The Value of Demand Flexibility: Benefits beyond balancing

This webinar will present the key findings of the IEA policy brief: The Value of Demand Flexibility: Benefits beyond balancing, developed under the Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks (3DEN) Initiative, an inter-agency collaboration between the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and the United Nations Environment Programme.

As electricity demand rises and power systems become more decentralised and renewable-rich, and electrified in this ‘Age of Electricity’, managing when and how electricity is used is increasingly as important as expanding supply.

Demand flexibility, the ability to adjust electricity consumption in response to system conditions, is emerging as a critical pillar of modern and efficient power systems.

This policy brief examines, in addition to system balancing, how demand flexibility can enhance energy efficiency, strengthen energy security, and reduce system and consumer costs. It can additionally support the integration of clean energy when appropriately enabled and valued within policy, regulatory and planning frameworks. The webinar will combine policy perspectives, analytical insights and practitioner experience, highlighting how demand flexibility can be embedded alongside energy efficiency as part of an efficiency-first approach to power system planning and operation.

Opening remarks (Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security)

Key takeaways - The value of demand flexibility: benefits beyond balancing (IEA)

Roundtable discussion (moderated by IEA)

Insights from international experience from leading experts from the Centre for Net Zero, Enel, and Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute on:

• Unlocking demand flexibility in practice

• Efficiency, affordability and system resilience

• Policy, regulatory and market perspectives

Closing reflections (IEA & UNEP)