Maybe its just the cynic in me but if something sounds too good to be true then usually it is. I refer to these latest schemes whereby you charge your battery for a few pence per Kwhr and sell it back to the grid at a much higher price as load balancing is taking place --- and everyone will get rich, have free electricity and utopia is achieved. It all sounds like the crypto scam - If someone is earning lots then someone is paying for it.
I start my thinking and assumptions from the viewpoint that, 1)- that no business person can make millions by being fair and nice - its all buy it cheap and flog for as much as you can get away with. 2)- Energy companies like any other company intend to achieve a bigger profit every year, 3)- Government and all MPS are completely dishonest, self centred and have no intention of letting the average person make money unless they get their share of the cake. 4)- Government are skilled in subterfuge, long term planning, semantics and are able to manipulate the electorate quite easily.
The energy prices have created quite a boom for the PV industry not only with solar panels but home storage batteries, something that was needed after they went into decline when the FIT scheme was abolished in 2019. Battery sales are undoubtedly going to go through the roof (no pun intended) after Feb when the VAT is removed, the demand for home batteries will push the price up and the taxman will benefit from all the increases in corporation tax, income tax, spending that money and return of VAT etc as millions are going to be made. It is accepted that having home batteries even without Solar panels will be a nice little earner because you can buy the energy in cheap and sell it at peak times at a much higher rate back to the grid.
However I suspect this is going to be a very short term benefit and all part of the drive to have everyone on smart meters.
Bear in mind Solar farms are coming online every month, thousands of panels feeding the grid and EV charging hubs.
There is no way in the long term the practice of buying cheap energy in and selling back at a profit to the energy companies will continue, they just aren't going to let you make at their expense, I do understand the grid balancing theories, lots of domestic batteries all registered with a business, the grid needing more power at peak times and rather than bring online perhaps another power station they do a deal with the company and the home batteries all discharge their energy to balance out the grid demands - a win for everyone.
However, grid balancing and payment require a smart meter - all part of the deal. The government and the energy sector are doing everything they can to force Smart Meters on everyone, this is their latest ruse - get people to voluntarily ask for a smart meter - let them earn easy money - lambs to the slaughter.
The grid demands can be managed much better if everyone has a smart meter, because people are creatures of habit, the energy demands are predictable as in quantity required and duration.
With all on a smart meter demand will be managed by price, If you want to eat your dinner between 1600hrs and 1900hrs for instance they will raise the cost per Kwhr to the point people wont pay it, there wont be a limit to the price either, the only restricting factor will be matching the generation to the consumption and therefore they wont need all those millions of domestic batteries to step in and supply the grid and paying people to help them. If they need to buy in additional energy they will have deals with solar farms as the economy of scale will be beneficial to them, a solar farm which has invested many many millions will supply cheaper than millions of domestic batteries being offered to the grid by a company that didn't have to bear the cost of all these batteries - the solar farm will have to sell cheaper to retain a viable business - so all home battery owners making lots of money will cease.
I have solar, FIT and home batteries, I don't know if you give up your FIT exports and engage with SEG if you retain the option to go back to FIT when the SEG ends or becomes less generous.
I bought my system to save money, happy with FIT and have 15 years left to run. but I will resist for as long as I can the Smart Meters, I know I cant win but I'm not going to make it easy for them.