Turning off power saved families less than £2.50
oNE million households who took part in a mass power switch-off to protect electricity supplies earned average rewards of less than £2.50, it emerged yesterday.
and large numbers will collect as little as £1.25 each for their sacrifice of turning off washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, tVs and even the lights.
on average households cut their electricity use by some 60 per cent for one hour on Monday evening, which was ahead of expectations.
this huge reduction meant that there was no risk of blackouts, while the need to use expensive coal and gas-fired power stations was reduced.
octopus Energy has been in the vanguard of the new regime, which pays customers to cut their eleclast
‘The reward is pointless’
tricity use when margins between demand and supply are tight.
More than 400,000 of its customers took part in the scheme on Monday between 5pm and 6pm.
octopus said: ‘ initial data projects that octopus reduced the UK’s energy usage on Monday by around 200MWh – the same as the city of Bristol going off grid for an hour. the average customer was paid between £1.25 and £2.50 for the hour. the top 5 per cent were paid around £8.75.’
that performance was expected to be matched by a second mass switch off between 4.30pm and 6pm night. the company said it was delighted with the amount of electricity that was saved, but the same may not be the case for customers hoping for a bigger payout.
lee Morris, from south- east Wales, has taken part in several trials with the company.
‘across all sessions so far, i’ve earned £1.88 despite turning all but essential equipment off – no tV, no cooking, no kettle, minimal lights and heating off,’ he said. ‘We continue to take part as it seems like the right thing to do to benefit everyone else but the reward is pointless given the average monthly bill we are facing.’
the National Grid ESo runs the energy saving scheme, which is known as the Demand Flexibility Service. it is implemented when the margin between demand and supply is tight, for example when the amount of wind power generated is below expectations.
Yesterday afternoon wind farms were providing as little as 3 per cent of electricity in london, the South East and the East Midlands.
Some households were unable to take part in the scheme because their suppliers have not signed up or only have limited spaces.
Energy UK, the supplier trade body, described the take up of the scheme and the electricity savings as ‘very encouraging’.
it added: ‘this is a specific scheme to help with this winter and tight margins. However, what it has shown is that households shifting demand can be a reliable enough tool to be used more regularly.’