UK’s National Grid to pay people to use less power as cold snap bites

More than a million households and business are signed up to the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), which rewards people, usually via money off their bills, for turning off appliances such as ovens and dishwashers during a specific period when electricity demand is high.

The service, which has been trialled but not run in a live situation before, would run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, it said, adding that the move did not mean electricity supplies were at risk and advised people not to worry.

The measures were announced in order to “ensure that everyone gets the electricity they need,” Craig Dyke, head of national control at National Grid ESO, told BBC Radio on Monday, adding that 26 suppliers had signed up for the scheme.

Below-freezing temperatures have been recorded across much of the UK in recent days with the national weather service, the Met Office, last week issuing severe weather warnings for snow and ice.

However, National Grid said three coal-fired plants had been instructed to warm up to be on standby for Tuesday, and also called on those signed up to the DFS programme to again curb electricity use between 4.30 p.m and 6 p.m.

“The use of these additional services is not an indication that electricity supplies are at risk, but that we require greater options to manage the network as normal,” the National Grid’s ESO said in a statement.

Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of British Energy regulator Ofgem, said on Monday the country’s overall power supply outlook had improved from when National Grid first warned of potential power cuts.

He said high gas stocks in Europe and an improvement in the operation of French nuclear plants, which often provide electricity to Britain via several power links, had helped to ease the supply risks.

However, “as today’s events show … we need to remain vigilant and cautious about what may happen in the future,” he said at an Institute of Government event.