The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published its response to the Smart Secure Electricity Systems Programme consultation on 23 April 2025, concluding a consultation that opened at 9:30am on 16 April 2024 and closed at 11:59pm on 21 June 20241. The original closing date was 11 June, extended because of "pressures on stakeholder time during the pre-election period"1. The department received 97 responses from manufacturers, energy suppliers, network operators, technology companies, consumer groups and other stakeholders, and held webinars in June 20241. It says responses broadly supported its proposals1.
The 2024 package set out proposals across three papers: energy smart appliances (58 questions), licensing (56 questions) and time of use tariffs (12 questions)1. The programme is "designed to create the technical and regulatory frameworks to enable the untapped flexibility from small scale devices, such as domestic electric vehicle charge points and heat pumps", and should "contribute to electricity system decarbonisation in a way that protects consumers and the electricity system"1.
The response confirms the government will, subject to Parliamentary approval, put forward secondary legislation on energy smart appliances within the next year1. Alongside this, a new load control licence framework will license organisational load control activities, with requirements around consumer protections, data privacy, consumer switching, management and financial controls1. The government also confirmed its minded to position for Elexon to deliver enduring governance functions for these standards through modifications to the Balancing and Settlement Code1.
On tariffs, the government is proceeding with Time of Use Tariff Interoperability, which by mid to late 2026 will require energy suppliers to comply with a tariff data specification set out in the Retail Energy Code, so energy smart appliances can easily receive and respond to tariff information1. The appliance proposals centre on "a set of minimum standards for ESAs that adhere to the principles of interoperability, cybersecurity, data privacy and grid stability"1.
"The government will, subject to Parliamentary approval, put forward secondary legislation on ESAs within the next year."
| Paper | Questions |
|---|---|
| Energy Smart Appliances | 58 |
| Licensing Regime | 56 |
| Time of Use Tariff | 12 |
Why it matters for households
The proposals cover the devices a household may already run or buy, including domestic electric vehicle charge points and heat pumps, and the tariffs they respond to1. Minimum standards for energy smart appliances, covering interoperability, cybersecurity, data privacy and grid stability, bear on whether a device bought from one maker can work with another supplier's tariff and control service1. The load control licence framework would bring organisations that remotely control electrical load, or provide demand side response, into a licensing regime with consumer protection and switching requirements1. The tariff data specification is intended to let appliances receive and respond to tariff information from different suppliers, which is the technical basis for shifting consumption to cheaper periods1. The consultation also updated the definition of heat batteries to "an electric heating appliance that can be used flexibly to utilise periods of cheap and clean electricity generation by heating a thermal storage medium, which then heats water via a heat exchanger to feed a central heating system and/or a sanitary hot water system"1. How these rules interact with existing energy labels and ecodesign rules for household appliances has not been set out in the response.
What happens next
Secondary legislation on energy smart appliances is planned within the next year, subject to Parliamentary approval1. The tariff data specification requirement is expected by mid to late 20261. The response states plans for further consultation on points of detail, but no dates for that consultation have been reported1. The process by which such rules are proposed and decided is set out in the site's guide to energy consultations.