Over the summer months, British households and businesses could be offered free or discounted electricity for completing their household chores on the weekend, in an attempt to tackle periods of excess electricity supply.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) is rewarding consumers who increase their electricity use when there is an oversupply of energy.
Are you one of the households that could benefit, and what is the reason behind the perk? ITV News explains.
Who are NESO?
The National Energy System Operator, known as Neso, is the public body responsible for managing and planning the UK’s electricity and gas networks.
Neso works to help the UK government to “achieve its net zero target” and “ensure the security of energy supply for consumers.”
It also works to “promote the efficient and economical transmission and distribution of electricity and gas”.
The operator runs a scheme called the Demand Flexibility Service, which rewards consumers and businesses for adapting when they use power, if the energy system needs support.
By taking part in the service, consumers “help balance the electricity system, reduce overall costs, and support a cleaner, more efficient energy system.”
This summer, the scheme will now reward households and businesses for increasing their electricity use during periods of excess supply due to weather conditions.
Why are consumers being rewarded?
In the summertime, the days are longer, and temperatures are warmer, which means consumers do not require as much electricity to heat their homes or switch on lights.
Overall, the demand for electricity is lower than in the winter months, but the generation of electricity through wind and solar power remains high.
As a result, the amount of electricity generated can exceed demand.
“Our analysis shows that low demand is increasingly driven by weather patterns – most notably solar photovoltaic (PV) generation – rather than underlying consumer behaviour,” Neso says.
“This has a range of consequences, including when the seasonal minimum is likely to occur and what time of day.
“This, in turn, affects the volume and type of actions we must take to balance supply, demand and system needs.”
The system requires monitoring all day everyday; “If things fall out of balance, the frequency drops, voltage drops, and we will see power cuts – so we can never allow this to happen.”
Dr Deborah Petterson from Neso says, “The work of our excellent engineering teams at NESO means our energy system is well adapted to support a clean, resilient future, and puts us in a strong position to manage the changing patterns of electricity use over the summer.
Tools such as the Demand Flexibility Service not only reward consumers and businesses for flexible electricity use but also strengthen the resilience and efficiency of Great Britain’s electricity network.”
How does the reward scheme work?
When electricity demand is particularly low, which is likely over the sunny, windy weekends and bank holidays, Neso is able to reward customers who adapt their use of electricity.
Running household appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers, or charging electric cars during these times when there is an excess of electricity and lower demand, makes better use of the clean electricity which has already been generated.
Neso will let your energy supplier know when a Demand Flexibility Service event is due to take place.
Your supplier will then contact you to tell you when the event is taking place, as well as how long it will last.
The scheme is open to those with smart meters who are with providers that are signed up to the scheme.
The type and value of the rewards will vary depending on the provider.
Which providers are part of the Demand Flexibility Service?
Domestic household providers who are part of the scheme:
- British Gas Trading Ltd
- Equiwatt
- Octopus Energy
- Octopus Energy Trading Ltd
- Perse Technology Limited
- ScottishPower (via Equiwatt)
Industrial and commercial providers who are part of the scheme:
- Drax Energy Solutions Ltd
- Gallagher Aggregates Ltd
- Infinis Ltd
- OakTree Power
- Octopus Energy
- Perse Technology Limited
- U Energy
It comes as National Gas have said gas stocks in Britain are set to be sufficient enough to meet demand from households and businesses this summer, despite prices surging amid the conflict in the Middle East.
National Gas stressed that British demand for gas will be primarily met by supplies extracted from the UK Continental Shelf and imports from Norway.
Around 86% of the total gas supply (25.3 bcm) is expected to come from these sources.
The organisation said it expects this volume to be enough to exceed forecast demand from Great Britain and gas exported to Ireland.
It added that around 5% of the total supply will also come from flexible gas storage, and around 9% of the supply will come from LNG imports.
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