The myenergi Zappi has become the first EV charger to be accepted into the UK capacity market without relying on smart meter data.
The capacity market was introduced as part of the Electricity Market Reform Programme around a decade ago, and it served as a way to ensure the security of electricity supply by providing a payment for reliable sources of capacity.
Traditionally, those in the capacity market have included large-scale, fossil-fuel based electricity generators, such as coal and gas power plants. They’re quick to come online and provide electricity in the case of a shortfall, but they are obviously not ideal for the environment.
Now, with reforms to the capacity market in recent years, we’re starting to see the inclusion of more renewables and ways in which to manage demand – such as EV chargers and energy storage.
Many domestic EV chargers have already been taking part in the capacity market by energy suppliers, but this has been facilitated through data from smart meters. That means that there was visibility on exactly how much electricity a house was using – but not the EV charger itself.
Contrastingly, myenergi’s zappi chargers will be integrated directly into the capacity market using its own metering systems. According to myenergi, this move reflects a broader aim to foster a more diversified and adaptable energy framework in the UK.
Lee Sutton, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at myenergi, commented, “This is a really important and exciting milestone in creating a truly flexible and distributed energy system in the UK. We firmly believe that flexibility markets must be open to a wider variety of players, and myenergi has proven that this is possible through the high-quality technology in our products and our innovative approach, in partnership with Axle Energy.”
Karl Bach, Co-Founder and CEO of Axle, added, “We were really pleased to collaborate with myenergi to deliver this industry-first, which we hope will serve as a proof of concept to widen participation in all flexibility markets, not just the Capacity Market.”
myenergi has said that it will extend some of the financial benefits derived from the payments it receives as a participant in the capacity market back to its customers.