEPS, became the first in the Czech Republic to test and verify that households can be involved in the management of the electricity system under domestic conditions.
The supply or consumption of electricity from the grid for ancillary services needs usually lasts only a few minutes, with activations occurring on average several times a day. This does not limit the normal operation of households in any way. All households with standard photovoltaics with battery storage can participate.
"Flexible electricity consumption is a new concept and approach for 99 percent of people. Initial uncertainty quickly disappears once people realize that the service does not limit them in their normal functioning and instead brings financial benefits. Creating a platform where people can transparently see in real-time what is happening with their electricity and why was also one of the biggest challenges we had to overcome," explains Delta Green co-owner Jan Hicl.
"A family of four in a house pays around 1,450 euros annually for energy. With us, their costs can now decrease by up to a third. They can save up to 40 euros per month on electricity," Hicl comments on the savings that Delta Green can bring to households.
"Aggregators are becoming an increasingly important group of providers of power balance services, which are essential for the reliable and safe operation of the electricity system. The involvement of households further expands the possibilities of flexibility aggregation, and can thus increase competition in the ancillary services market, which will be reflected in pressure on their price," says Martin Kašák, Director of the Energy Market Section at ČEPS.
Delta Green is also collaborating with Nano Energies on the operation of the service, from which it separated a year ago and which is currently the largest flexibility aggregator in the Czech Republic. Now both companies have joined forces and know-how again to open this new path to Czech households.
"Flexibility in energy is the key to more efficient use of renewable sources and grid stability. The possibility of involving households in the flexibility market brings not only savings on electricity bills but also higher energy self-sufficiency. Cooperation with Delta Green is a logical step that allows extending the benefits of aggregation to the household segment," says Tomáš Mužík, Director of Nano Energies CZ.
Delta Green is thus becoming a pioneer in European energy. Similar services that allow ordinary households to actively earn money by providing flexibility to the electrical grid are not yet common even in Western Europe. By shifting electricity consumption to times when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, households not only save money but also actively reduce the need to start fossil fuel power plants, helping to reduce emissions. According to the European association Smart Energy Europe, such flexibility could bring over 300 billion euros annually in the EU by 2030 in the form of lower energy prices and smaller investments in networks and electricity sources.
Flexibility: The ability of producers/consumers to purposefully change electricity production/consumption for compensation.
Ancillary Services: Flexibility in the form of services with clearly defined parameters that ČEPS purchases on the ancillary services market and uses to maintain balance between electricity production and consumption in the electricity system.
Flexibility Aggregator: An entity that utilizes flexibility from a larger number of producers and/or consumers and transforms it into standard services, which are then offered on various electricity or PBS markets. In the case of an integrated aggregator, it is directly the electricity supplier; as an independent aggregator, it can also be a third party.
Aggregation Block: A virtual block of certain power, in which the so-called aggregator combines flexibility from a larger number of producers and/or consumers and transforms it into standard services, which are then offered on various electricity or ancillary services markets.
