What Does Behind-the-Meter Mean?

Behind-the-meter describes any energy asset on the customer's side of the utility meter: on-site batteries, solar, and EV chargers that a site owner controls directly, as opposed to assets connected to the wider grid network itself.

Behind vs. In Front of the Meter

The utility meter is the boundary. Everything on the customer's side, an on-site BESS, rooftop solar, EV chargers, is behind-the-meter: owned and operated by the site, serving that site's own consumption first. Front-of-meter assets sit on the grid side of that boundary, typically large-scale generation or storage owned by utilities or independent developers, feeding into the wider network rather than one customer's site.

Why the Distinction Matters

Behind-the-meter assets are generally simpler to install and operate, since they fall under the site's existing grid connection agreement rather than needing separate grid-facing regulatory approval. They also give the owner direct, immediate control: a behind-the-meter battery serves that site's peak shaving, backup, and EV charging needs first, with any surplus capacity available for grid services like virtual power plant participation.

Neutron's Role

Our Energy Storage Systems are behind-the-meter assets by design, prioritising the site's own EV charging and demand management needs, with any spare capacity available to our energy trading platform for additional revenue.

Is a BESS always a behind-the-meter asset?

Most commercial and depot-scale BESS installations are behind-the-meter, owned by the site operator and used to manage that site's own consumption. Large grid-scale batteries owned by utilities or independent generators, connected directly to the transmission or distribution network, are front-of-meter instead.

Why does behind-the-meter status matter for EV charging sites?

Behind-the-meter assets like on-site batteries and chargers are generally simpler to install and operate, since they fall under the site's existing connection agreement rather than requiring separate grid-facing regulatory approval, which is one reason on-site BESS has become a common companion to depot EV charging.