could for instance be the grid owner or the electricity supplier, which communicates with the
electrical domestic devices. This way the load could be controlled by steering the use of for
instance the heat pump to off peak hours. The benefit for a grid owner to control the energy
use is to be better able to handle congestion situations and decrease the risk of blackouts. A
supplier could benefit from having better knowledge of how the customers will react to price
signals and use that knowledge when bidding on the spot market. An electricity supplier that
controls the load from the customer could also sell the control ability to the grid owner (EI,
2012 b).
Indirect control means that different types of contracts are used to give incentives that will
motivate the customer to adapt their energy use. No certainty of the customer reaction is given
by using indirect control but with experience the supplier and grid owner could predict the
reactions. For this alternative it is also possible for the customer to have a device (a so called
Home Area Network) that controls the appliances according to the electricity price or outside
temperature (EI, 2012 b).