FOUR major energy suppliers are paying households to use less energy tonight.
Thousands of customers will be due money back if they turn off their appliances during an allotted one-hour time period.
British Gas, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy and Ovo Energy have confirmed that they'll be taking part in the Nation Grid pilot scheme this evening and we've explained exactly how it works below.
The National Grid's "demand flexibility service" pays households to cut their energy usage during busy times to help prevent blackouts.
And the Electricity Systems Operator is running its ninth trial run of the scheme today.
The demand flexibility service is administered by energy suppliers and households have to register their interest in taking part in advance.
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If households use less electricity than they normally do during the allotted hours, they will be paid for the savings.
Customers could be paid up to £6 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy saved compared to their normal usage during an allocated two-hour time period.
This would mean that if a customer reduced their energy usage by two kilowatt hour, then the maximum amount that the customer could earn back is £12.
But the exact amount you get paid will depend on how much you reduce your consumption in the specified hours.
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To conserve energy during the specified time-period households will be advised not to use any energy-intensive appliances.
For example, if a household normally uses a dishwasher or washing machine but waits until after the 'Peak Save' event they would meet their target.
Those who have opted into taking part should get a text or email from their energy supplier to notify them of the hours the scheme is running.
But customers will not be punished if they decide to keep using electricity as normal and you'll continue to pay for your electricity as usual.
Exactly how much you can earn will also vary from supplier to supplier.
Here's a full list of the suppliers taking part in the scheme this evening.
British Gas
British Gas confirmed that its Peak Save scheme will run this evening (February 13).
The supplier will pay participating customers an average of £6 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they save compared to their normal usage during the one-hour time period.
So if you were to use 2kWh less than you normally would you could get up to £12 back.
British Gas has said that even if you only save a little electricity, they'll make sure participating customers earn at least £1 for every session you save.
Payments will be made as a bill credit within seven working days based on the kWh reductions of participating households.
But only 100,000 smart meter customers out of the supplier's 10million customer base have been invited to take part in scheme.
E.ON
E.ON has confirmed it would also be inviting customers to turn off their energy tonight.
It said around half a million customers will be invited to take part.
Participating customers will be given a personal target based on their average daily energy use.
All customers who successfully reduce their electricity use to hit their personal target will receive a credit to their E.ON Next account.
The exact amount you get paid will depend on how much you reduce your consumption in the specified hours.
Octopus Energy
Octopus has confirmed that it will be taking part in the scheme tonight.
Customers who turn their appliances off will be rewarded with £4 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they save compared to their normal usage during the two-hour time period.
Customers will be handed the cash via their accounts as "Octo Point".
They will then be given the chance to use it towards their energy bill, withdraw it to their bank accounts or use it for other rewards Octopus offers.
The points should be added to accounts within a couple of days but definitely by two weeks.
Ovo Energy
Ovo Energy has confirmed that it will be taking part in the scheme this evening.
The supplier is asking those who take part to cut their average consumption between the peak hours of 5.30pm-6.30pm to less than 12.5%.
That's the equivalent of moving three loads of washing each week from on-peak to off-peak hours.
Customers can make a minimum of £1 for every kWh shifted below their personal target – the more electricity shifted, the more money they'll make.
What is the demand flexibility service?
National Grid has warned that Brits face three-hour blackouts this winter.
To help prevent blackouts National Grid has established the demand flexibility scheme which pays people to use less energy during peak times.
The scheme is run by energy suppliers who will be notified by the National Grid when the service can go live if the UK's energy supply falls low.
The scheme has been tested twice since it launched a month ago and energy suppliers offering trials are free to continue these tests in the meantime.
National Grid will also ensure that the scheme runs for 12 trial sessions to ensure people are rewarded just for taking part, even if there are no blackouts this winter.
To get the money, customers will be expected to shift their use of power away from times of high demand to help prevent blackouts.
That could mean putting on the dishwasher or washing machine overnight or charging an electric vehicle at off-peak times.
The system which pays households to cut their usage at peak times has been tested twice since it was launched a month ago.
Without the scheme, there could be cold days creating a demand that outstrips supply.
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It would then mean certain areas of the UK, would be warned of planned blackouts.
According to the National Grid, in this scenario, there would be a potential need to interrupt the supply to some customers for limited periods.
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