The National Grid will pay some households money in exchange for reducing energy usage on Wednesday as bad weather approaches.
Eligible properties fitted with a smart-meter could be offered money or rewards for reducing their energy usage between 5pm and 6.30pm as part of their "blackout prevention scheme". It marks the first time the Live Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) has been activated this autumn and winter. It also coincides with a period of "much colder" weather that will see snow in some areas of Britain this week and temperatures as low as -8C.
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."
The Express reported that the scheme was first launched in 2022 as a result of the war in Ukraine and more than 1.6 million households and businesses have been involved so far, with the amount paid depending on their circumstances and regular energy usage. It's important to note that people won't need to turn off all their electricity during the period but instead reduce their usage.
The National Grid has said people are urged to shut down appliances, like washing machines, that can use high quantities of energy. The scheme is estimated to have saved more than 3,300MWh of electricity across 22 activations in 2022, which is enough to power around 10 million homes for an hour.
Typically, when energy supply is tight the UK gets more power from interconnectors with Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Norway. However, with the cold weather set to hit the continent, increased demand would hit power suppliers hard.
Increased demand due to cold weather had coincided with outages at several gas-fired and nuclear power plants, according to Oslo-based power market website Montel News. As the cold builds, France will turn from a net energy exporter to an importer, pushing prices higher across the board. Montel's editor-in-chief Snjólfur Richard Sverrisson said: "Norway will send power to the UK on Wednesday, but a cold snap will increase France’s electricity demand and they need the power for themselves."
Sverrisson added: "While the lights are very unlikely to go out, National Grid will be forced to buy in extra gas and electricity to cover peak usage."