How Grid Rewards unlocks energy markets for you—and lowers your costs
The way we consume energy is changing. Traditionally, electricity has been a one-way street: you use it, you pay for it. End of story. But Grid Rewards has changed the game—rewarding you for balancing the grid and unlocking access to energy markets that were previously off-limits. The result? Even lower energy prices and a bigger role in powering the future with renewables.
Here’s why balance is key to a 100% renewable future, how the markets work, and how you benefit—while contributing to a smarter, cleaner energy system.
A renewable future needs flexibility
The power grid, like a pulse, must stay balanced at 50 Hz to function. If the pulse spikes above 50.5 Hz or drops below 49.5 Hz, the consequences can be serious—think blackouts, equipment failures, and major headlines.
Traditionally, power plants managed this balance by adjusting supply on-demand. But with wind and solar—energy sources we can’t control—stability has become more complex.
That’s where Grid Rewards, our Virtual Power Plant (VPP) technology, comes in. It enables millions of customer devices to connect and work together—electric vehicles (EVs), their chargers, home batteries like Homevolt and more—to act like a pacemaker for the grid and shift energy consumption in real time.
This flexibility helps absorb excess electricity when supply is high and reduce demand when it’s low, cutting reliance on costly, polluting power plants. And with 600 GW of new solar and wind expected in Europe by 2030—the equivalent of 600 nuclear power plants—the need for flexibility is only growing. The grid would need an additional 20-40 GW of flexible resources to manage these fluctuations, thats the equivalent of 100s of gas fired power plants or 10s of millions of electric vehicles flexibility.
And this is the true power of our Grid Rewards program. You get the chance to play a big role in accelerating the energy transition. How? You join the biggest residential VPP in Europe—with access to the most energy markets and the largest flexible capacity, able to instantly adjust energy that’s equivalent to powering hundreds of thousands of homes at peak demand. And with every new EV, charger or Homevolt battery added, our VPP gets stronger.
Providing support in four energy markets
Tibber supports the energy system by helping to keep supply and demand in balance in four different energy markets. We have two key objectives: securing the cheapest energy prices for you and helping to stabilize the grid.
For some markets, we focus on buying energy at the lowest possible price. That's because there's a major win-win built into the system: when the market prices energy cheaply, it means there is a higher supply of energy in the system (mostly renewable) compared to demand. So we buy it cheaply—and you benefit.
Other markets require us to react in real-time to grid imbalances, stepping in at a moment’s notice to help stabilize the system. This service helps keep the power system reliable, and in turn, generates your Grid Rewards.
Each of these four markets plays a different role, depending on how close we are to the actual moment of energy delivery. Some operate a day ahead, while others intervene just minutes or seconds before energy flows to your home.
We divide them into two main categories: the Spot Market, where Tibber purchases energy in advance, and Grid Rewards Markets, where Tibber leverages the power of our VPP to adjust supply and demand in real-time to keep the grid stable.
Spot Market
This is a wholesale market where energy retailers like Tibber buy electricity based on consumption forecasts. It’s called the “day-ahead” market because it closes at noon the day before energy is delivered.
How it works: Tibber predicts energy needs and buys electricity for customers at the lowest possible price, as well as selling excess solar energy from customers.
How it affects you: We charge your EV when the spot price is the lowest through our Smart Charging feature. For your Homevolt battery, we sell stored energy you won't use at the highest spot price, and buy energy to store at the lowest price.
Grid Rewards Markets
Once the day-ahead market closes, supply and demand continue to fluctuate—weather forecasts shift, producers miss targets, and consumption patterns change. That’s where real-time balancing markets come in, ensuring the grid remains stable up to the second energy is delivered. And no other residential VPP has access to as many of these markets as Tibber.
Intraday Market - Time to delivery: hours
This is the wholesale market that takes over after the day-ahead market closes. Energy is bought and sold to balance the grid until one hour before energy is delivered.
Purpose: Adjust energy purchases in real-time as weather conditions and demand shift from the day-ahead market.
How it works: Tibber buys and sells electricity to take advantage of price differences from the day-ahead market and within the intraday market (arbitrage).
Grid Rewards: You earn Grid Rewards when we start and pause your consumption in order to buy energy cheaply and sell it expensively. The profit from this difference is shared with you.
FRR (Frequency Restoration Reserve) - Time to delivery: Minutes
After the intraday market closes, the job of grid balancing is handed off to Transmission System Operators (TSOs) in each country. When they need to make adjustments, they activate pre-qualified flexibility providers like Tibber to restore balance within minutes.
Purpose: Handle imbalances that occur after intraday trading closes.
How it works: Tibber bids on this market to use its VPP to restore balance within minutes.
Grid Rewards: Your EV or home battery adjusts consumption to stabilize the grid, and you earn money for providing the service.
FCR/FFR (Frequency Containment Reserve / Fast Frequency Response) - Time to delivery: Seconds
VPPs like Tibber’s have frequency meters to measure the health of the grid, and sit in standby mode, ready to react if they detect a grid imbalance in the seconds before delivery.
Purpose: Prevents grid failures by responding instantly to frequency disturbances.
How it works: Tibber’s VPP reacts in seconds/milliseconds by starting or pausing charging of your devices, or by exporting energy you won’t use to the grid when the frequency is disturbed.
Grid Rewards: Your device earns rewards simply by being in standby mode—whether it’s activated or not.
How you earn money with Grid Rewards
Every time your Homevolt battery, charger or EV participates in one of these markets, you earn money. Our dedicated trading team and sophisticated machine-learning algorithms are continuously optimizing our trades to ensure you get the best possible returns—without ever disrupting your daily routine. And you see these earnings as Grid Rewards in your Tibber app, which becomes a credit on your invoice, further lowering your energy costs.
Why this matters: a win for you, the grid, and the planet
With Grid Rewards, you’re not just saving money—you’re actively supporting the shift to renewable energy.
You save on energy costs by accessing new markets and lower market prices.
You help reduce reliance on fossil fuels by balancing renewables in the grid.
You support grid resilience and prevent blackouts.
You speed up the energy transition by leveraging existing infrastructure
Join the energy revolution
Together, we’re building an energy system that’s cheaper, cleaner, and fairer for everyone. Join Grid Rewards today and become an energy hero—one kilowatt-hour at a time. Grid balancing markets vary by country, with differences in how they operate and compensate participants. This article provides a general overview of how grid balancing markets work, but specific details may differ depending on where you’re earning Grid Rewards.
