People will be paid to use less electricity on Monday

 Up to a million households in England, Scotland and Wales will be paid to use less electricity on Monday evening as part of a scheme to avoid blackouts.

National Grid said the scheme, which has only been used in tests so far, would run between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT. Those who have signed up will get discounts on their bills if they do things like delay using their oven or washing machine.

The cold snap has seen energy use rise as more people turn on the heating. National Grid will decide this afternoon whether it will need to run the scheme again tomorrow.

The grid operator had also asked for three coal-fired generators to be put on standby in case supplies ran low, but it has now stood them down.

The operator, which had called the move “precautionary”, said that if the situation changed again the plants could be warmed up quickly.

According to National Grid, the first thing you should do is check whether your supplier. You’ll get a notification that it starts today. People in England, Scotland and Wales who have a smart meter are eligible.

Customers will receive a discount if they reduce their electricity use between the times set by National Grid. On Monday the scheme will run between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT. You can save by doing things like delaying using your oven, washing machine or charging your electric vehicle.

National Grid says savings can range from a few pounds to as much as £20 depending on the amount of energy used. This week’s cold snap is expected to lead to high power demand, while wind power is forecast to be lower than usual. It is also uncertain whether the UK will be able to import the power it needs via undersea cables from Europe.

To try to reduce demand, National Grid has activated its Demand Flexibility Service, which allows some households to receive discounts if they cut their use of electricity, by, for example, delaying the use of a tumble-dryer or washing machine. The scheme is available to homes with smart meters and whose energy supplier is signed up to it.

According to National Grid’s electricity system operator, 26 suppliers have joined the scheme, including British Gas, EoN, Octopus Energy and EDF, and more than a million households and businesses have now signed up to take part. The scheme was introduced last year and is scheduled to run until March.

On Sunday, National Grid ordered three UK coal plants to begin warming up in case they were needed to generate electricity on Monday. Power station operator Drax was asked to prepare two coal-fired units and EDF was warming up its West Burton plant.

National Grid – which has now stood the plants down – had said “people should not be worried” by the move and electricity supplies were not at risk. “These are precautionary measures to maintain the buffer of spare capacity we need,” it said.

A similar request to warm up coal plants was made in December last year, although in the event they were not used. Last summer, the UK government asked Drax to extend the life of its coal-fired generators due to fears over the security of energy supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Drax plants had been due to close in September, but the company agreed to keep them online until March 2023. National Grid’s boss said last year that blackouts would be a last resort this winter if energy supplies run low. John Pettigrew said National Grid’s “base case” assumption was the UK would have enough supplies to meet heating and lighting demand.

By Nick Edser

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