The economic resilience of demand-side flexibility providers in the energy transition

As Finland and many other countries move towards cleaner energy production, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are playing an increasingly important role in the electricity system. While this transition helps reduce emissions, it also creates new challenges because renewable electricity production can vary significantly depending on weather conditions. This can lead to large fluctuations in electricity prices and periods when supply and demand do not match perfectly.

My doctoral research examines how different actors can respond to these changes and remain economically viable while helping to support a reliable and sustainable electricity system. The study focuses on three groups that provide flexibility to the electricity market: industrial flexibility providers that can adjust their electricity consumption when needed, operators of electricity storage systems such as batteries, and demand response aggregators that coordinate flexibility from multiple users.

The research shows that flexibility is not only valuable for the electricity system as a whole, but also helps the organisations providing these services to cope with uncertainty and changing market conditions. Industrial companies can lower their electricity costs by adjusting energy use during expensive periods while also helping to balance the power system. Energy storage systems can improve their profitability by participating in multiple electricity markets, particularly short-term markets where opportunities are greater than in traditional day-ahead trading alone. The study also finds that cooperation between flexibility aggregators and electricity network operators can improve both economic performance and system reliability, especially during network disturbances.

Overall, the results demonstrate that flexibility has become an important strategy in the renewable energy transition. The ability to adapt operations, respond to changing market conditions, and cooperate with other actors helps organisations maintain stable economic performance despite increasing uncertainty. The research highlights that the success of the energy transition depends not only on new technologies but also on well-functioning markets, supportive regulation, and effective synergy between different participants in the energy system.

By shifting attention from the resilience of the energy system itself to the resilience of the companies and organisations that make flexibility possible, the study provides new insights into how a sustainable and reliable energy future can be achieved.