The transition away from fossil fuels will drive electricity demand beyond current grid capacity. Investing in transmission and delivery infrastructure is critical, but that alone will not solve the electricity demand problem.  The grid of the future will require the flexibility to respond to intermittent renewable energy generation.  It will also need to leverage unused existing capacity to keep up with total demand. To achieve these goals, end-use customers must be incentivized to engage in responsible, dynamic load management.

Wholesale energy markets are designed with these pricing signals to promote a more sustainable grid. Unfortunately, most consumers buy electricity through fixed-price contracts that block these signals, thereby eliminating critical incentives to manage load or invest in clean energy projects. These contracts are sold at a premium to wholesale rates to protect against a perceived risk of market volatility. Historical data, however, demonstrate that these added costs are unnecessary for most customers and are simply driving up the cost of energy.

Actual Energy’s core offering was designed to simultaneously lower energy costs and reward customers for participating in the clean energy transition.  By bringing our customers directly to the wholesale markets, we eliminate the unnecessary premiums associated with fixed-price and other hedged supply products.  And by passing through the cost of energy each hour, we are creating a powerful economic incentive for customers to manage load in ways that support the electric grid of the future.

To deliver our offering, we need to manage vast quantities of data and make those data available and understandable to our customers.  With our transparent fee, our customers understand exactly how we are compensated for delivering real value.  The challenge of more work with fewer opportunities for hidden profits hinders our industry from promoting products like ours.  But the challenges of the future will be far greater if we are unwilling to adopt smart, sustainable business practices.  We believe firmly that direct-to-grid, time-of-use pricing models are critical to our clean energy future, and we hope you will join us as we endeavor forward.