Millions of households could get £100 off energy bills to avoid blackouts

Millions of Britons could get £100 off their energy bills as part of a new scheme to help households avoid getting affected by blackouts.

By Patrick O'Donnell, Personal Finance reporter with more than two years of experience specialising in UK and US-based money, retirement and savings news.

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The National Grid has outlined details of its latest initiative which is offering families discounts off their gas and . To be eligible for this £100 concession, households will need to cut peak-time usage over a period of time in the winter months. This comes following warnings from the National Grid of the increased likelihood of blackouts.

Between November 2022 and March 2023, there will be 12 initial “test days” for the scheme in order to see how the public responds.

However, it should be noted that only households with smart meters will be able to take part in the money saving scheme.

Some 14 million households in England, Scotland and Wales have a smart electricity meter installed.

National Grid has confirmed it will pay energy suppliers for the £100 bill discount, who will have to sign up for the scheme.

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Blackouts

Millions of households could get £100 off energy bills to avoid blackouts (Image: GETTY)

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Participants will be given a 24-hour notice prior to “test-days” in which they will be asked to reduce their energy consumption.

Specifically, they will be told to lessen their usage during a one-hour period as chosen by National Grid.

This will reportedly be sometime between 4pm and 7pm in the early evening and night.

Examples of how people can do this can include not using the washing machine or heating the food in a microwave instead of an oven.

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Suppliers will be responsible for informing households how much will be taken off their energy bills and how it will be administered.

This scheme has been christened the Demand Flexibility Service by the National Grid which is testing the idea at scale for the first time.

It is being rolled out to determine how much of an insurance policy it could be if there is increased demand in the winter which results in potential blackouts.

Earlier in the year, households were warned that blackouts of up to three hours at a time would occur if gas prices were allowed to fall extremely low.

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Energy bills graph

Average energy bills per region (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)

Fintan Slye, the executive Director of the ESO, outlined why this latest scheme will be beneficial to those who are most at risk of blackouts.

Mr Slye said: “We are delighted that Ofgem have approved the use of our Demand Flexibility Service this winter.

“It will help mitigate the potential risks that the ESO has outlined in its Winter Outlook and will allow consumers to see a financial return for reducing their electricity use at peak times.

“As a responsible operator of the electricity system we have developed this innovative Demand Flexibility Service to compliment the robust set of tools we already use to balance the electricity system every day.”

Businesses will also be able to benefit from the £100 discount if they have a participating supplier as they can switch generators at peak times or change production schedules.

Many of the country’s biggest suppliers are reportedly interested in signing up with Octopus Energy already announcing its participation.

Reports suggest there will be more than the original 12 “test days” on offer for households to take advantage of.

Britons are currency experiencing a 27 percent hike to their energy bills since last month.

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