Battery energy storage revenues in Great Britain increased by 9% to £52k/MW/year in January 2026, up from £48k/MW/year in December. This rebound was mainly driven by a surge in Balancing Mechanism earnings, as batteries delivered record amounts of balancing energy. However, revenues remained 44% lower than January 2025 and were among the lowest recorded in the past year.

A brief spike in volatility at the start of January quickly faded, giving way to high prices and tight spreads similar to December 2025.

Modo Energy Research subscribers can also access:

• A breakdown of revenue changes for each service
• Reasons behind wholesale revenues dropping to a three-year low
• Balancing Mechanism dispatch trends and system-flagged volumes
• Price trends for Frequency Response and Quick Reserve
• Downloadable data for all charts

Balancing Mechanism revenues offset wholesale decline

Batteries earned £52k/MW/year in January 2026, a slight recovery from December's 18-month low, but still 25% below the 2025 average. An increase of £6.4k/MW/year in Balancing Mechanism revenues more than made up for a £2.1k/MW/year drop in wholesale earnings. Changes in frequency response and reserve were minor and balanced each other out.

Wholesale Markets

Wholesale revenues drop 29% to lowest in three years

Wholesale arbitrage revenues fell by 29% to £5.1k/MW/year in January, down from £7.2k/MW/year in December. This was the weakest wholesale performance since early 2023. While compressed spreads played a role, the main factor was batteries shifting exports to other markets.