We are now launching the possibility for all our household customers with the operating mode Currently Optimized (CO) and with a solar installation to combine self-consumption of solar power with the delivery of ancillary services. Previously, customers with hourly electricity agreements, using CheckWatt AI, have been able to combine ancillary services with electricity price arbitrage.
In the same way as for customers with hourly electricity agreements, benefits within the property – such as storage of self-produced solar power – will take place within a limited range of the battery’s charge level (or State of Charge), typically 20–40 percent of the battery’s energy capacity. This range mainly varies depending on the battery’s C-rate, where a lower C-rate means a larger amount of energy in relation to power output and allows greater variation in charge level. In this way, ancillary services can still be delivered fully. The battery will therefore charge when there is a surplus of solar power, and then discharge when electricity consumption is higher in the property.
Savings from increased self-consumption occur because electricity used locally in the property is usually worth more than electricity sold to the grid. For a typical electricity customer, the cost per kilowatt-hour of purchased electricity usually consists of the following:
- The electricity price from the electricity retailer, including add-ons and VAT
- Variable grid fee plus VAT
- Electricity tax (including VAT)
When a typical electricity customer sells electricity, the compensation usually includes:
- The hourly price of electricity (compared with the electricity price you pay, deductions are made for the electricity retailers add-ons, VAT, and sometimes further deductions)
- A smaller income from the electricity grid company, reflecting the losses in the grid that local production avoids
- Swedish customers receive a tax reduction of 60 öre per kWh. This is however not applicable for Finnish customers
The savings from increased self-consumption vary from customer to customer, depending on the agreements with the electricity retailer and the grid company. For Swedish customers, a good rule of thumb, however, is that the savings roughly correspond to the variable grid fee plus an additional 10–20 öre per kWh, since other costs and revenues offset each other. From January 2026, the 60 öre per kWh tax reduction for sold electricity will be removed in Sweden, which increases the value of self-consumption by a corresponding amount. In Finland, savings for increased self-consumption are generally around 0.06 – 0.08 €/kWh.
If you are an existing customer and have chosen the Currently Optimized (CO) operating mode, you don’t need to do anything, you will receive this functionality automatically within a week. If you have chosen the Self Consumption (SC) operating mode and want the functionality that combines increased self-consumption of solar power with the delivery of ancillary services, you need to select the CO mode in your EnergyInBalance-account.
