Learn how Grid Rewards supports our planet and your wallet

Before you start reading, you might want to watch something first! This short and sweet video serves as a kick-start into the world of Grid Rewards before we go into more detail below.

World, we have a problem

We all know it deep down inside. To avoid that feeling of growing anxiety, the easy option is often to look away. Well, that is not an option any more – climate change is escalating, and it’s time to really do something about it! Slowing down and stopping climate change is humanity’s greatest challenge. There is no plan B. There is only one earth. Central to this story is the way we generate and consume electricity.

We know we must get to a 100% renewable energy future. This is indeed possible; nature can provide us with everything we need to fuel our lives. But like all its incredible forces, the sun and the wind are unpredictable. We can’t tame the weather, but we can find ways to be more in tune with it in order to harness it’s full power. 

Tibber is up for that very challenge! First, we normalized hourly dynamic pricing on the market. Then we rolled out our Smart Charging feature, enabling customers to automatically save money. And today, we can proudly say that we are once again challenging the status quo of energy consumption – without sacrificing your comfort. Our new game changer is called Grid Rewards. It’s a real-time revolution that puts you in the driver seat.

Keeping things in balance. Become a hero in the fight for greener energy!

Grid Rewards is, in our humble opinion, the smartest way we have today to really push the energy transition forward. And boy, is this step forward needed! Demand and supply of electricity must always be in balance, but this equation becomes seriously challenging as more solar panels and wind parks come onto the system. In times of low electricity demand, green production surpluses from strong winds and sunny weather can often go to waste. Or, vice versa, when clouds roll in and wind fades, demand is normally covered by adding more fossil fuels to the energy mix. It's a bad fault in the system that plays directly into the hands of the fossil fuelled generators, who make enormous profits when they step in.

Grid Rewards is here to help avoid that. With a dynamic hourly tariff and Tibber’s Smart Charging activated, you were already helping this cause by moving your charging away from peak hours. But now we're taking things to the next level. Making you and your car active parts in the crucial business of bringing energy supply and demand into balance – all in real time! Sure, in the long run, massive investments in new infrastructure like battery storage and grid expansions are inevitable to bring the energy transition in line with society's growing demand for electricity. But Grid Rewards proves that we can make an immediate difference – right here, right now. To make this happen, we are turning you from a consumer into a contributor. And as a result, you will now not only save, but actually earn money with Tibber. Yes, actual money! And this is how it works.

A smarter yet simple way to use energy

So what happens in practice? During periods when solar and wind are producing more than expected, your charging will start. This will avoid green energy going to waste. Conversely, we will pause charging when renewables are producing less than expected or when there is suddenly more electricity demand, thereby reducing the need for burning extra fossil fuel. In this way, we're no longer letting big energy producers play all by themselves, instead we're joining the game! Together, we're becoming active agents of change on the real time energy markets, where important short-term actions are monetarily compensated. And just like that – a new money stream is open. And finally one to feel good about. 

And the best thing? It will be simple. All we'll ask of you is to keep your car plugged in whenever you're home. Because the more you're available, the more you'll support the grid. And the more you support, the higher your rewards will be. Simple as that. We’ll make this easy to remember by showing if the cable is plugged in and Smart Charging has been activated. If there's a green check mark in front of both – great job!

Besides that, Smart Charging will still do its thing. You will still save money by automatically charging during the cheapest hours. The only difference is that occasionally you will also earn money by supporting the grid in times when help is desperately needed. You’ll see when this is happening in the app. That’s all there is to it. A smarter way of using energy is born.

On the way to a fossil free future

Through Grid Rewards, Tibber households will become important nodes in a large network – a Virtual Power Plant, (or VPP, to make it cooler and shorter all at once). Your Grid Rewards enabled car will be one of its many control centers, protecting the grid from trouble. We stick to our values: energy is nothing we want to exploit for monetary reasons. But being available, supportive and willing to build a more sustainable future is definitely something you can and should get paid for. 

By the way, charging is just the beginning of this beautiful story we are writing together – heating and home batteries will join in on the fun as we go. Suddenly, that greener future we mentioned up top is peeking through on the horizon. And this starts with you, your car, and Tibber. 

See you on the road!