- The energy supplier said more than 400,000 customers cut down their energy usage between 4.30 pm and 6 pm on Tuesday.
- by asking households to use electricity at slightly different times than usual, the grid does not have to pay very expensive power plants to come online and produce more power.
The energy supplier said more than 400,000 customers cut down their energy usage between 4.30 pm and 6 pm on Tuesday, with the average customer paid £2.50 in special points, and the top 5% paid an average of £15 in points. Octopus Energy paid more than £1m to customers in its latest energy challenge.
The Demand Flexibility Service was launched by National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) is a scheme that aims to reduce strain on the power grid by paying customers to switch off appliances. Octopus said the initial data showed it had reduced the UK’s energy usage by around 250MWh which is as significantly compared to the city of Liverpool going off the grid for an hour. The company said participation on Tuesday was similar to Monday, but as Tuesday’s event was higher paying and there was 30% more energy reduced than the night before, less than £1m was paid out on Monday.
Therefore, by asking households to use electricity at slightly different times than usual, the grid does not have to pay very expensive power plants to come online and produce more power. Experts consider it a first step towards a system where smart technology in people’s homes helps to switch usage to off-peak times, saving households money and taking pressure off the power grid.