Some of you have already invested in battery energy storage systems, and many of you intend to do so in the future.
The federal government is pushing things along with their Cheaper Home Batteries Program where people will get significant subsidies to buy and install batteries. Given the significant amount of money on offer, this is making a lot of headlines. We believe this will change the energy landscape over the next few years.
Rooftop solar panels changed the economics of energy in the middle of the day for everyone; batteries will change the economics for the rest of the day.
So, you have a battery – what to do next?
What you do next will determine whether big energy continues to run the show, or you get a piece of the pie too. Batteries are amazing devices in that they store and release energy when instructed to do so.
The decision you as a battery owner have to make is whether to let your battery remain passive, join a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) scheme offered by your electricity retailer, or to turn it into a money making machine for your own benefit.
All batteries come with an “autonomy mode” where excess self generated energy (from solar) is stored during the day, and that energy is released later in the evening for your own use. These batteries are passive in that they react to the property’s power demand only. No consideration is made for the value or price of electricity.
Most electricity retailers now offer participation in their Virtual Power Plant schemes, where they take control of your batteries in return for credits on your electricity bills, or something similar. Your battery is then controlled and operated for your retailer’s benefit.
You can accept their proposition and hand them the keys to your assets. Or, you can participate in the market and operate your battery to take advantage of the price variations: charge when price is low and sell when price is high, or even set the prices at which you are willing to buy and sell your electricity.
This is the choice we offer.
Many of our customers operate their own batteries, while others use the services provided by our partners. Everyone works for you, not us.
Your battery is transformed into a money making machine and that money is returned to you via your Localvolts electricity bill.
Interestingly, the governments of New South Wales and South Australia offer financial incentives to battery owners for being part of Virtual Power Plants via Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) and Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS), respectively.
We are happy to say that Localvolts customers are eligible for these government schemes by operating their batteries in their own way. More information of how this works for our customers can be found here.
So, the battery owners are all set. What about those of you who can’t install a battery?
More batteries mean more sellers which means a more competitive market for our electricity consumers.
