British Gas has introduced Peak Save as part of the National Grid ESO service.
The trial will test the potential for reducing demand on the grid by asking households to reduce their usage during National Grid’s ‘turn-down’ events.
For every unit of electricity that customers save compared to their normal usage, British Gas expects to pay customers around £4. The scheme could potentially save customers as much as £100 over the course of the winter and will run between December 2022 and March 2023. Smart meter customers will be invited to take part in the trial by email and British Gas will be targeting over 100,000 in the initial trial phase.
Chris O ‘Shea, Centrica CEO, said:
British Gas will set customers a 30% reduction target per household to aim for and provide tips and advice on how customers can achieve their target, such as which appliances they could switch off or shift. For example, if a household normally uses a dishwasher or washing machine but waits until after the ‘turn-down’ event they would meet their target. Payments will be made as a bill credit within 7 working days based on kWh reductions.
The scheme is enabled by the new flexibility service National Grid ESO launched this winter which gives all UK energy suppliers the option to financially reward customers who reduce their electricity usage during times of peak demand.
