What is Flex?
Flex (short for flexibility) is the ability to adjust energy consumption or production in real-time to keep the power grid stable.
Because the production of renewable energy like wind and solar is unpredictable, the grid often faces imbalances—either too much or too little power. Flex solves this by using smart devices, such as home batteries, to act as a "buffer."
When there is excess energy, Flex-enabled batteries absorb it; when there is a shortage, they release it back into the grid. This process ensures grid stability while allowing you to earn revenue from your hardware.
This helps stabilize the grid and participants are paid for their contribution. Participation in the flexibility market is subject to meeting the conditions set by Elering, which we have achieved in partnership with Fusebox Energy and KratTrade (also known as Baltic Energy Partners and Scener).
What are Flex Push and Flex Pull?
To balance the grid, the operator sends two types of commands based on current needs:
Flex Push: This happens when the grid needs more power or there is too much consumption. Your battery helps by discharging energy into the grid. You win twice: you sell your energy and receive a Flex premium for the service.
Flex Pull: This occurs when there is an oversupply of energy in the grid (e.g., a sunny day). Your battery helps by charging and soaking up that excess. You win by getting very cheap energy to use later, plus a Flex premium for helping the grid.
How It Works in Practice
When your battery helps balance the grid, it either supplies or consumes energy. This "balancing energy" flows through the same meter and within the same hour as your regular household energy.
To ensure you are never billed or paid twice for the same energy, energy traders use metering data from Elering to distinguish which energy units were used for your home and which were handled through the flexibility market.
There are two primary ways this is handled on your statement:
Immediate Adjustment: The trader subtracts the balancing energy from your total before issuing the first bill. For example, if you exported 10 kWh in one hour, but 1 kWh of that was for balancing, you are billed for 9 kWh of regular energy. The remaining 1 kWh is handled separately as Flex revenue.
Correction Billing: The trader initially bills the full amount (e.g., 10 kWh) as regular energy and later issues a correction to account for the energy used for balancing.
How can I earn?
Your earnings depend on:
- the size of your battery (kWh).
- how often the grid needs balancing.
- market prices at the time of activation.
Payments are shown on the platform and credited monthly as an advance. You can then choose to:
- use to offset your electricity service bills.
- request as a payout to your bank account.
A 20% service fee for Premium or 30% for Light Plan users applies to the revenue earned. This covers platform development, partner fees, and service management.
Getting Started
To join the FLEX market you can click on the banner on the dashboard. If you do not see the banner, it means your current setup is not eligible for participating in the Flex Market. The banner will direct you to a page with a simple form. There, you need to:
- Sign a participation agreement
- Provide your EIC code (e.g. 38ZEE-1000007L-E) and the address of the site.
That’s it! Our team will handle the technical setup and market registration. Still have questions? Contact us at [email protected] — we’re happy to guide you through the process!