Britons have told of sitting in the dark for an hour during a scheme to prevent power blackouts, only to be find they will get as little as 6p off their energy bills.
Since November, certain UK households and businesses were paid to reduce their electricity use as coal plants were set on standby in case electricity supplies fell too low.
The Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) was launched by the National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) to help reduce peak demand during times when supplies are tighter than usual.
Despite being promised a rebate of up to £20 by the National Grid, some of those who took part in the scheme of late have taken to social media claiming they were only offered a few pence.
One woman who signed up to the scheme shared her disdain after being offered just 6p for reducing her energy usage by 62 per cent during a session on 19 January.
Jodie Kenny, 30, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, told The Independent she had taken part in the scheme five times – most recently on Monday, during which she reduced her energy usage by 70 per cent, earning her just 41p in credit.
“What was the actual point?” the quality control worker said, alongside a screenshot of the correspondence from the energy provider confirming the price.
Ms Kenny lives alone in a three bedroom house, and spends the hour-long switch-offs downstairs, with just one set of LEDs on to light her home.
Others have even denied themselves that relative luxury, such as one family from Bedfordshire who told MailOnline they had sat in the dark between 5pm and 6pm on Tuesday with only a torch.
“I’m not in dire straits with money,” Ms Kenny went on, but admitted she had hoped she could have saved up the cash to put towards energy bills, which are higher than usual due to the sub-zero winter temperatures.
Over the five sessions she took part in, Ms Kenny earned a total of £1.89, her correspondence with E.ON shows.
E.ON told The Independent that the average amount it had paid to customers was about £1.72 for each daily event, with some being paid more than £10.
But with soaring costs, the £1.72 wouldn’t even cover a loaf of Hovis granary bread – which currently costs around £1.95.
A spokesperson for the supplier added: “The exact amount for individual homes depends on how much energy they are able to save compared to their usual consumption. The more they can reduce their energy use, the more they will save.
“The price of taking part is agreed with National Grid and has been £3.25 on average per kWh. Our customers always get 100 per cent of that price and are made aware of their anticipated savings before they choose to take part.”
“It’s early days but so far, we’ve paid out around £350,000 to customers who’ve met their reduction targets, and that number will continue to grow.”
ESO said that 26 suppliers have signed up to its Demand Flexibility Service. Households with these suppliers have to sign up in advance and opt in to the system each time.
There have been several test runs of the service in the past, but this week was the first time that the service was used to ensure that the grid is balanced.
The system is set up to ensure that no more electricity is being taken out than is being put in at any given minute.
The households that take part in these sessions can still use as much electricity as normal, but by doing it later or earlier they can help out, and save.
For many people, the reward for each session is likely to be just a few pounds. Though some, like Ms Kenny, claim to have been offered significantly smaller amounts for taking part.
Suzanne Murray, an NHS administrator from Southampton who took part in the scheme with E.ON on Monday, said that if she hit her target of 20 per cent reduction she could earn around 5p.
“That’s not worth it!” she told the BBC.
E.ON customer Geoff Wood claimed on Twitter he had been offered just 84p for reducing his energy usage by 89 per cent, while another told MailOnline they had been offered “around 30p” for taking part.
Because the scheme is run by individual energy suppliers, the amount you will be paid for saving energy varies.
Several suppliers also bid for higher contracts than usual, meaning they could be paying their customers more to take part.
Certain companies require participants to reach a certain threshold, such as cutting back by at least 30 per cent.
Other suppliers say they will pay anyone who makes savings, no matter how small.
ESO said that energy companies are being paid between £3 and £6 for every unit of electricity, or kilowatt hour, that is saved.
It is then up to the suppliers to choose how much of that to pass on to customers and what form the compensation will take.
On the upper end, Octopus Energy customers will be offered £3.37 for every kilowatt hour saved compared to their usual consumption while EDF will pay customers £3 for every unit of energy saved.
British Gas promises to double the cash they are paid by National Grid for each unit of energy saved, and will round up earnings to £1 if they fall below that amount.
