PARIS (Reuters) - One day, the weather could drive your domestic schedule. Your dishwasher springs to life at the windiest time of day. The washing machine starts spinning when the sun beats down.
High-tension electrical power lines are seen near the Golfech nuclear plant on the border of the Garonne River between Agen and Toulouse, France, July 18, 2018. Picture taken July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
In such scenarios, algorithms in smart appliances automatically respond to price drops on wholesale spot markets caused by higher supplies of wind and solar power, saving households money and balancing the electricity market.
This may be many years away, but it is the future envisioned by the European Union, which wants to make the electricity system more efficient as the continent switches from predictable fossil-fuel power generation to intermittent renewables.
Most utilities have long offered cheaper night-time tariffs, but new EU rules expected in 2020 will require them to provide more flexible options that encourage customers to use power during sunny or windy periods, at varied times of day or when businesses are shut at weekends.
These kind of flexible “dynamic pricing” contracts are already widely offered in Spain and Scandinavia. But utilities in some of the biggest European markets like Britain and France are now beginning to follow suit in a shift that analysts say could disrupt the continent’s electricity retailing industry.
The nascent drive is enabled by the mass rollout of smart meters, which can precisely record energy usage patterns.
“From now on, consumers in Europe will be able to seize more spot market opportunities as the rise of renewable power and the availability of smart meters and internet-connected appliances boost dynamic pricing,” said Jean-Marc Ollagnier, group CEO of consultancy Accenture Resources.
Newer, smaller players
