To address the high electricity demand brought about by the cold snap, some households in the UK will be offered discounts through the National Grid ESO scheme for consuming less electricity during peak hours on Wednesday. Participating energy suppliers will provide monetary reimbursements to customers with smart meters who reduce their consumption between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM GMT. The National Grid emphasizes that this does not imply a threat to electricity supplies. The scheme, which started last year, specifies that energy suppliers determine the amount offered to customers and what mode of reimbursement to use.
National Grid ESO implemented the Demand Flexibility Service, which enables households and businesses to save cash by avoiding high-power activities when demand is high. The service allows companies to revise their production schedules or switch to batteries or generators during peak hours. While the cold weather and lack of wind are projected to increase power demand, the Network Operator states that its decision to deploy the scheme was based on “a combination of factors.”
Last year, the National Grid ESO recorded 22 “events” with 1.6 million households and businesses that were customers of 31 energy suppliers. The amount of energy conserved was adequate to power almost ten million homes; however, it is difficult to determine the total amount of money earned as individual suppliers choose their discounts. Octopus Energy has confirmed its participation in Wednesday’s session and reported that last year, 700,000 of its customers participated, with the top 5% of participants saving about £40 over the winter.
While the UK relies heavily on gas to generate electricity, with gas-fired power plants contributing over 40% of the country’s supply, it remains uncertain how the country will respond to the disruption of gas supply which occurred last winter when Europe, following an outbreak of war in Ukraine, received alternative gas where demand increased, causing a knock-on effect on the country’s electricity supplies. Households are expected to pay more for energy this winter than last due to the discontinuation of government bill support
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