From electricity consumer to flexibility manager: How roles in the energy sector are shifting

Anyone who registers a heat pump, a wallbox or a battery storage unit today automatically becomes part of a system that did not exist in this form ten years ago. Not because the devices are new – but because the role behind them has changed. Customers who simply purchase and pay for energy are becoming active participants who help shape the grid. This shift is quieter than the expansion of wind power, but at least as far-reaching.

Customers as a grid resource

For decades, the division of roles was clear: generators generate, grid operators transmit, and consumers consume. Photovoltaics on the roof, a storage unit in the cellar and a controllable wallbox in the garage are breaking down this model. Households now generate, store, consume and time-shift energy – often all at the same time, coordinated via a home energy management system rather than through manual intervention.

From the perspective of grid management, this is not a side effect of the energy transition, but its very essence: millions of small, previously invisible loads are becoming a resource that can be actively managed.

Section 14a of the Energy Economy Act (EnWG): more of a regulatory framework than a ban on control

In public debate, Section 14a of the EnWG is usually reduced to a single question: are grid operators allowed to simply switch off a household’s heat pump? The answer is no – the output may be throttled to a minimum of 4.2 kW, but it may not be switched off. However, this oversimplification overlooks what this is actually about: for the first time, Section 14a establishes a binding, nationwide framework for systematically integrating controllable consumption devices into grid management, and rewards this with noticeably reduced grid charges.

The latest amendment demonstrates just how serious the legislature and the Federal Network Agency are about increasing flexibility: from 1 January 2026, electricity fed back into the grid from an electric car’s battery will no longer be subject to double grid charges as it is for regular consumption, but will instead be treated legally in the same way as electricity from stationary storage systems – analogous to pumped-storage power stations. This removes one of the two key economic barriers to bidirectional charging. The second is to be addressed by MiSpeL, the regulation on the market integration of storage systems and charging points: it is intended to enable wallboxes and storage systems to be treated as fully-fledged market participants in terms of metering and billing.

In parallel, the Federal Network Agency is preparing an even more fundamental reform with AgNes, the General Grid Tariff System for Electricity: from 2029, the entire grid tariff system is to be overhauled, with more dynamic, grid-beneficial tariff components replacing rigid flat rates. MiSpeL and AgNes are interlinked in this regard – AgNes determines the future grid tariff framework, whilst MiSpeL regulates how storage systems and charging points operate within it as market participants.

This is the crux of the matter: Section 14a of the Energy Economy Act (EnWG) is not an exception for marginal cases, but rather the blueprint for how flexible, decentralised installations will, in principle, be integrated into the market and the grid in future.

Value creation is shifting

This has an uncomfortable consequence for the industry. As long as value creation stemmed primarily from kilowatt-hours sold, the customer relationship was comparatively easy to maintain. The more customers become self-sufficient and the more intelligently consumption is managed, the less sustainable this model becomes on its own.

It is increasingly being replaced by other capabilities: those who wish to retain customers in future will do so less often through the price per kilowatt-hour and more often through the ability to harness their flexibility for economic benefit – both for the customers themselves and for the system.

• Management and marketing of flexibility
• Aggregation of many small, decentralised installations into tradable portfolios
• Data-driven, time-varying tariff models
• Integration of heat pumps, wall boxes and storage systems via HEMS
• Connection to market processes previously reserved for large-scale installations

The underestimated Achilles’ heel: IT and market communication

New demands on systems and processes

What is missing from many strategic discussions: this transformation is, to a large extent, a digitalisation project. Variable grid tariffs must be calculated correctly, control signals transmitted reliably, and meter readings processed almost in real time. Market communication – the processes through which grid operators, suppliers and metering point operators exchange data – was long designed for comparatively stable, predictable processes. A system comprising millions of individually controllable devices and time-varying tariffs places entirely different demands on these processes in terms of frequency, timeliness and fault tolerance.

What this means for energy companies

This remains invisible to end customers. For energy suppliers, network operators and metering point operators, however, it is business-critical: Ultimately, the commercial success of new flexibility models depends not only on regulatory frameworks, but also on whether the underlying systems can keep pace – and with AgNes, the next, even more far-reaching requirement for metering and billing processes is already on the horizon.

The developments described present energy suppliers, network operators and metering point operators with a twofold challenge: On the one hand, regulatory requirements such as Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), the smart meter roll-out and bidirectional charging must be implemented. On the other hand, new business models are emerging centred on flexibility, dynamic tariffs and smart energy services.

For many energy companies, therefore, the question is no longer whether flexibility models will become relevant. The crucial question is how quickly the organisational and technological prerequisites can be put in place.

From obligation to opportunity: the adesso approach

It is precisely at this interface between energy sector expertise, processes and digitalisation that adesso supports energy companies. From the strategic assessment of regulatory requirements, through the analysis and optimisation of energy sector processes, to implementation in market communications, billing systems and digital platforms, we support energy companies in transforming their business models. The aim is not merely to meet regulatory requirements, but to harness the resulting potential for customers, grid operation and value creation in a sustainable manner.

Conclusion

The energy transition is changing not only how electricity is generated, but also who plays which role in the energy system. Passive consumers are becoming active participants, individual installations are providing controllable flexibility, and traditional energy suppliers are increasingly becoming orchestrators of a networked energy system. The crucial question for energy companies is therefore no longer how much electricity they sell, but how successfully they can translate flexibility, data and digital processes into new value creation.

Anyone wishing to build this foundation within their own company does not have to start from scratch. Our training course ‘Fundamentals of the Energy Industry’ provides precisely the understanding of market roles, processes and regulatory contexts that forms the basis for any further engagement with topics such as Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) or flexibility models.

A no-obligation discussion with our Utilities team is the first step towards this.