Transforming Energy Interactions for All — The Energy Company
Grid & ESSMay 13, 20246 min read
Transforming Energy Interactions for All
The grid sends power one way. Storage, smart pricing, and demand response are reversing that flow — turning every consumer into an active participant in the energy economy.
The simple equation: Use less from the grid in peak hours. Sell surplus energy back when prices are high. Batteries make both possible — at home, at work, and at scale.
The Starting Point
How electricity reaches us — and what it costs along the way
Our electricity journey traditionally begins far away: at coal power plants, hydroelectric dams, or solar farms hundreds of kilometres from where it's consumed. The energy generated there traverses vast distances through complex grids before reaching homes, offices, and factories.
Crude oil follows a similar path — sourced from distant locations, refined, then transported by road to every corner of the country. Both journeys share a hidden cost: energy loss. A meaningful portion of what's generated simply dissipates before it's ever used — silently inflating every energy bill.
01
Generation
Coal plants, hydro dams, solar farms — often hundreds of km from end users
02
Transmission
High-voltage lines carry power across vast distances through complex grid infrastructure
Energy lost here
03
Distribution
Step-down transformers, local substations, last-mile delivery to homes and businesses
Energy lost here
04
Consumption
Homes, factories, EVs — all paying for energy that was partly lost getting here
Despite these inefficiencies, the system works well enough that we've built our entire lifestyle around the assumption of near-constant electricity. 24-hour power with minimal fluctuation is an expectation, not a luxury. Diesel generators and lead-acid batteries exist as backup precisely because that expectation is so deeply embedded — people won't willingly give up reliability, even for cleaner alternatives.
Renewable energy must meet this bar. And to do so, it needs to solve two fundamental problems: how do intermittent sources integrate with existing infrastructure, and how do they reliably scale to meet future demand?
"Renewable energy is the obvious answer to future demand. But the grid doesn't run on obvious answers — it runs on reliability, scalability, and the economics that make behaviour change worthwhile."
The Three Pillars
Demand response, dynamic pricing, and energy arbitrage
Three mechanisms are reshaping how consumers interact with the grid — turning passive users into active participants who can reduce costs, earn revenue, and stabilise the system simultaneously.
01
Mechanism
Demand Response
Utility companies incentivise consumers to reduce energy usage during peak demand periods — through cost savings, credits, or payments. Simple actions like reducing HVAC usage, delaying large appliance cycles, or discharging a battery to the grid during peak hours qualify. The goal: stabilise the grid without switching on expensive, polluting peaker plants.
Grid stability
02
Mechanism
Dynamic Pricing
Also called time-of-use pricing — electricity costs vary by time of day, day of the week, and season. Prices are higher during peak demand and lower during off-peak periods. This price signal encourages consumers to shift usage to cheaper hours, flattening the demand curve and reducing strain on the grid — without any centralised command.
Price signals
03
Mechanism
Energy Arbitrage
Buy electricity when it's cheap; sell it when it's expensive. For anyone with a battery system, this is the practical implementation: charge overnight at low prices, discharge to the grid or self-consume during peak hours. Economic benefit for the owner, and a balancing service for the grid. The foundation of the virtual power plant model.
Revenue opportunity
The Evidence
When does peak demand actually happen?
Usage patterns are consistent and predictable. Understanding the curve is the first step to acting on it — whether you're a utility designing incentives or a consumer deciding when to charge.
Daily electricity demand curve — peak usage periods
Source: energymag.net / daily-energy-demand-curve
Peak Window
10 AM — 7 PM
The consistent daily demand peak (± 1 hour). This is when grid prices are highest, when peaker plants switch on, and when arbitrage value is greatest for anyone with storage.
Utility companies aren't abstract beneficiaries of demand response. They have a direct financial incentive to keep consumers off the grid during this window — peaker plants are expensive to run and often the dirtiest power source in the mix. Every kilowatt a consumer avoids using between 10am and 7pm is a kilowatt the utility doesn't need to generate expensively.
The Solution
The role of Battery Energy Storage Systems
The Equation
Use less from the grid in peak hours.
Sell surplus back when prices are highest. Batteries make both happen automatically.
In non-peak hours — typically overnight to early morning — electricity demand is low, prices are low, and renewable generation (especially solar) is underutilised. A battery system can absorb this cheap energy and store it on-premises. When peak hours arrive, that stored energy powers the building or vehicle instead of drawing from the expensive grid.
If solar is also installed, the economics compound further: surplus solar generated during the day can be sold back to the grid during peak hours rather than wasted. Even without solar, the arbitrage opportunity alone can significantly reduce electricity bills.
Off-Peak · Night
Charge Battery
Buy cheap overnight electricity and store it on-premises
Low price
Peak Hours · Day
Discharge or Sell
Use stored energy instead of the grid — or sell back at peak prices
High price
Outcome
Lower Bills & Grid Relief
Cost savings for the owner, demand relief for the utility, cleaner grid for everyone
Net positive
BESS in practice — electricity bill offset with and without on-premises solar
Who This Serves
Every type of energy user stands to gain
The shift to intelligent storage isn't limited to large industrial players. From individual households to fleet operators to commercial buildings, the economics of demand response work at every scale.
Households
Offset electricity bills by storing cheap overnight power and avoiding peak-hour grid prices — no solar required.
Commercial Buildings
Large demand charges make peak-hour avoidance particularly valuable. Storage can significantly reduce monthly bills at scale.
EV Fleet Operators
Charge vehicles overnight at low rates. Use FlexiTwin to optimise charging schedules across entire fleets automatically.
Solar Owners
Don't waste surplus generation. Store it and sell back during peak hours when grid prices — and therefore export tariffs — are highest.
Grid Operators
Distributed storage reduces the need for expensive peaker plants and creates a more resilient, responsive grid — without new infrastructure.
Financiers
Energy assets with verifiable performance data and predictable revenue streams are fundable. Battery Aadhaar makes this data real.
TEC's Position
Not just solving energy storage in mobility — changing how the world transacts with electricity.
At The Energy Company, we're building the full stack: the batteries that store, the software that optimises, and the digital identity infrastructure (Battery Aadhaar) that makes every interaction in this system transparent, trusted, and valuable to every participant — from cell to grid.
