National grid operator ESO announced on 11 June that it will expand its existing Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), and pay UK households who turn down their electricity at any time of the year, not just winter. Renewable energy firm Octopus Energy described it as “a revolutionary change for the UK energy system.”
In effect it means that households can earn “up to hundreds of pounds a year”, in Octopus’s explanation, via simple measures like turning off appliances at times when energy supply is tight and there is a risk of blackouts.
Octopus claims to have been first with the approach in 2022, offering it as a way of avoiding power cuts by paying customers to use less energy when supply is tight. “For households this can be as easy as not using the oven, or delaying turning on the dishwasher and washing machine for a few hours,” said the group, adding: “The company’s ‘Saving Sessions’ scheme has already helped over 2 million customers and paid out over £10 million over the last two winters, while ensuring the lights have stayed on for everyone by freeing up the equivalent of a whole power station’s worth of generation.”
The announcement from ESO makes the scheme a permanent year-round fixture.
Alex Schoch, Global Director of Flexibility, at Octopus Energy said the scheme “rewards hard-working households for cutting their use at peak times, instead of paying big energy companies millions to burn more coal or gas.”
“It’s great to see the system operator now recognises the role consumers can play in balancing the grid all year-round.”
“Octopus will work to expand the service further so that it can also be unleashed in periods when renewable energy is abundant, putting even more money back in customers’ pockets.
“By leveraging households’ ability to save power we can enhance grid stability and reduce the need to burn more fossil fuels, helping to deliver a greener, cheaper energy future for all.”
