National Grid will pay homes to use less electricity tonight
National Grid will pay homeowners tonight to switch off radiators, ovens and washing machines between 5-6pm as energy boss hints emergency winter plan will be made permanent – here’s how you can get £20 electricity payment
- National Grid to implement its ‘Demand Flexibility Scheme’ on Monday night
- 26 companies have joined but customers must sign up and have a smart meter
Millions of households and businesses will be paid to cut back their electricity usage between 5pm and 6pm today to prevent blackouts on one of the coldest days of the year amid warnings energy supplies will be ‘tighter than normal’.
The National Grid said it would be activating its Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) this evening with 26 major energy suppliers such as British Gas, EDF, Eon and Octopus Energy signed up.
Households could receive payments of up to £20 back if they don’t use ovens, washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, games consoles or decide not to charge their cars during the peak tonight.
But the scheme relies on users having a controversial smart meter, a device which automatically transmits your energy usage to your provider every 30 minutes. There have been many complaints about the devices, ranging from them logging inaccurate readings that lead to inflated bills to stopping working altogether.
It is the first time National Grid has implemented its DFS scheme since it was first announced last November, as the UK prepares for freezing temperatures this week.
Craig Dyke, Head of National Control at National Grid ESO, suggested that the measure could become a regular part of the UK winter. He said: ‘It is something we strongly believe in. It provides flexibility for the system and the consumer. We see this as a growing market. We see this as a world leading step forward into a space where we can only grow and drive forward towards Net Zero’.
The National Grid is encouraging homeowners to take part in the scheme in a bid to avoid potential blackouts – this is how much they could save. Experts have suggested its customers could save as much as £240 this winter if there are 12 Demand Flexibility Service events called by the National Grid
Most of the UK’s energy suppliers have signed up to the Demand Flexibility Scheme that will pay families £100 to keep their electricity switched off during peak times this winter – as long as they have
How can I sign up?
The National Grid will run events asking customers to reduce their electricity use during a set time.
26 companies have signed up. They will either invite customers to sign up or allow them to apply via their websites?
Do I have to take part?
Customers can take part in as many – or as few – events as suits them
What do I need?
To get involved you must have a smart meter that automatically sends half hourly readings.
What will happen?
1. You will get an alert the day before each event, telling them what window they need to reduce energy use in ie 5pm until 6pm.
2. Customer must confirm they are taking part by text or email
3. Use less energy during the event
4. They will save money on your bill and earn credit of up to £20 per day
More than a million households will be paid to cut back their electricity tonight as part of an emergency scheme to prevent blackouts on one of the coldest days of the year.
Participants in the Demand Flexibility Service will receive money off their bills if as they voluntarily reduce their usage between 5pm and 6pm.
It is the first time National Grid has implemented its DFS scheme since it was first announced last November, as the UK prepares for freezing temperatures this week.
In a further sign of the squeeze on supply, the company is preparing to use its back-up coal plants at the Drax power station in North Yorkshire and West Burton in Nottinghamshire today.
It will be the first time the two coal-fired power units are warmed up on standby, ready to generate in case they are required.
A spokesman from National Grid’s electricity system operator said: ‘Our forecasts show electricity supply margins are expected to be tighter than normal on Monday evening. We have instructed coal-fired power units to be available to increase electricity supplies should it be needed tomorrow evening.
‘This does not mean electricity supplies are at risk and people should not be worried. These are precautionary measures to maintain the buffer of spare capacity we need’.
Energy companies say that smart meters are mandatory.
But the roll out of smart meters has been plagued by an industry-wide supply problem. Hundreds of thousands of households are unable to get one because they live in high-rise flats, old properties with thick walls, or remote regions with poor signal.
Some critics have said that it should have been rolled out to all homes, regardless of whether they have a smart meter.
Is your energy provider signed up? The 26 companies taking part this winter
British Gas – Domestic
CarbonLaces – Domestic and Non-domestic
Conrad Energy – Non-domestic
CUB (UK) Ltd – Non-domestic
Drax – Non-domestic
EDF – Domestic and Non-domestic
ENGIE Power Limited – Non-domestic
E.ON Next – Domestic
Equiwatt – Domestic and Non-domestic
ev.energy – Domestic
Flexitricity – Non-domestic
Grid Beyond – Non-domestic
Gridimp – Non-domestic
Hugo Energy App (via SMS) – Domestic
Labrador (via Perse Technology Ltd) – Domestic and Non-domestic
Loop.homes (via SMS) – Domestic
myenergi (via Orange Power) – Domestic
Oaktree Power – Non-domestic
Octopus Energy – Domestic and Non-domestic
OVO Energy – Domestic
Pearlstone Energy – Non-domestic
Power Rewards App (via Orange Power) – Domestic
Shell Energy Retail (Via SMS) – Domestic
SMS – Domestic and Non-domestic
VpowerU – Domestic and Non-domestic
Zenobe Energy Limited – Non-domestic
It comes as temperatures plunge to -8C overnight and ‘freezing fog’ will remain for much of the week.
Twenty six of the UK’s energy suppliers are taking part in the DFS scheme including British Gas, EoN, Octopus Energy and EDF. The project sees households who have signed up earn around £3 (kilowatt per hour) for every unit they save by keeping their electricity switched off during peak times.
The decision to activate the scheme came after National Grid put three coal-fired power plants on standby over the weekend as the UK grapples with a cold snap following a period of unseasonably mild weather earlier this month.
The UK’s power grid operator gave notification to warm the three units, owned by Yorkshire-based Drax and French generator EDF, in case they are needed to provide additional power to the grid as temperatures remain close to or below zero in much of the country.
