Energy saving to return to prevent winter blackouts

Discount offers for households to use less electricity at peak times will return this winter as part of plans to minimise the risk of power cuts.

National Grid ESO said it expected to have sufficient capacity to meet demand but added it would be "prudent" to maintain the energy-saving scheme.

The network operator said the Ukraine war posed "risks and uncertainties" to gas supplies across Europe and Britain.

"Tight days" on the energy grid were likely be in January, it said.

"There will be cold snaps in the winter and therefore we do expect to use our normal operational tools," said a spokesman for National Grid ESO, which is the electricity system operator for England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a separate electricity operator..

The so-called Demand Flexibility Service was launched in last November after Russia's gas supplies to Europe were disrupted following its invasion of Ukraine.

In a report looking ahead to the colder months, National Grid said it would have an average margin - which is the difference between the supply of electricity and demand for it - of 4.8 gigawatts. It said this was "slightly higher than last winter" and "broadly in line with those of recent winters".

However, its "base case" scenario assumes normal energy market conditions with no disruptions to supplies.

National Grid said it was taking steps to "minimise the potential impact to electricity customers" in Britain if supplies were disrupted again.

Alongside maintaining its energy-saving scheme for households to get discounts on bills, it said it was holding discussions about having two coal power stations on standby. The amount available to the grid if required has fallen from five in 2022 to two, with two now closed down and one other unable to be called upon.

The UK is heavily reliant on gas to produce electricity, with gas-fired power stations generating more than 40% of the country's electricity. It also imports electricity from continental Europe.

The squeeze on supplies led to household energy bills soaring as gas prices rocketed.

The government stepped in late last year to limit bills to £2,500 a year for a typical household. But, despite gas prices falling back, energy bills remain elevated.

A typical property will pay £2,074 a year for gas and electricity from July, far above winter 2021 when bills were around £1,277.

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The Demand Flexibility Service offered people the chance to be paid to use less electricity during peak times when capacity on the grid was tight, but only homes with smart meters were able to take part.

Only 14 million households in England, Scotland and Wales, where the scheme was on offer, have a smart electricity meter installed.

National Grid said 1.6 million households and businesses who were customers of 31 energy suppliers participated in the scheme across 22 "events" last winter.

People were asked to avoid high-power activities, such as cooking or using washing machines for a one-hour period.

It said the amount of energy saved was enough to power almost 10 million homes, but it is not yet known how much money, on average, each household earned.

Individual suppliers decided how much customers received and whether the money was taken off bills, credited to accounts, or if it could be withdrawn as cash.

National Grid said consumers in the south, east and east midlands of England reduced their demand the most.

The operator is consulting energy suppliers to improve the service ahead of the winter.

This story has been updated to clarify that National Grid ESO only operates in Great Britain and that Northern Ireland has a separate electricity operator.