What are blackouts and why might they happen this winter?
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The National Grid is launching a new demand flexibility service test tonight, where thousands of households will be asked to turn off their energy-guzzling appliances to help balance the UK’s electricity system, Express.co.uk was told. The scheme was launched late last year amid warnings from the National Grid that they may be forced to impose three hour blackouts if gas and electricity supplies were tight during the winter. To prevent such a nightmare scenario, the company’s Electricity Systems Operator rolled out this service, where eligible households will be asked to reduce their energy usage during peak hours of the day.
According to Energy expert Loop, households across the UK will be able to cash in on the service, by avoiding using energy hungry appliances at 5pm, when demand for electricity is at its highest.
Loop, which is a free smart meter app, claimed that a million households are taking part today, and shared tips on how people can maximise their earnings from the scheme.
Steve Buckley, Head of Data Science at Loop said: “People can earn rewards today by making small changes, such as opting to use their washing machine, dishwasher and other high energy appliances at earlier or later times in the day.
“It’s not only about reducing your usage, but also about changing when you use electricity away from peak times – so if your heating is electric, warm up your home ahead of the National Grid event, and save your cooking or laundry until afterwards.”
“Loop’s Turn Down and Save scheme is free to join and there will still be the opportunity to earn worthwhile rewards – on average Loop users cut their energy bills by 15%, so there are real savings to be made.”
According to the National Grid ESO, today’s test is part of an “onboarding event”, where a limited number of energy suppliers and their customers are taking part in the scheme to test out the system.
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