Millions of families ‘will be paid to use less electricity’ during peak times this winter

Millions of households will be paid to use less electricity this winter under new plans from the National Grid to reduce the risk of blackouts.

According to The Times, National Grid is working ‘urgently’ to establish a scheme that will pay consumers with smart meters to ration their usage voluntarily when supplies are low.

The proposed scheme by National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) would reward households for shifting the time at which they use power-consuming appliances such as ovens, washing machines and chargers for electric vehicles.

The initial proposals suggest families could be paid as much as £6 for each kilowatt-hour that they avoid using at peak times.

@gregwillson / Unsplash

National Grid believes that this could be a ‘cheaper and greener’ alternative to paying fossil fuel power plants to generate more electricity as Russia continues to restrict the gas supplies to Europe, resulting in soaring costs.

Various trials were carried out with around 100,000 Octopus Energy customers this year, and saw households be given a day’s notice to reduce their consumption during a two-hour period, including the teatime peak between 4.30pm and 6.30pm, when national demand is highest.

Octopus said that the average household saved 23p per two-hour period, although some saved as much as £4.35.

Following the success of these trials, National Grid ESO is now seeking to offer the scheme to millions of households across the UK, and has written to suppliers asking them to assess how much their customers could be persuaded to cut their electricity consumption at peak times.

mycentralheating.com

Those who take part in the scheme would need smart meters in order to monitor their usage and capacity, eventually making big savings.

The cost of the proposed scheme would be levied on household bills.

Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy chief executive, said: “We’d rather give customers discounts if they use less power, at these times, rather than swelling bills to pay polluters.”

A spokeswoman for National Grid ESO added: “Demand shifting has the potential to save consumers money, reduce carbon emissions and offer greater flexibility on the system.”