British Gas offers thousands of customers half-price electricity on Sunday in off-peak trial
More than 150,000 customers of Britain’s biggest energy supplier have been offered half-price power on Sunday in a trial designed to encourage them to shift electricity use to “off-peak” times when national demand is low.
British Gas said that it would refund 50 per cent of the unit rate for any electricity the customers used between 11am and 4pm, enabling them to save on the cost of activities like using the washing machine or hoovering.
The invited households all have smart meters to monitor their use in real time and have already registered for the company’s “PeakSave” scheme. This was created last winter to enable its customers to access National Grid rewards for cutting use at selected times when supplies were scarce, amid fears that Britain could be at risk of blackouts.
The new British Gas trial does not oblige participating households to cut back at other times but is designed to see whether they will do so anyway.
Experts say the costs of hitting Britain’s climate change goals can be reduced by encouraging households to carry out energy-intensive activities at times when wind and solar power are plentiful and electricity is cheaper — avoiding the traditional “teatime peak”, when extra supplies from polluting sources are most likely to be needed.
British Gas said: “The aim of the trial is to test whether discounts on a Sunday can encourage energy to shift away from peak weekday evenings to reduce emissions during those periods. British Gas will build on these learnings to support the net zero transition by encouraging shifts to greener periods.”
Savings for customers taking part in the trial are likely to be modest.
Most British Gas customers are on its standard tariff with an average unit rate of 33p per kilowatt-hour ; a spokeswoman said that a participating customer using the washing machine on Sunday lunchtime might save about 15p compared with using it at normal rates.
