Households will be paid to use less electricity tonight as part of plans to ease demand during the colder weather.

The Demand Flexibility Service is run by the National Grid ESO and pays people to use less energy during peak times. It will be activated this evening between 5pm and 6.30pm - but you need to be signed up, and have a smart meter.

You can see if your energy supplier is signed up to the scheme here. The idea is that households are paid to avoid using energy-guzzling appliances, such as ovens and washing machines, when the scheme is on.

Energy firms are being paid between £3 and £6 for every unit of electricity - or kilowatt hour - that is saved during each event - it is then down to them to pass on these savings back to customers. This means, the amount of money you'll be paid will depend on how much less electricity you use compared to normal, and what your supplier will pay you.

Each supplier also decides whether to pay customers in cash, add credit to their account, or taken off future bills. National Grid ESO first launched the scheme earlier this year and 1.6 million households have taken part in 22 events so far. The scheme is estimated to have saved more than 3,300MWh of electricity, which is enough to power around 10 million homes for an hour.

The scheme aims to ease pressure on the National Grid by reducing demand for energy. But the National Grid ESOsaid the event tonight is a “precautionary measure” and said “it does not mean electricity supplies are at risk”. A spokesperson for the National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) said: "Our forecasts show electricity supply margins are expected to be tighter than normal on Wednesday evening.

"It does not mean electricity supplies are at risk and people should not be worried. These are precautionary measures to maintain the buffer of spare capacity we need."

Sky News reports that the scheme has been activated partly because of the cold weather, with forecasters warning the UK could be hit by snow and ice over the next few days. When the weather turns cold, more demand is placed on our power supplies. The scheme will run until October 2024.