We are at a pivotal and exciting point for the UK’s energy industry, as we transition towards a decarbonised energy system. To achieve this, demand flexibility will become increasingly important in balancing supply and demand, and will help unlock opportunities for organisations to access new revenue streams and improve energy efficiency.

The energy transition has brought increasing amounts of renewables onto the grid – an average of 47% of the UK’s electricity was made up by renewables in 2025¹, compared to 11.3% in 2012². However, more needs to be done, at pace, if we are to meet the Government targets outlined in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. Electrification will be key to decarbonising the grid by 2030, and as a result, electricity demand is set to more than double by 2050³.

As Great Britain’s grid mix becomes increasingly powered by intermittent renewable sources, and demand for electricity grows through electrification, how and when electricity is consumed will need to evolve. More demand flexibility will therefore be needed to balance the grid; in fact, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) predicts that we will need four-to-five times more flexibility by 2030⁴.

Demand flexibility is consumers’ ability to adjust their electricity usage in response to the grid’s needs. By being smarter with their usage and optimising their on-site operations to reduce, increase or shift consumption, organisations can help balance demand on the grid, maximising revenue and cost-saving opportunities, whilst also reducing the need for fossil fuel generation.

Through shifting our mindsets to think about the grid as something that is shared – a concept we champion called ‘good grid citizenship’ – these flexibility contributions can help to support a more sustainable, resilient grid which can work and create value for all that uses it.

Becoming active participants that are more engaged with and mindful of their energy usage can offer organisations a wide range of benefits:

1. Consumers can reduce and better control their electricity costs by shifting their operations to times of lower electricity demand, sometimes referred to as ‘peak shifting’, as electricity prices may be lower in off-peak hours.
2. Consumers can access new market revenue streams. Flexibility services, or Demand-Side Response (DSR) programs, such as the national-level Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) and the local-level Distribution System Operator (DSO), work to incentivise consumer flexibility by offering payments in return for providing flexibility to the grid. Businesses can be a part of multiple flexibility services to earn even more, sometimes referred to as ‘stacking’.
3. Utilising flexibility can also help consumers to access a significantly improved return on investment for their on-site technologies, such as solar PV, maximising their value
4. Beyond the financial benefits that individual businesses can access, grid flexibility can save the British public money collectively, through their bills. According to research⁵, energy flexibility saved the British public over £300 million in 2024 in energy costs, and over the next three years, flexibility is projected to provide more than £3 billion in savings. This is due to reduced need for expensive grid infrastructure upgrades to accommodate growing electricity demand, lower connection charges, and more renewable sources on the grid, displacing more expensive fossil fuel sources.
5. Changing your business’s approach to flexibility will also offer wider social and environmental benefits, by supporting a more sustainable, resilient energy system and working to tackle the effects of climate change.
6. Your business may enjoy reputational benefits for demonstrating your commitment to sustainability beyond a renewable electricity supply and displaying good grid citizenship, from consumers and investors who are increasingly value-driven.

For greater success, demand flexibility needs to be considered as part of a long-term holistic view of an organisations energy strategy, which can complement and open opportunities in the future. By understanding usage and consumption patterns and working collaboratively, internally and with partners, organisations can identify opportunities for flexibility and ensure they have the right contracts in place to unlock value from their operations and be rewarded for supporting the sustainable energy transition.

On-site technologies that you may be able to optimise to unlock demand flexibility include:

• Electric vehicles (EVs)

With electric vehicles (EVs), you can help to balance supply and demand on the grid while charging your vehicles. Using smart charging technologies, you can schedule your EV fleet to be charged in off-peak hours, shifting your electricity usage away from peak demand.

• Battery energy storage

Batteries can store surplus energy from on-site generation or the grid, to use or sell back to in periods of high demand when electricity is often more expensive and renewables may be less available.

Batteries can work alongside other on-site technologies, such as solar PV and heat pumps, to unlock greater flexibility, responding to the grid and market signals to provide valuable services.

• Other flexible load

You can also optimise any existing on-site assets, such as refrigeration, thermal and cold stores, and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), and to harmonise with periods of high renewable generation and system needs – all without impacting your business activities. For example, if you work in Manufacturing, you could consider shifting your most energy-intensive processes to times of day where demand is generally lower. Building Management Systems (BMS) can provide detailed insight into your energy usage, help to monitor flexible areas of your business, optimise your energy usage automatically and shift it away from peak demand periods, without requiring significant changes to your processes.

Here at Bryt Energy, we offer a range of optimisation solutions to help organisations use electricity more intelligently and sustainably. Combining our in-depth expertise in the energy marketplace and industry-leading technology providers, our optimisation solutions seamlessly integrate with customers’ energy storage assets, using data tools to remotely understand and control devices. This enables them to unlock value from their operations and to be rewarded for supporting the net zero energy transition – all without impacting their business activities.

For more information, you can visit here, or get in touch with our team of experts at energytransition@brytenergy.co.uk or on 0330 053 8620.

Sources:

¹ https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-renewables-enjoy-record-year-in-2025-but-gas-power-still-rises/

² https://www.solarguide.co.uk/over-11-of-electricity-generation-in-2012-from-renewables

³ https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-seventh-carbon-budget/

⁴ https://www.neso.energy/news/our-clean-power-2030-advice-government

⁵ https://www.energynetworks.org/newsroom/gb-cements-status-as-world-leader-in-energy-flexibility-with-estimated-gbp-300m-savings-for-bill-payers