Time-of-use (TOU) tariffs play a crucial role in promoting sustainable energy by aligning consumer behavior with the availability of renewable energy, but there are regulatory and technical barriers that stand in the way of widespread adoption.
Daniel Lindén, Co-Founder and CPO of Tibber, says, “Time-of-use tariffs are more volatile, which might, in its first essence, look like it can bring financial risks on top of you as a consumer.” He says that consumers that are able to mitigate the high periods of cost from time to time will benefit from TOU in the long run. He also adds that the more renewables that are used, the more fossil fuels can be phased out.
Christian Chudoba, founder & CEO of Lumenaza agrees that TOU ends up being the cheaper option. “If you look over the last five years,” he says, “even over the last 10 years – on average, it is the cheapest option that you can have.” He says that combining TOU with different renewable energy assets also opens up the potential for more savings.
Philip Steele, a Future Technologies Evangelist at Octopus Energy, says, “Time-of-use tariffs will help balance the grid and use up renewable energy when it's particularly high – like a shock service on the grid.” He says that the most important thing to keep in mind is the wants of the consumer.
Jan Rabe, Co-Founder and CEO of RABOT Charge says, “I believe it strongly depends on the timing. It's an important factor for the future." He explains that because there are times when people can use 100% renewables and times when they cannot, such as a cloudy or windless day, then the patterns of energy usage must be adaptable.
