Millions of British households and businesses free to reap rewards from flexing energy use

19 March
Press release Balancing services 19 Mar 2026
Solar panels on roofs of homes

Key facts
Metering rule changes further open the electricity market to millions of consumers to benefit from when and how they use energy
NESO hopes opening up opportunity to households and businesses will help reduce balancing costs, boost affordability, and drive clean economic growth
New NESO reforms developed with industry mean anyone with an electric vehicle charger, heat pump or battery now has the potential to sign up to help balance Britain’s electricity network

Millions of British households and businesses may be free to further benefit by flexing how and when they use energy, thanks to changes brought in by Britain’s National Energy System Operator. 
 
Anyone with an electric vehicle (EV) charger, heat pump, or battery may now be able to benefit through a participating energy supplier or third-party aggregator by playing a role in Britain’s increasingly advanced Balancing Mechanism.   
  
Until now most devices were unable to participate, but new rules brought in by NESO, and developed over the past 2 years with industry participants, mean anyone with an EV charger, heat pump or battery may be able to benefit further for helping regularly balance the grid.  
 
With electricity demand projected to treble by 2050 - and with renewables generating more clean energy than ever before - flexibility will be key to maintaining a stable, clean and affordable electricity system.    
 
It is hoped opening up participation in the Balancing Mechanism to households and businesses will enable an even more flexible and sophisticated electricity network, helping reduce balancing costs, boost affordability, and drive clean economic growth across Britain.

Fintan Slye, Chief Executive of NESO, said:

“Abolishing outdated metering requirements to allow millions of households and businesses to benefit from rewards for flexing their energy use is an exciting and historic milestone in the way Britain is powered.    
 
“Consumers will now be free to play an active and regular role in supporting sustainability from the comfort of their own home or workplace. And NESO will be able to utilise aggregated assets instead of switching on more expensive power stations - reducing costs for everyone, and helping us on the journey towards clean power by 2030.     
 
“This is a critical step towards building a more decentralised, digital, and flexible system, capable of supporting Britain’s move to electrified heating and transport. We hope it will help unleash new entrants to the energy market, supercharging innovation and clean growth for Britain.”

The changes mean that if generation is high, to avoid wasting green energy, an aggregator or supplier might for example automatically charge EVs or batteries faster with clean surplus energy. Or they might temporarily increase heat pump temperature to prewarm a premises or home in a way that works for the consumer.     
 
Conversely, if national demand is high, consumers might agree to have their EV charging automatically paused or slowed down within charging parameters that work for them. Or they might opt to have their battery export small amounts of stored energy. This would all be in return for benefits – such as lower tariffs - offered by their supplier or aggregator.

Martin McCluskey, Minister for Energy Consumers, said:

“Millions of people are already making savings by using electricity when it is abundant and cheaper.   
 
“This change will help even more consumers benefit, supporting households with electric vehicles, heat pumps or batteries to bring down their bills by using electricity flexibly.  
 
“This is an important step towards a flexible, clean and innovative energy system, which puts consumers first.”    

Households and businesses have previously been able to provide demand side flexibility to NESO through the Demand Flexibility Service, which typically procured relatively small amounts of energy for the grid in advance, happening a handful of times a month. Under the scheme, consumers enjoyed benefits which included things like money off bills or rewards for taking part. Britain was the first country in the world to introduce such a national service, and it already has nearly 2 million households signed up.   
   
These changes mean consumers will now be free to participate much more frequently in the more immediate Balancing Mechanism - traditionally the reserve of large generators like power stations or wind farms, which are asked to switch on or off on a short-to-real-time basis. The reforms open the way for millions of smaller domestic and business assets to provide or store power for the network as a group - similar to the way in which a power station would operate today.   
 
The reforms follow an independent review and successful evidence-based trials with Octopus Energy, EV Energy and Pod Point. It means household devices no longer need expensive, highly accurate, specialist meters. Standard domestic EV chargers, heat pumps and batteries can participate using their existing technology.  
 
By removing metering barriers, it is hoped businesses specialising in EV charging, smart heating, and home energy management can compete in a new market that was once reserved for large generators, bringing new benefits to end consumers. It opens doors for aggregators, suppliers, and flexibility service providers in a market that is expected to grow substantially.

Dhara Vyas, Chief Executive of Energy UK, said:

“As our energy system continues to transition towards clean power, it’s important that customers can make the most of a more dynamic market. Giving households the opportunity to help balance the grid and be rewarded for it through lower bills or other benefits is a great first step.   
  
“This change from NESO is welcome, it’ll help to ensure that households can continue to use smart products and services effectively. I look forward to continuing our work together to tackle the barriers customers face and make sure demand-side solutions can compete on a level-playing field.”

Pilgrim Beart, Vice President of Energy Services at Pod, said:

“At Pod we make the benefits of flex accessible to all, by rewarding our customers with cash every time they smart charge their EVs at home, making it more affordable for people to make the switch to electric. This has only been made possible thanks to a forward-thinking approach from NESO in reforming metering requirements."

ENDS

  • Further details of the reforms to the metering requirements to participate in the Balancing Mechanism are available here.  NESO's operational metering standard documentation is accessible here.  
  • Households and businesses’ ability to take part in this opportunity to flex their energy use in return for rewards will require their energy supplier or aggregator to participate in NESO's Balancing Mechanism. If their energy supplier does not, then they may be able to find an aggregator that does and stay with their existing energy supplier.    
  • The exact rewards that households receive depend on the individual supplier or aggregator, but might include cash payments or bill credits, rewards or points, cheaper or free charging windows/features. NESO does not set these consumer benefits.     
  • NESO and industry have collaborated over a number of years to develop these standards resulting in a set of rules that both enable participation from consumers and meet the requirements of the system operator for managing the electricity system.  
  • NESO had previously operated a reduced metering standard for a limited volume of participating assets (300MW) prior to the introduction of these enduring reforms.