Everything you need to know about new scheme paying households up to £100 to use appliances at night
MILLIONS of households will be paid to use their appliances at night this winter.
It comes after the National Grid Electricity System Operator warned that Brits face three-hour blackouts in the coldest months.
In a new National Grid scheme dubbed the "demand flexibility service", households could be paid to put on their dishwashers or charge their electric cars during off-peak hours.
People are being encouraged to sign up with their electricity supplier for a scheme which will give them money back on their bills.
Households will be paid by suppliers to use their energy at less busy times between November and March 2023.
The scheme will run 12 times to ensure people are rewarded, even if there are no blackouts this winter and it could slash your bills by up to £100.
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And two major energy firms have already confirmed how they'll offer customers money to use their appliances at off-peak times.
But the scheme doesn't come without risks and some charities have warned that the scheme could pose a danger to households.
The charity Electrical Safety First has said that it's essential households mitigate the risk of fire if they choose to leave their appliances on at night.
This is because if you do run your appliances at night, you are less likely to notice if something goes wrong - particularly if they catch fire.
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In response to this, Martyn Allen, technical director of Electrical Safety First said: "Households must ensure their appliances are not subject to a recall, that cables are not damaged and that filters are regularly cleaned to reduce a build-up of lint."
We've covered in more detail how households can better protect themselves from fire if they do take part in the scheme.
Below we explain everything you need to know about the demand flexibility service and how it can cut your bills by up to £100.
What is the demand flexibility service?
National Grid has established the demand flexibility service to help encourage households to use their most energy intesive applianced during off-peak times during the night.
The scheme has been set up to help lower the nations energy usage at peak-times and to help lower the risk of households facing blackounts this winter.
The scheme will run 12 times from November through to March and it's up to energy suppliers to set their own eligibility criteria and pay households.
It's expected that homes will need to reduce their energy usage by a certain amount between certain hours including 9-11am and 4.30-6.30pm.
How much could I get for taking part in the scheme?
Households participating in their energy suppliers schemes could get up to £10 a day - for each 12 days that the scheme runs.
If you were to successfully take part in the scheme by using your appliances at off-peak hours you could get up to £100 in total.
How can I take part in the scheme?
Households will be able to opt-in to the scheme directly with their energy supplier.
It's expected that households will recieve a text, email or letter explaining that if they use less energy during peak hours on set days - they could be paid up to £10 a day if they choose to opt-in.
Have any energy suppliers launched their schemes now?
So far two major energy suppliers are offering customers cash to put their appliances on at different times of the day.
OVO Energy has announced a trial where customers can save up to £100 on their bills by switching their usage to less busy times of the day.
They're asking those who take part to cut their average consumption between the peak hours of 4pm-7pm to less than 12.5%.
That's the equivalent of moving three loads of washing each week from on-peak to off-peak hours.
Customers will be contacted to apply for the trial from mid-October. Once signed up, the trial will run from November 1 - March 31, 2023.
£20 will then be given for each month households can achieve the below 12.5% figure - this adds up to £100 if they achieve this every month from November through to March.
And Octopus Energy has launched its official demand flexibility service scheme where it expects that customers will be £100 better off by using its "Saving Sessions" service.
Octopus Energy, the UK's fourth largest supplier, says its 1.4million customers on smart meters and 5,000 of its business customers can save £100 by signing up to the scheme.
Customers will be paid an average of £4 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they save compared to their normal usage during a certain timeframe.
Customers who sign up will get a text telling them if they use less electricity between certain hours, and they'll be paid later that day.
Octopus previously ran a trial of the scheme which ran successfully over the summer.
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The exact amount you get paid will depend on how much you reduce your consumption in the specified hours.
Other energy suppliers have not yet announced how they will run the scheme.