Kraken Launches Smart Flex Consumer Demand Management Product
- Kraken opens popular Smart Flex proposition to US licensees, enabling them to make the grid more resilient and bring down bills
- Smart Flex is the first combined flexible device management and consumer rate proposition housed in one integrated platform
- Kraken is targeting 100 million energy accounts on its platform by 2027, with 10% of these in North America
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kraken Technologies, one of the world’s fastest growing energy tech companies, has launched its groundbreaking ‘Smart Flex’ intelligent demand platform in the US.
The only proposition to combine best-in-class customer experience and billing with flexible demand and grid management in a single integrated platform, Smart Flex, powered by Kraken, is now available to all utilities in the US, with Octopus Energy being its first client.
With 1.4 million electric vehicles expected to be sold across the US in 2023, and 90% of American households now using air conditioning, this poses a huge challenge for grid costs and systems.
Left unmanaged, extra demand without any way to intelligently manage it will drive grid constraint costs and increase energy rates for the consumer.
Smart Flex is an intelligent demand platform that directly integrates with customers’ home energy devices, including electric cars and smart thermostats, allowing suppliers to match customers’ energy usage to the greenest and cheapest times to benefit the grid.
Kraken has already demonstrated Smart Flex in a range of applications including local grid management and energy trading, maximizing value and optimizing devices against a range of price signals. The user can manage grid needs and flexibly dispatch energy all while ensuring end customer needs are met.
Proving popular with electric vehicle owners, the Smart Flex platform is already powering over 50,000 devices across the US and UK, managing over 250 MW (megawatts) of demand.
This combination of customer offer and grid services also makes Smart Flex the largest residential virtual power plant in the UK and one of the largest in the world. The product was also the first domestic electric car asset in the UK’s grid capacity management, helping to ease local grid constraints.
Customer tariffs enabled by Smart Flex have saved the average customer in the UK up to $1,000 annually compared to charging their electric car on a standard price-capped product.
Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy Group, announcing the news at Reuters Energy Transition event in New York, commented: “Smart Flex allows energy companies in the US to kill two birds with one stone: bring bills down for their customers whilst helping balance the grid during times of high demand, all alongside offering some of the world’s best customer service.
“Many of our clients have asked us to unlock our groundbreaking consumer flexibility products for them – with Smart Flex we’re finally making this happen. Anyone who licenses Kraken is now able to offer this popular rate to its customers, automatically matching supply and demand to give customers the cheapest price at the greenest times.”
Kraken is a platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, and built to offer end-to-end management of the whole energy supply chain. It provides everything from flexible energy device management all the way to customer billing and support, enabling its clients unrivaled scaling potential in a renewable world.
Kraken also offers relentless efficiency, with a cost-to-serve up to 40% lower than other energy suppliers, and has delivered best-in-customer-service accolades for clients who moved onto it.
The platform is now active in 14 countries including the UK, the US, Japan, Australia and a large portion of mainland Europe, contracted to serve 30 million energy accounts globally. Kraken is targeting management of 100 million customer accounts by 2027, with 10 million of those coming from the US.
About Kraken
Kraken offers a best-in-class end-to-end platform for energy supply, and is operating in the UK, Japan, US, New Zealand, Australia and most of mainland Europe. Kraken’s proprietary platform is contracted to serve over 30 million energy accounts across the globe through licensees and its parent company Octopus Energy, where it is responsible for the acquisition and management of 5.3 million domestic and business customers.
Based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralized, decarbonised energy system.
Kraken is part of Octopus Energy Group, and was developed to enable select third parties to take advantage of the technologies developed by Octopus Energy. It has already been licensed by major global players including Origin Energy, E.ON, Tokyo Gas and EDF. The platform is on track to reach 100 million energy accounts by 2027.
About Octopus Energy Group
Octopus Energy is a global energy and technology group, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Its operations span 14 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £6 billion portfolio of projects – one of Europe’s largest.
Octopus serves 5.3 million customers through its retail arm, and has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support 30 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with energy companies, including EDF, E.ON and Origin Energy.
Kraken enables Octopus to drive the electrification of heat and transport through smart tariffs and innovative cleantech. Backed by pension funds, investors and energy giants, Octopus Energy Group businesses deliver cheaper, greener energy and cutting-edge tech to countries and customers worldwide.
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