Yahoo Finance Energy bills: Find out which providers are paying you to turn off appliances
With winter leaving a white blanket across the UK and households turning up the heaters, there are providers that will pay you to cut energy usage.
The Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) is running its fifth and sixth trial runs of the scheme on Monday (12 December) and Tuesday.
Under the trial, energy suppliers will pay customers to use less electricity between 5pm and 7pm on Monday.
British Gas, Octopus Energy and Ovo Energy are all taking part in the pilot scheme. Flexitricity and E.ON will also pay customers to use less electricity during those hours.
If households use less electricity than they normally do during the allotted period, they will be paid for the savings.
You can only take part in the scheme if you have a smart meter and your energy supplier is signed up. This is because the grid needs to monitor your energy every 30 minutes, which is only possible with a smart meter.
Read more: National Grid to offer £100 energy bill discounts to avoid blackouts
Customers are notified the day before so they can opt in or out depending on whether it suits their schedule.
The grid will compare your energy usage with your normal levels in 30-minute increments — and your supplier will give you around £3 for every unit or kilowatt hour (kWh) you save.
The scheme was designed to help avoid the need for emergency generators to be used or blackouts to be enforced when the grid comes under pressure during peak times this winter.
It could total up to £100 in savings over the five-month period which will be automatically deducted from customers' bills.
Octopus launched its scheme on 1 November with 400,000 people taking part. Its customers across the country have been paid £1m for reducing their energy usage during the company's first four "Saving Sessions".
More than a quarter of a million customers took part in each of the hour-long sessions. There have been four sessions in total so far, with each hour shaving about £2.50 off a customer's electricity bill.
Those interested in the scheme can register their interest here.
British Gas has confirmed that its "Peak Save" scheme will run between 5pm and 7pm this Monday evening. The supplier will pay participating customers an average of £4 per kWh of energy they save compared to their normal usage during the two-hour time period.
Read more: UK households to be paid to reduce energy use during peak times to avoid blackouts
Ovo Energy will not participate in Monday's scheme but will run its own scheme on Tuesday. They are asking those who take part to cut their average consumption between the peak hours of 4pm and 7pm.
The ESO says similar schemes are "likely to become a major feature of the market in years to come".
Chief executive Chris O'Shea said: "The electricity grid is facing increased pressure and smart technology plays a key role in managing peak demand — reducing consumption has the added benefit of helping consumers save on their energy bills.
"We'll be taking learnings from this stage with the aim of using our scale to roll out to our wider customer base."
