Behind the meter energy storage, aka “BTM energy storage”, refers to a battery system installed on the customer’s side of the utility meter… This could be for your business or home.
To visualize what “behind the meter” means in terms of energy storage, imagine standing outside your building or home, looking at your utility meter… The energy storage system would be located behind the meter, i.e. within your building or home, where the system stores electricity for on-demand usage from either solar panels or the grid.
What Are The Benefits of Behind The Meter Energy Storage Systems?
In contrast to “front-of-the-meter” battery energy storage systems (BESS), which are large utility-scale energy storage systems serving the grid directly, behind the meter energy storage offers personalized “on demand” benefits.
The rollout of behind the meter energy storage systems has been slow, primarily because of zoning, permitting and fire safety concerns…
However, these systems are gradually being adopted due to their many benefits, including peak demand shaving and demand charge management, backup power, solar self-consumption and demand response program participation.
1) Peak Shaving/Demand Charge Management: For commercial businesses served by utilities with rate structures that include peak demand charges, BTM systems can provide significant cost savings.
This is because utilities often charge commercial clients based on their expected peak demand within short periods—like a 15-minute window. For example, if a manufacturer needs significantly more energy in a short time frame, such as when they are powering up manufacturing equipment, the utility will aim to maintain that capacity for them – and charge them a premium for it.
However, a behind the meter BESS can charge during off-peak hours and then discharge during peak times. This has the dual benefit of reducing peak demand and arbitraging lower-cost electricity instead of higher cost electricity, thereby reducing their utility bills.
2) Backup Power: In areas prone to grid outages from storms, fires, or general unreliability, a BTM BESS system acts like a generator.
Whether it’s a commercial building or home, the BESS acts as a source of backup power, keeping essential systems, like lighting, refrigeration, and connectivity, running until the grid is back online.
Electric vehicle manufacturers, such as Tesla and Ford are incorporating “bi-directional charging” into their vehicles. This means certain EVs can double as both a vehicle and as a battery backup for your home or business. Both the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightning offer this capability.
3) Solar Self-Consumption: When paired with a solar system, BTM energy storage empowers users to store excess solar power during the day and use it at night.
This increases your resilience and independence from the grid. With a sufficiently large system, you might even go off-grid entirely, relying solely on solar and stored energy.
4) Demand Response Program Participation: Certain markets allow BTM systems to enroll in demand response programs.
Demand response programs have been around for years. These programs are designed by utilities to encourage building owners to reduce their electricity use during times of peak demand, such as in the middle of August when everyone is using a lot of air conditioning and the grid is under stress. Utilities offer various incentive structures for demand response participation.
Behind the meter energy storage systems can help utilities reduce stress on the grid by discharging stored energy locally to aid the grid during peak times… In exchange for powering down electricity usage or turning on BTM BESS systems, demand response participants earn money.
This not only saves costs for utilities by avoiding new capacity construction but also provides financial benefits to participants.
Summary
In contrast to in front of the meter systems, which cater to utilities, a behind the meter battery energy storage system provides direct benefits to you as a business or homeowner.
BTM energy storage systems offer numerous advantages, from peak shaving and backup power to increased independence and profitable demand response participation.
As more people adopt these systems, the dream of energy freedom becomes increasingly attainable.
