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UK Energy Flexibility Program Prevents Blackouts

During the previous winter, households and businesses in Great Britain successfully shifted their energy consumption to off-peak hours, resulting in enough energy savings to power 10 million homes and prevent blackouts.

The National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) ran a demand flexibility scheme, with approximately 1.6 million households and businesses receiving payments to adjust their energy usage during peak demand periods. They were called upon 22 times to reschedule activities such as running appliances like dishwashers and tumble dryers at night.

The energy savings achieved during peak hours were equivalent to the electricity output of the Keadby gas power plant over 4.5 hours or three hours of generation from the Sizewell B nuclear power plant.

As compensation, participating households and small businesses received millions of pounds from their energy suppliers. Octopus Energy paid £5.3 million to enrolled customers, while British Gas confirmed payments totalling £1.8 million on behalf of the ESO.

Claire Dykta, the ESO’s head of markets, highlighted the strong interest of UK consumers and businesses in actively contributing to balancing electricity needs. The ESO plans to repeat the scheme next winter and is collaborating with industry and consumers to support the growth of consumer flexibility in the country.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries took measures to reduce energy consumption during the winter due to concerns over soaring market prices and gas import availability.

Data from the industry indicates that Great Britain’s gas usage decreased by 5% in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, partly due to lower overall electricity demand and the increasing presence of wind farms.

An analysis of ESO data by Imperial College London revealed that wind turbines generated more electricity than gas-fired power plants for the first time in the first three months of 2023. Wind power accounted for 32.4% of the country’s electricity mix, while gas power comprised 31.7%. The report, commissioned by Drax, also indicated a 4% decrease in electricity demand during the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year.

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