National Grid said the move ‘should give the public confidence in Monday’s energy supply’, but stressed that the coal plants would only be used to increase the electricity supply ‘should it be needed’.
There are worries that the freezing temperatures and low levels of wind, which reduces the generation of renewable electricity, will put additional strain on Britain’s power grid this week.
The coal plants were originally due to close in September but have been kept open longer as potential backup power sources as the UK grapples with a disruption to its natural gas supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Fears Britain could face power cuts this winter were sparked in October when National Grid warned gas shortages could lead to three-hour blackouts in some areas.
The plans were based on a worst-case scenario of the UK receiving no imports of electricity from continental Europe this winter alongside a lack of gas.
Britain depends heavily on natural gas to produce electricity, with gas-fired power stations accounting for over 40 per cent of its electricity supplies.
But international gas markets were thrown into chaos after Russia shut off most of its supplies to Europe in retaliation for the West’s sanctions.
While the UK does not use much Russian energy, there are fears gas shortages elsewhere could affect imports, leaving the electricity grid facing a supply shortfall.
The typical overnight temperature for England in January is around 2C, but this will fall as low as -8C overnight on Monday. It in turn means the ‘freezing fog’ will take longer to clear, with warning to motorists likely to remain in place.
A spokesperson for the Met Office told MailOnline: ‘[Overnight], temperatures will get down to below freezing with -8C as a minimum temperature. Moving into Monday morning, the freezing fog will be slow to clear.
What is the Demand Flexibility Service and how does it work?
National Grid has warned that there could be blackouts this winter if gas power plants are not able to keep running due to the energy crisis.
The electricity systems operator said it is still unlikely but winter could see the first planned blackouts, which the grid calls rota load shedding, since the 1970s.
To try to avoid this happening they introduced the Demand Flexibility Service.
It means domestic users, plus some businesses, will be ‘incentivised for voluntarily flexing the time when they use their electricity’.
Most demand happens during peak hours of between around 4pm and 7pm when people get home from work, put the kettle on, switch on their ovens and sit down to watch TV.
The scheme gives money to people who simply use less power at this time. The overall amount of electricity that people use does not have to reduce if they just change their usage to other times of the day.
For instance, electric cars could be unplugged during these hours, switching the dishwasher on could wait until 9pm and you could put the washing machine on earlier in the day or during the weekend.
To qualify households have to have a smart meter.
Engineers working on the energy grid need to make sure it is ‘balanced’ at all times.
This means that the amount of electricity being put into the grid by power plants, wind farms and others should match the amount being taken out by households and businesses at any given time.
The grid plans for when it thinks demand can be high so it can ask generators to meet that demand.
But if there is ever an imbalance where demand is higher than supply or supply is higher than demand, it can cause major breakdowns in the grid.
‘Outside of this fog, there will be sunny skies in the morning but it will remain very cold. As the day develops, sunny spells will pick up from the east, turning cloudier.
‘For northern parts and Scotland, there will be rain particularly in slopes and hilly areas.
‘Broadly speaking, Tuesday will remain very similar with temperatures again falling overnight but remaining above typical in northern areas.’
Temperatures are typically milder to the south and colder to the north of England and Scotland, but the current weather system is bucking that trend.
The Met Office adds that journey times by car and public transport are likely to be longer than usual, with surfaces likely to be more slippery than usual with a greater risk of injury.
The Demand Flexibility Service – which is only open to those with smart meters – looks to reward homeowners for changing their electricity usage in a bid to avoid blackouts across winter.
It is among a range of tools designed to help manage the electricity system this winter.
Craig Dyke, head of national control at National Grid ESO, said: ‘These test results show that, if called upon, this service will help the ESO balance the national electricity network this winter.’
Speaking at the time of its launch in November last year, John Pettigrew, head of the National Grid, said that ‘a vast majority of suppliers in the UK have now signed up,’ to the scheme.
The National Grid is hoping that it will mean less stress on the grid, making better use of the country’s electricity generation by ironing out some of the peaks.
Most customers tend to use electricity at similar times, with a particularly big spike in the evening when people get back from work, start cooking and switch the TV on.
‘We’re really pleased with the take-up,’ Mr Pettigrew said. ‘It will continue to grow as we move through the winter.’
National Grid runs the project, but requires suppliers to sign up so that their customers can take part.
Energy watchdog Ofgem approved the proposals for National Grid electricity system operator (ESO) to launch the programme from November until March.
Households participating through the programme will be sent a message from their supplier if there is increased pressure on the system.
It will ask people and businesses who have signed up to reduce or move their electricity usage outside peak hours.
Mr Pettigrew said that the programme could help take pressure off the grid this winter, but could also be pivotal in determining how electricity might be used by homes in the decades ahead.
So far only one major supplier of energy to homes – Octopus Energy – is thought to have started to sign up customers to the scheme. They previously said that 320,000 of its customers (out of 1.4 million who were eligible) had decided to sign up
In future, experts hope that most households with electric cars will plug in when they get home, but that their smart meter will wait until electricity is most abundant – and therefore cheaper – on the grid before charging the car.
‘In my mind it’s a little bit of a glimpse of the future. Because, with smart meters, customers can interact and provide services to networks that they’ve not been able to do in the past,’ Mr Pettigrew said.
‘So, for me, although it’s something that’s a useful insurance policy for this winter for the system operator, it’s actually quite exciting and it’s actually developing products and services that I think will be the norm going forward.’
The National Grid reported a 45 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £1.6 billion in the six months to the end of September last year, largely due to acquisitions the business has made.
The business invested a record £3.9billion in capital projects across the UK and the US, as well as work on a cable that will allow Britain to tap into Danish wind power.
No one will be penalised for not taking part in the scheme, and those who sign up can still use as much electricity as they want during peak hours.
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