The £20m trial will test a new approach to cutting renewable energy waste and reducing costs for households.
Arup, supported by the Carbon Trust, Ipsos, and Technopolis, has been appointed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as Delivery Lead of a major real-world trial, exploring how greater consumer flexibility could help make better use of electricity when renewable energy is abundant.
The £20m Demand Turn-up (DTU) trial, being delivered by UKRI in close collaboration with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), will test discounted electricity offers for households and businesses during periods of surplus renewable generation. The discounts will be delivered through rebates on Final Consumption Levies (FCLs), which consumers currently pay through their electricity bills.
At present, periods of high renewable generation can coincide with constraints on the electricity networks, resulting in farms needing to reduce their output. By encouraging electricity use at these times, the trial will explore the potential to reduce renewable energy curtailment and associated network constraint costs, which are currently estimated at £1.7bn per year. It will also assess the wider social and economic benefits, impacts on the energy market, and identify any unintended consequences.
Evidence generated through the trial will inform future policy decisions on the role of DTU, including whether exemptions from FCLs could become a longer-term policy intervention, with potential to help reduce energy costs for households and the wider electricity system.
As Trial Delivery Lead, Arup, alongside partners the Carbon Trust, Ipsos, and Technopolis, will lead the design and mobilisation of the trial and coordinate its delivery with UKRI, DESNZ and relevant system stakeholders. The consortium will bring together expertise from its digital practice and energy flexibility specialists, including data science and analytics capabilities, wider consumer research and evaluation expertise.
The trial is planned across three phases, with the first focussed on establishing a viable delivery model. The overall trial and analysis programme is due to run until 2028.
Jenny Hill, Challenge Director at UKRI, commented: “This trial puts innovation at the heart of the policy process. Demand Turn Up will test whether we can put surplus renewable electricity to work for consumers, rewarding them for using electricity when renewable generation is abundant. Flexibility is one of the sharpest tools in our toolbox for cutting bills, strengthening energy security and shifting away from volatile gas.”
Simon Evans, Global Digital Energy Leader at Arup, commented: “The scale and ambition of this real-world trial make it a significant step forward for consumer flexibility in the UK. It brings together policy, digital systems, energy-market expertise, data and consumer insight to test what works in practice. Our focus will be on generating credible evidence that shows how Demand Turn Up can make better use of renewable electricity and whether it can become a practical, scalable part of the future energy system.”
Andrew Lever, Director, Energy Transition at the Carbon Trust, said: “Making the best use of renewable electricity is critical to accelerating the UK’s transition to a cleaner, lower cost energy system. This live-market trial will provide important real-world evidence on how consumer-led flexibility can maximise the use of excess renewable energy, lower curtailment costs and deliver benefits across the wider energy system.”
Raquel de Luis Iglesias, Head of Energy and Environment at Ipsos in the UK said, “Achieving a cleaner, more affordable energy system depends not only on technology, but on understanding how consumers respond to new opportunities and incentives. This trial provides a unique opportunity to test in real-world conditions as to how consumers engage with flexible energy use when renewable electricity is abundant. Ipsos is proud to bring its expertise in consumer research and impact evaluation to inform future energy policy and consumer flexibility programmes. Our partnership in the trial means that this work will be underpinned by robust evidence on consumer behaviour and public acceptability at its heart.”
Fraser Macleod, Technopolis UK Green Economy Lead, commented,“We are delighted to support Arup on delivery of UKRI’s innovative Demand Turn Up Trial. At Technopolis, our role will be focused on evaluating the impacts of DTU Trials for industrial and commercial sector energy users. We look forward to engaging trial participants to gather evidence on what has worked well and why, to inform design of future phases of the Trials.”
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