1.6 million UK homes joined scheme to cut winter power demand – National Grid

Some 1.6 million British homes signed up to a scheme paying them to cut electricity use to help prevent power shortages last winter, saving over 3,300 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, National Grid (LON:NG) said on Wednesday.

Under the demand flexibility service (DFS), homes that signed up with their suppliers were paid, usually via money off their bills, for turning off appliances such as ovens and dishwashers during a specific period when electricity demand is high.

National Grid warned last year that homes could face three-hour rolling power cuts over winter if the country was unable to secure enough gas and electricity imports. It launched the DFS as part of its tool box to help prevent cuts.

National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) said over a total of 22 DFS events over the winter 3,300 MWh of electricity were saved, enough to power around 10 million homes.

“These test events have successfully demonstrated that the Demand Flexibility Service can deliver flexibility at scale, enabling consumers and businesses across the country to benefit from shifting their electricity use away from a specific time period,” ESO said in a statement.

ESO said it is now carrying out a review to see how the service could be improved in future which will be published later this summer.