Virtual Batteries Business Models for Energy Suppliers

Self-consumption regulations are leading to the emergence of new business models proposed by new players and causing traditional players to make new proposals to take advantage of the new business opportunities. In this context, traditional retailers are assessing self-consumption business models, offering management services for self-consumption structures, or the installation of distributed resources, such as solar panels or batteries. Some of the new business models being proposed by electricity suppliers are related to virtual battery services. Indeed, suppliers can, in the free retail market, create innovative tariffs, and design them to make their customers believe they own and manage a battery, even if it does not correspond to a physical battery in the grid. This paper analyses the business model of a supplier offering a virtual battery service, comparing it to the installation of a physical battery, showing that it has no significant benefits compared to more simple approaches.