A lot of questions being asked right now about how the power system and market is doing the best possible job as ongoing high spot prices have people thinking very hard about how to manage down energy costs without managing down productivity and production.
We think that whatever the question, there is a good chance that flexibility (and FlexForum) is at least part of the answer.
Our recent FlexForum Insights Report highlighted several holes in the value stack, or put another way, that rewarding households and businesses for their flexibility will provide an effective tool to manage down the cost of energy and bolster the resilience of the energy system and economy.
It's time to make the most of people power. Right now, there's flexibility lying around equivalent to the power needs of 100,000 homes. The opportunity is material with at least 420 megawatts in assets like hot water, EVs, and battery storage, the potential is enormous. But changes to the rules and rewards are needed to truly value the contributions of households and businesses to manage down energy costs and keep our homes and businesses doing their thing.
*The story of Liza, Henry and his bucket started as a shorthand for a pretty complex set of ideas. But it’s perhaps a good way to describe where things are at – fixing the hole in the bucket (or value stack) involves a bunch of interlinked and non-trivial activities, and Liza (or a coherent plan) to keep Henry focused while he experiences a near existential crisis…
Actions to make flexible EV charging easy and obvious
FlexForum got busy in late July and delivered a second FlexForum Insights on 31 July 2024. The focus was a workplan listing the actions the electricity ecosystem needs to take to make flexible EV charging an easy and obvious choice for households and businesses.
The workplan was the product of a 4 month co-design process on behalf of EECA and involved 50 people from 34 organisations across the electricity ecosystem.
We heard that most EV owners already charge their vehicles ‘flexibly’ using tools such as timers, in car features or manually flicking the switch to schedule charging in response to the signals and rewards of time-of-use retail pricing. But more value and benefits are available from integrating their flexibility into the market and system with changes to the existing rules and rewards – check out the actions.
The underlying message is that unless people find it easy and obvious to make a specific choice, no matter how beneficial it may be, they will do what they always do or just do nothing.
We found the workplan reinforced the role and purpose of the Flexibility Plan and the importance of filling the holes in the value stack (dear Liza).
We greatly appreciate the opportunity to partner with EECA to quickly and relatively painlessly produce robust, usable expert advice drawing on diverse perspectives from across the electricity ecosystem.
We think the exercise provides a template for accelerating the extensive regulatory and policy work required to deliver flexibility and electrification.
The approach is faster, cheaper, increases participation particularly from small entities, produces robust and high-quality advice, and is more satisfying and productive for participants. It should be standard practice for all regulatory and policy work that requires understanding and exploring how to get stuff done.
Initial results of the Kāinga Ora share the sunshine scheme
Kāinga Ora gave a progress update on the Wellington multiple trading trial it is running with a bunch of partners, including FlexForum Members Ara Ake, BlueCurrent, Intellihub and Wellington Electricity.
For those just tuning in, Kāinga Ora has put 200 solar installations on some of its Wellington homes. Occupants use the solar electricity generated during the day at no charge and can be supplied by whichever retailer they choose. Spare solar electricity is bought by Paua to the People on behalf of Kainga Ora. The revenues will be used to support the ongoing delivery of solar to Kāinga Ora customers and future energy hardship initiatives.
Second, looks like things are going pretty well. The people involved are happy... and Kāinga Ora has earned an average 29c/kWh for the spare power between April and 30 June 2024 – this is about 58% more than available through the buyback deals typically available. Very much looks like multiple trading could be a way to fill one of the holes in the value stack.
Check out the progress report here. More information about the trial is available here.
Watch this space. FlexForum made plans for the year ahead at its Annual General Meeting on 22 August.
But we are pretty happy with what we delivered so far this year (even if it wasn’t everything we’d hoped to get done) while also setting up an organisation from scratch
A bunch of thinking and conversations about things like how to arrange the data plumbing to make the most of flexibility.
And a website – www.flexforum.nz - which we went from concept to launch in about a month...
We will share what happened at the AGM in the coming days. It’s a solid bet that the year ahead will be even more productive and interesting (assuming this is the sort of thing that floats your boat – we are not judging).
Want to get involved?
FlexForum Members want to make it easier for households, businesses and communities to maximise the value of their energy resources and their flexibility. This flexibility will help deliver an affordable and reliable operation of the electricity system and enable accelerated electrification as part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a zero emissions economy.
If this sounds like you, check out our Intro to FlexForum for more on our what, why, how and who.
Get involved. We bring expertise from across the electricity ecosystem to find answers to the most challenging problems. Your views and experience will enable faster and better outcomes.
