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Manchester Evening News

Business

Kieran Isgin

The energy companies including OVO, British Gas and E.ON who are paying customers to not use electricity

Electricity National Grid Eon Octopus Energy OVO Energy

After announcing a scheme where suppliers can pay customers not to use electricity, National Grid has signed on more companies.

It comes after concerns have been raised over Britain's energy supply following a warning from National Grid. On Monday (November 28), the National Grid Electricity System Operator issued and then cancelled a notice that the difference between the amount of electricity available and the supply would be smaller than hoped in the evening.

In light of this, the ESO said it was considering whether to activate the first-ever live run of its Demand Flexibility Service, which the company's chief executive hopes would avoid blackouts this winter. The scheme works by asking households to reduce the amount of electricity they use at peak times when demand is at its highest.

Among those that have signed up to provide the service, Octopus Energy is one of the most active suppliers. It released data showing that its customers had helped reduce demand by more than 100 megawatts during testing.

While National Grid is managing the project, it is up to individual energy suppliers to sign up to it which will allow their customers to benefit.

British Gas

British Gas announced that households taking part in the scheme must reduce their electricity use by around 30 per cent between 4pm and 7pm - when demand is at its highest.

OVO

OVO is among the most recent to join the service. Initially, the scheme will be open to 15,000 OVO customers but this is set to rise after the first month.

“We’re pleased to be joining the National Grid Electricity System Operator’s Demand Flexibility Scheme and launching another trial which rewards customers for their efforts in making small but significant changes to the way they consume energy,” said Raman Bhatia, CEO of OVO Energy.

“We know that winter is going to be a challenging time for many, so relieving that pressure where we can, and supporting our customers has never been more important.”

EDF

EDF has confirmed that it will take part in trialling the Demand Flexibility Service. According to the company's website, it will select a small group of customers based on data and advice from National Grid.

The supplier will send invites to this group of customers by email in late November, while also providing information on everything they need to do. Customers must wait for an invite from the supplier and cannot sign up online or over the phone.

E.ON

E.ON customers will be able to take part in the initiative from this month. In order to participate, the supplier will contact eligible customers to see if they want to take part.

One criterion for eligibility is that customers have a smart meter that provides half-hourly meter readings so that the supplier can accurately measure reductions in daily energy use.

An E.ON spokesperson said: “E.ON Next is taking part in the National Grid’s Demand Flexibility Service to help our customers lower their energy costs by reducing their energy consumption. We’re inviting eligible customers to sign up so that they can join in and save when the Grid sets Demand Flexibility events.

“The future of energy involves every customer – at home and in business – having their own smart, sustainable and personalised energy solutions that support their everyday lives. Time of use tariffs can be used alongside low carbon technologies such as solar panels, EV charge points and heat pumps to ensure we can move to net-zero at a lower cost by reducing the need for ever more upstream generation and reinforcement of our networks.”