E.ON Next ramps up home battery investment to cut energy bills by hundreds of pounds per year and support Britain’s electricity grid

E.ON Next is investing £4 million in 1,000 home batteries to tackle two connected challenges: helping customers secure lasting savings on their energy bills and supporting a more resilient electricity grid as Britain connects growing volumes of renewable generation.

The investment will help develop E.ON Next’s ‘Flex Fleet’ model: a network of strategically clustered home batteries that can work together as a ‘virtual power plant’. By managing the energy stored across hundreds or even thousands of homes, the model can lower bills by hundreds of pounds per year¹, supply energy when it is most valuable and reduce strain on electricity networks.

By charging when electricity is cheaper and demand is lower, batteries can provide lower-cost energy for customers to use at more expensive times, while also giving local networks flexibility to manage peaks in demand and reducing the need for costly network reinforcement – turning home battery technology into practical infrastructure that makes new energy work for everyone.

E.ON Next’s previous affordability projects, designed to support vulnerable customers, show the savings already being achieved. In Coventry, customers saved an average of more than £255 a year when a battery was combined with a time-of-use tariff. A project with Northern Powergrid tested fully funded batteries in Crowle and Starbeck, delivering savings above those predicted while helping to address local network constraints.

New research for E.ON Next shows that customers want affordable ways to take greater control of their energy costs. Of those surveyed, 59% preferred longer-term control over costs to short-term or one-off support, while 66% would be interested in a battery offer requiring no upfront payment. Yet 73% did not know a home battery can work without being connected to solar panels².

E.ON Next believes removing upfront barriers and allowing more households to benefit from flexible energy technology will contribute to a cleaner, more secure and affordable electricity system.

Chris Norbury, Chief Executive, E.ON UK , said: “We are investing in battery technology that can make a practical difference for customers and the wider energy system. Our projects around the country have shown that batteries can deliver meaningful, lasting savings without asking customers to change the way they live. Crucially, households do not need solar panels to benefit.”

“By connecting batteries and managing them intelligently, we can lower bills for customers and help the grid respond to changing demand and growing renewable generation. E.ON Next modelling shows that, with the right energy market conditions, greater consumer flexibility could provide around £150 million a year in direct bill savings. That is how we can make new energy work for everyone while building a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system.”

With the right energy market conditions, E.ON Next modelling indicates that a greater focus on consumer flexibility could provide approximately £150 million a year in direct bill savings. Involving around 615,000 households, this approach could also address 98% of a potential 3.74GW of grid constraint by 2035³.

Find out more, visit www.eonnext.com/battery-boost