In its most recent energy challenge, Octopus Energy rewarded over £1 million to its customers for reducing their energy usage. The initiative saw participation from more than 400,000 customers who lowered their consumption between 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm on Tuesday.
The program incentivises users to decrease their energy consumption by compensating them for turning off appliances, thereby easing the load on the power grid. On average, participants received £2.50 worth of special points for reducing their demand by around 60%. The top 5% of savers earned an average of £15 in points.
Customers were awarded 3,200 OctoPoints per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy saved, equivalent to £4. Preliminary data indicated that this effort resulted in a reduction of approximately 250 megawatt-hours (MWh) in the UK’s energy usage, comparable to the city of Liverpool disconnecting from the grid for an hour.
Tuesday’s event featured higher incentives than Monday's, leading to a 30% greater reduction in energy usage despite a similar level of participation. Consequently, payouts for Monday totaled just under £1 million.
This Demand Flexibility Service, launched by National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO), aims to manage peak demand during periods when the energy supply is more constrained. Octopus Energy has been the most active participant in the scheme, although other energy suppliers also contributed during its first live implementation on Monday evening after several test runs.
By encouraging households to shift their electricity usage to non-peak times, the grid can avoid the need to activate costly power plants. Experts view this initiative as an initial move towards a system where smart home technologies optimise energy consumption, helping households save money and alleviating stress on the power grid.
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