People will be paid to use less electricity today

[justasking111]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64367504

This may be of interest to those with smart meters

Just checked, it still seems to be only for people that have been contacted

We've also participated a few times with Eon Next.
I'm happy to do it - kids and I sit in the dark with candles on and have a good catch up plus I've had money back off my bill

Have they contacted you to do it? Or do you have to sign up?

Ah, OK, from BG website:

"Peak Save is only available to customers who have been invited by email.

If you haven’t been invited by us, unfortunately you won’t be able to take part at the moment."

On the National Grid website it says anyone with a smart meter cn sign up if their supplier is doing it so there semes to be some confusion

Hi, not saying I disbelieve you, but can you screenshot that for me please, as we would like to do this. All I can find is the bit where it’s invitation only. This is another of those sodding initiatives where they don’t know their arse from their elbow and mess everyone else about.

It's not a scheme to help people will energy bills. It's a scheme to help reduce usage at peak times so blackouts aren't necessary (or coal use not necessary). So it is actually a good scheme and from the last few saving sessions it does seem to be working.

Found something at last! EDF (our supplier) still saying not everyone can sign up yet. What a ridiculous system, and why they’ve bothered publicising it, I really don’t know. So tempted to turn everything on at 5, I’m not that much of an arse though, so shan’t.

www.nationalgrideso.com/electricity-explained/electricity-and-me/esos-demand-flexibility-service

Scroll down to how to take part

It's the daftest thing ever. What about fridges and freezers. Tv lights? Crazy.,

It's not a ridiculous system, it's purely there to reduce electricity consumption across the country at peak times. The companies are doing it the easiest way they can without incurring lots of costs, that means not everyone will be able to take part yet. If you can't then you can't, as long as the scheme does it's job and reduces national consumption at those times and avoids blackouts/coal use then what's the problem?

We don't turn everything off during the saving times, just the easy things such as lights, laptops, heating and we avoid cooking until afterwards. By doing that we have managed to reduce our consumption quite a lot during the sessions. It's worked pretty well actually.

Are you deliberately being sense, if course no one switches off their whole power

It's simple enough for a child to understand ffa

Mine is still saying you can’t. And it’s too late for the half hourly readings from 22 November. What a shitty, shitty mess they’ve made of this. Wonder if it’s being managed by that Dido woman that cocks up everything?

If you can't sign up to your suppliers scheme try the Loop scheme.

loop.homes/turn-down-and-save/#:~:text=What%20is%20Turn%20Down%20and,generate%20electricity%20at%20peak%20times.

If you can't sign up to your suppliers scheme try the Loop scheme.

loop.homes/turn-down-and-save/#:~:text=What%20is%20Turn%20Down%20and,generate%20electricity%20at%20peak%20times.

Does anyone on octopus know how they’re measuring your saving? Which previous hour am I being compared to?

Thanks @NewBootsAndRanty is loop another supplier that I’ll have to change to?

Yes, would love to know the answer to this too!

Nope!

I'm actually on a different scheme with OVO. Since November they have asked us to use less electricity between 4-7 on weekdays. If you use less than 12.5 per cent of your electricity between those times in a month they give you £20 off your bill. Have so far had £40 credit. £20 for November and £20 for December and on our way to gaining another £20 for this month.

I think I read on the octopus scheme that it’s compared to your use for that same hour on previous days.

"We'll look at your historical smart meter data leading up to a Session, and calculate what you usually use at that time of day, on average.

If the Session is on a weekday, we’ll look at your half-hourly usage over the last 10 weekdays (excluding saving session days). If the Session is on a weekend, we’ll look at your half hourly usage over the last 4 weekend days. These half hourly averages are then subject to an ‘In Day Adjustment’ which will make adjustments based on how much energy you’ve used on the day of the session.

We then use these adjusted half-hourly averages as a benchmark – so you’ll earn points for every kilowatt hour you save compared to that number during your Session"

octopus.energy/blog/saving-sessions-faqs/

Why don't they just stop shafting all those low-income people on prepayment meters for once, and stop fannying about with schemes like this?

This is nothing to do with prepayment.

For those who have been living under a rock, we don't have the energy capacity we need when demand is high due to winter, not helped by the wind turbine I can see out of my window not spinning at all today.

If they reduce demand at peak times, it reduces the need to use polluting old coal fired power stations kept on standby to cover gaps in generating capacity over winter.

People are getting a small financial incentive to smooth out their energy usage, to reduce peak demand. But many aren't motivated by the money, they like the personal challenge, to do their bit etc.