The first energy-saving scheme takes place tonight (Thursday 16 November), enabling households that cut back on electricity use to earn cash or incentives in the process.
The first test event for the 2023/24 Demand Flexibility Service will run between 5pm and 6:30pm tonight.
Households with a smart meter will be asked to reduce their electricity usage during this time to earn money, points or prizes depending on which supplier you’re with.
The Electricity System Operator (ESO) event will be staggered across the 37 registered providers, with some households able to participate between 5pm-6pm while others will be invited between 5:30pm and 6:30pm.
To date, 1.4 million businesses and households have signed up to participate in this winter’s DFS after it was made available on 30 October.
The ESO said it expects to run 12 test events between November 2023 and March 2024. National Grid ESO pays participating suppliers which in turn pay money to billpayers. The Guaranteed Acceptance Price (GAP) for the first six tests will be £3,000/MWh, £3 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy. However, energy providers can set the amount of money they give back to those who have signed up.
Last winter, 31 providers and 1.6 million households and businesses participated in DFS. It was brought in amid fears over potential energy blackouts following on from the Ukraine war. During the previous scheme, over 3,300MWh was saved across 22 events which is the equivalent of powering nearly 10 million homes. The ESO paid registered service providers around £11m.
How to sign up
If you’ve yet to sign up, as long as you have a smart meter, you can still get involved by registering with your supplier if it’s taking part (see the ESO’s list of registered service providers here). Alternatively, comparison website Uswitch offers users the chance to take part in the scheme via the free Utrack app.
This year, the ESO said it is committed to developing the service even further, and it is keen for more households and businesses to take advantage of reducing energy bills and carbon footprint.
Claire Dykta, director of markets at ESO, said: “We’re excited to see that providers, consumer households and businesses are getting engaged in such numbers this year with the Demand Flexibility Service. We’re really pleased to see the high level of participation at this early stage and expect this only to grow as more people get engaged in demand flexibility for the first time, following the success of the service last year.”
