We’re delighted that HOMEflex, a project dedicated to ensuring inclusivity, transparency and fairness in domestic energy flexibility services, has been shortlisted for the Net Zero Engagement award at the Utility Week awards 2023. Congratulations to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and Flex Assure who led the project.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) led consumer research for the project. Our research informed the recently published HOMEflex Code of Conduct, which lays out rules for demand flexibility service providers to ensure their services are inclusive and accessible to everyone, especially vulnerable people. It’s great to have contributed to this important piece of work and to have been able to bring customers’ voices into the process of designing the code.

HOMEflex qualitative research

Our research centred around consumer concerns, including data collection and inclusivity.  The key findings were:

• Participants weren’t concerned about sharing their data with flexibility service providers, but they expected that in exchange, their data would be used to provide tailored recommendations to help them benefit most from the service.
• Participants recognised the importance of inclusive service design and ethics in a Code of Conduct for service providers. Still, they questioned how these could be enforced – how should flexibility services be made accessible and who will hold companies accountable?

Read the full report here.

The Utility Week Awards

The Utility Week Awards celebrate organisations and projects within the energy and water sectors that put customer welfare and environmental goals at the heart of their work.

Nominees for the Net Zero award must show a strong commitment to sustainability and demonstrate their work:

• Helps to remove barriers to decarbonisation for customers.
• Has resulted in lower emissions from customers or has increased customer awareness of decarbonisation.
• Contributes to the national conversation about energy efficiency.

To reach net zero, our future energy system must rapidly become smarter and more flexible. CSE’s Smart and Fair programme is dedicated to ensuring this is a just transition so that no one is excluded from its benefits.