What is the National Grid’s ‘Demand Flexibility Service’ and who is eligible to take part in the scheme?
HOUSEHOLDS are being paid to cut their energy usage at peak times under a new scheme.
The National Grid's "Demand Flexibility Service" (DFS) is designed to reduce pressure on the energy network and prevent blackouts.
The National Grid started running its first "live event" service, on Monday, January 23, 2023, between 5pm and 6pm.
Customers will get on average £3 back from National Grid if they reduce their energy usage by a minimum of 30% but others will get even more if they cut back further.
It comes after National Grid ran a pre-planned trial on Sunday, January 22, 2023, between 5pm and 6pm.
Any customers who have already signed up to the DFS via their supplier don't have to do anything except sit tight and wait to be contacted about the event.
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We explain everything you need to know about the Demand Flexibility Service, and who can take part.
What is the Demand Flexibility Service?
The Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) was set up by the National Grid.
The National Grid operates Great Britain's electricity and gas supply.
The DFS is designed to prevent blackouts during high demand periods or when energy supplies are running low.
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Under the service, households who use less electricity than they normally do during certain allotted hours are paid for the savings.
If you're hoping to cash in from the DFS, it will be better to turn expensive appliances off rather than sit in the dark.
This is because you won't make as much of a saving by just switching your lights off.
The National Grid tells energy suppliers when they can trigger the DFS, and suppliers then contact customers asking them if they want to take part.
So if you are with British Gas, they, hypothetically, could email you and tell you to use less energy between 4-6pm one day.
The scheme began on November 1, 2022, and will run until March 2023.
Who can take part?
The DFS was originally trialled with Octopus Energy, and other suppliers have since joined.
This includes British Gas, EDF, E.On, Ovo Energy, and Shell Energy.
You have to sign up through your supplier - they may have already contacted you about taking part as well.
Once you have signed up, your supplier will contact you via email or text when you can take part in the service.
Each energy provider has its own eligibility criteria to take part in the scheme though and how much you can earn will vary.
However, customers could be paid up to £6 per kilowatt (kWh) of energy saved compared to their normal usage over a two-hour time frame.
So if a customer slashed their energy usage by two kilowatt hours, the maximum the customer could earn back is £12.
Not all energy providers are offering the service at the same time either.
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Plus, you can only take part in the service if you have a smart meter.
There is a full list of providers running the DFS on the National Grid's website.
