Concepts, terms, and market mechanics.
Short, evergreen explainers for the concepts you'll encounter across Amplicity content - peak shaving, FCAS, MSSL, edge-native control, and the terminology of the Singapore and Australian energy markets.
- Markets & tariffs
Aggregator
A market-registered party that bids a portfolio of behind-the-meter batteries into wholesale and ancillary services markets on behalf of their owners.
- Markets & tariffs
Ancillary services
Grid-stability services (frequency control, reserve, voltage support) that the market operator pays for to keep the power system running safely.
- Operations & dispatch
Backup floor
The minimum state-of-charge the battery must always retain to meet its backup obligation to the site. Amplicity's dispatch layer never crosses it.
- Markets & tariffs
Behind-the-meter (BTM)
A battery installed on the customer's side of the utility meter - a customer asset rather than a grid asset.
- Product & hardware
BESS
Battery Energy Storage System - the general term for a stationary battery installation and its balance of plant.
- Markets & tariffs
Contestable retail
A retail contract negotiated directly with a licensed retailer, as an alternative to the default MSSL tariff in Singapore.
- Commercials
Demand charge
The portion of an industrial electricity bill based on the site's peak draw rather than total consumption.
- Product & hardware
Edge-native control
Control logic that runs on-site (at the edge) rather than in the cloud - required for fast market participation and for maintaining backup readiness without cloud dependency.
- Markets & tariffs
FCAS
Frequency Control Ancillary Services - the ancillary services market run by AEMO in Australia's NEM.
- Operations & dispatch
Load shifting
Charging the battery when energy is cheap and discharging it when energy is expensive - shifting *when* the site draws grid power, not how much.
- Markets & tariffs
MSSL
Market Support Services Licensee - the default retail electricity tariff structure in Singapore, published by SP Group.
- Operations & dispatch
Peak shaving
Dispatching stored energy during a site's peak-demand windows to reduce the peak component of the electricity bill.
- Commercials
Performance-based fees
A commercial model where the customer pays no CapEx up-front and the vendor's fees are proportional to the savings and revenue actually delivered.
- Markets & tariffs
Reserve Ancillary Services
The ancillary services market run by EMA in Singapore - the local analogue of FCAS in Australia.
- Commercials
Tariff optimisation
Aligning battery dispatch with the customer's specific retail tariff structure to minimise the total energy bill.
- Product & hardware
UPS
Uninterruptible Power Supply - a battery-plus-electronics system that provides seamless power during a grid outage.
- Markets & tariffs
Wholesale spot arbitrage
Trading a battery against the 5-minute wholesale spot price - buying when negative and selling into peak.