The EV as a power bank: it's really getting going now
MiSpeL: the "power market revolution" has arrived
Since early October, a rulebook has been in force that was long called the "power market revolution": MiSpeL (market integration of electricity storage and charging points). It allows battery owners — including EVs — to draw power from the grid, feed it back, consume it, or combine it with their own photovoltaic system. The electrons carry no colour code; MiSpeL still makes them countable.
The potential is immense: already on German roads are rolling energy stores with a capacity of more than 100 gigawatt-hours — theoretically enough to power all of Germany for around two hours if everything else failed. And that though only about one in 25 passenger cars is fully electric.
The key numbers
> 100 GWh of battery capacity in EVs on German roads · theoretically ~2 hours of power supply for all of Germany · ~1 in 25 passenger cars fully electric · 866 distribution grid operators must implement MiSpeL · provisional for one year, until 30 September 2027.
Just before it took effect: the rules were rewritten
The first draft met massive criticism from the industry — protests by, among others, BMW head Herbert Diess led to the Federal Network Agency largely reformulating the rulebook shortly before it took effect. Two points that are practically relevant for charging vehicles:
- Single meter instead of double metering: the double-meter requirement was replaced — now the single meter at the charging point (or, for the PV system owner, the household meter) is sufficient.
- Indifference band halved: the zone in which there was neither guaranteed revenue for green power nor exemption from grid fees for feed-in was cut by more than half. That makes economic operation more attractive.
MiSpeL applies provisionally for one year — until 30 September 2027 — and subject to the grid operators joining the simplification.
The biggest hurdle: 866 distribution grid operators
The concept only works if all of the 866 distribution grid operators implement it smoothly. That is the warning from Bastian Gierull, head of Octopus Energy Germany: "The authorities now have to act more cleverly than correctly" — that sounds like respect, but little confidence in a first attempt.
Octopus Energy already operates bidirectional charging in the UK as a commercially usable, decentralised power plant. In Germany the company launched a tariff together with Ford and built further partnerships. For LadeGuide that means: the infrastructure for V2H and V2G is technically finished — what's missing is implementation in the grid .
What this means for you
MiSpeL is not a wallbox feature but a grid-access rule: for your EV to be allowed to feed into the grid, you need to know how your distribution grid operator handles it, how your meter is set up, and whether your provider offers a tariff for it. Anyone who reviews their charging point concept today should already factor in the question "Do I only charge — or do I also feed in?"
The honest question at the end — drive the car or "use up" the battery?
Once MiSpeL is running, your EV has two jobs at once: first, it drives, and second, it is your electricity storage. The 100 GWh on German roads are no future vision — these vehicles have been driving around the country for years, most of their batteries energetically unused.
My impression: MiSpeL is the moment when the EV finally slips out of the driver's-cabin mental model. Anyone planning a wallbox and charging concept today should answer the follow-up question seriously:
Do you want to drive your car — or "use up" the battery at home?
For an EV driver with a PV system the answer is already "both" — it's just that the two didn't fit together economically so far. MiSpeL now unleashes the lever. Whether it works in the first year doesn't depend on the technology, but on whether 866 grid operators pull in the same direction.