Electricity supplier Ovo Energy paid out nearly £150k over the winter to customers opting to switch their times of consumption.
Power Move, the challenger retailer’s five-month trial of induced behaviour, delivered total carbon savings of 22.3 tonnes, the firm announced today.
The exercise flagged savings of £20 month to customers, persuading hundreds on the trial to run power-hungry appliances at times when the grid was less congested.
Users shifted 164,179 kWh out of peak periods, delivering total carbon savings of 22.3 tonnes, or an average of 4.5 tonnes per month. December was the highest carbon saving month with a total of 5 tonnes, according to Ovo’s analysis.
Rewarding deeper customer thought about impacts of power usage, and specifically avoiding the evening peak from 16:00 to 19:00, were core goals of the trial.
An independent report commissioned by OVO in partnership with Energy Systems Catapult concluded that energy retailers must radically rethink their approach to consumers, helping them navigate Net Zero and move away from planet-harming fossil fuels and towards home insulation.
Mat Moakes, the supplier’s chief commercial officer, commented:
“Flexibility must form part of the UK’s energy security plan, shielding us from the damaging effects of continued dependence on fossil fuels.
“This trial has rewarded customers for using energy at greener times and decongesting the grid as a result. We have a responsibility as industry and Government to support households with energy efficiency measures, now and in the future”, Moakes added.
At the national grid level, over the winter backbone operator NG-ESO celebrated the success of five completed Demand Flexibility Service trials, involving up to 1 million customers of the 26 suppliers it had signed up.
The first of the trials, run in November, exceeded by 50% expected cuts in consumption by participating homes during the early evening peak.
