Batteries cut bills: E.ON Next expands Battery Boost programme supporting more households at risk of fuel poverty

Building on the success of its Battery Boost project with Northern Powergrid, E.ON Next has today announced expanded partnerships with Northern Powergrid, and two additional network operators: SP Electricity North West and UK Power Networks.

The project has already made smarter energy technologies more accessible to homes - particularly those at risk of fuel poverty - by giving households free home batteries that store more affordable electricity at off-peak times, ready for use when demand and prices rise. The first households are saving hundreds of pounds a year, with no change to how they use electricity, while easing peak-time pressure on the local network.

The new agreements form part of E.ON Next's £4 million investment into providing 1,000 more batteries for customers and seeks to make clean energy technologies more accessible to homes and families across north Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, the east and northeast of England and Greater Manchester.

Chris Norbury, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said: "Most people do not know a home battery works without solar panels. For the households in Battery Boost it works without them paying a penny for it: the battery is provided free, fills up overnight when electricity is cheap and runs the home when it is not, and the previous customers are nearly £500 a year better off as a result. That is what making new energy work for everyone means in practice - the benefit reaching those who need it most.

"The network operators matter because this cuts both ways. Every unit of electricity shifted off the evening peak is a unit the local grid does not have to be reinforced to carry. Working with three operators lets us put batteries where they do the most good for the household and the network at the same time, and build the case for doing this at real scale."

As Britain electrifies more homes, transport and industry, demand on local power networks is increasing. Flexible technologies such as home batteries can play a key role by shifting electricity use away from peak periods, helping network operators to ease pressures on the grid and make better use of renewable energy.

Phil Jones, Northern Powergrid’s CEO said: “We’re excited to extend our collaboration with E.ON and help take the delivery of benefit to customers to the next level. It provides a great opportunity for us to demonstrate the reality of the significant cost savings that can be unlocked by the system, as a whole, when DNOs play a more enhanced, active role in the deployment of low carbon technology across our regions.

“As the transition to a more electrified future gathers pace, it’s essential that customers can access the benefits in a way that is both affordable and practical. We first got involved in this because we believe that the best outcome for customers will come when we deliver the right-sized network, at the right time, and then the wider energy market provides the solutions. Sometimes that needs little or no involvement from us, other times we need to make minor upgrades, or we need to build assets that are simply not there today. Through initiatives like this, alongside our wider work supporting flexibility and community energy projects, we can improve the way we make the energy transition more accessible, ensuring more people get to share in the opportunities it brings.”

Balancing the electricity grid, by ensuring demand matches available supply, is no longer simply about turning large power stations on and off. It increasingly demands an interconnected ecosystem of generators, networks, suppliers and consumers working together to balance the system.

Sotiris Georgiopoulos Director of DSO at UK Power Networks, said: “We were delighted to have E.ON participate in our latest tender for flexibility services through Battery Boost. With the tender looking several years ahead, it’s exciting to see propositions like this emerging to support our longer-term approach to flexibility. As battery costs fall, we see growing potential from propositions like this to reduce bills for those who need it most, while helping the network accommodate growing electrical demand.” 

E.ON Next continues to look for ways to bring flexible energy technology to more customers. Recent E.ON Next research found that 59% of people would rather have long-term control of their energy costs than short-term support, and that 73% did not know a home battery works without solar panels. Earlier battery projects have delivered lasting bill savings across all housing types from the first day of installation.

The partnerships build on earlier projects to identify where home batteries deliver the most value for customers and the electricity system together. E.ON Next's modelling suggests this approach could save around £150 million a year across some 615,000 households and address most of a potential 3.74 GW grid constraint by 2035.

For more information or to register visit https://www.eonnext.com/battery-boost.