Electricity Saving Sessions

Many consumers with smart meters were invited to reduce electricity consumption for specific periods during winter. The aim was to lower consumption at peak demand time so that the most expensive generation did not need to be bought in. This saved significant national generation costs that would be paid for by everyone.

The incentives were organised by National Grid who set the times and paid the rewards via power providers.

After ten sessions our reward was £14.26 (in addition to saving about £1.97 of peak rate electricity). Using the reward to charge my car gives us 106 miles if charged at peak rate or 497 miles if charged at off peak times. The same £14.26 would buy 8.6 litres of diesel and cover about 95 miles (at 50mpg).

The opportunity for saving sessions will reduce as energy demands subside through Spring, Summer, and Autumn. However, managing the UK energy requirements and sorting out the financial mess that ignores the lower cost of renewable energy must be a priority before next Winter.