Exactly one year ago, on this very day, we revealed the SunContract platform to our excited and enthusiastic community members. We had one goal in mind with this project— to revolutionize the energy sector by creating the first global energy platform based on blockchain that worked for the common man while also facilitating the energy transition to renewables.

Once the platform went live, our producers and consumers were able to engage in P2P energy trading. However, our P2P trading feature was limited since the traders of electricity needed to know each other before they could enter an agreement to trade electricity. Those who didn’t know someone to trade with received their electricity at the platform’s contract price.

While the P2P feature was limited at the time, our producers were still able to increase their surplus profits while our consumers on the platform were also able to reduce their energy costs while opting for cleaner, more eco-friendly energy sources.

But we weren’t quite there yet… until today!

Our anniversary today marks an important milestone for the team as going forward, the platform will allow for peer-to-peer energy trading between anyone and everyone registered on the platform — whether they know each other or not — similar concept to Uber, but in electricity.

Consumers will be able to identify producers whose energy selling price is similar to their willingness to pay and vice versa. If a mutual price is agreed upon, the two parties will then be able to trade electricity regardless of whether they know each other or not.

Since strangers will be able to engage in electricity trading arrangements, we have taken the necessary steps to safeguard the trading process so that it is not only fair to consumers who will enjoy friendly electricity prices, but also to producers who are guaranteed payment for the surplus electricity that they sell.

What if a stranger defaults on paying the producer?

We always require customer to have an amount which is more than the minimum balance, in advance, in order for them to trade electricity with peers. By having prepaid arrangements with producers, we minimize the possible stranger default risks.

Minimum Balance Concept:

Everyone on the platform has to have some amount of SNC tokens (which is currently 1000 SNC for residential customers but is subject to change) in their account for daily settlements execution.

If your account has only the minimum balance:

You will still be allowed to use the SunContract platform but electricity purchases you make will be at the contract price only. Users who only have the minimum balance will not enjoy the marketplace benefits. As such, they will not have access to the P2P trading feature on the marketplace and its P2P deals.

Imagine a consumer A who has 1000 SNC and 0 EUR, and is required to pay 10 EUR for electricity purchased from the platform at contract price. His new balance after the transaction is conducted will be 1000 SNC (the required minimum balance which he cannot go under) and -10 EUR. Consumer A will then receive an invoice for 10 EUR which he must pay in one month. If this doesn’t happen, the minimum balance is used for covering this invoice.

If your account has more funds than the minimum balance:

Users who have more funds than the minimum balance will enjoy the benefits of the new marketplace. As such, they will be able to trade electricity with peers — strangers or acquaintances — and enjoy benefits from those deals.

Imagine consumer B who has 1000 SNC and 50 EUR and he makes a P2P arrangement with a producer for 5 EUR. After the transaction has been conducted, his account balance will change to1000 SNC and 45 EUR. This is because he pays the producer immediately for the trade. Let’s say his balance goes down to 1000 SNC and 0 EUR, he will purchase electricity from the platform at the contract price and will be informed that he needs to deposit additional funds for direct agreements with producers. Failure to do so will lead to contract cancelation shortly after.

Requirements Summary:

Anyone will be able to enter an agreement with anyone, regardless of whether they know each other or not, as long as they meet the minimum requirements for P2P energy trading. These include:

Level 0: Signing up on the SunContract platform

Signing up on the SunContract platform Level 1: Signing an active contract with SunContract partner (SONCE energija in Slovenia) for electricity delivery through the platform

Signing an active contract with SunContract partner (SONCE energija in Slovenia) for electricity delivery through the platform Level 2: Depositing the minimum SNC balance (currently 1000 SNC)

Depositing the minimum SNC balance (currently 1000 SNC) Level 3: To be able to access the marketplace, users must have more funds than the minimum balance on the platform.

What do users have to gain with this new feature?

Users will have access to more bids and offers on the platform, allowing them to choose not only the price they are willing to pay for electricity, but also its source.

A fully functional energy market will bring even more transparency over price negotiations, enabling our customers, both producers and consumers, to maximize their welfare. At SunContract, we firmly believe in an open energy market where consumers and producers can freely decide what the best price is for them.

How it is going to work?

Users will have access to an easy to use interface with classical exchange-like functions. Since the trading experience will be a bit similar to that on exchanges when buying SNCs, the transition won’t be too steep of a learning curve. Our support team will also be working very hard to help each and every customer understand exactly how to use the new user interface.

SunContract platform users will have an updated user interface on their personal profile with the new tab called “Marketplace”. You will be able to access it only after you joined the balance group. (All of the producers and consumers have to be on the SunContract balance group.) If SunContract is not yet present in your country, then this feature will not be opened for now.