British Gas has extended its offer of half price electricity every Sunday, meaning customers will be able to save over the festive period.
The energy supplier introduced its PeakSave Sundays offer over the summer, in a bid to get its customers to use power outside of peak hours.
Lower demand from businesses and industry on Sundays means there is more renewable energy available in the power grid, with less need to burn fossil fuels.
Half-price Sundays: British Gas is offering its customers a 50% discount on electricity
Now the offer will run for another 14 weeks until 31 December, meaning customers will be able to make savings over the festive period.
Catherine O’Kelly, managing director of British Gas Energy said: ‘With people spending time at home in the run up to the festive season, there are great opportunities for our customers to save on their energy bills whilst contributing to a greener grid.’
Customers will receive a 50 per cent discount on all electricity used between 11am and 4pm every Sunday.
While both new and existing customers are eligible for the scheme, they will need a smart meter and will have to sign up to half hourly reads to take part. All savings will appear as a credit on customers’ energy bills.
British Gas says 250,000 customers have been paid almost £1.3million for switching to non-peak times.
It claims this has shifted 1116 megawatt hours – equivalent to 135 days – of electricity to Sundays from other days of the week.
O’Kelly added: ‘The results from the summer have shown that half price electricity on Sunday is helping our customers save and it’s shifting usage away from peak times.
‘We’d expect to see even more benefit in the winter months as home electricity is generally higher.
‘As the momentum of demand flexibility initiatives builds, we hope to welcome even more customers to the PeakSave scheme to help create a more sustainable energy grid.’
How much could you save on energy bills this winter?
British Gas’ new deal is set to see the average customer save a total of £29.25 over 14 Sundays, with the biggest savings made while using the oven.
It comes as how much we pay per unit of energy is falling, with the Ofgem cap dropping from £2,074 to £1,923 a year for the average home from 1 October.
Those who use their ovens for two hours every Sunday could save £8.90 from now until New Year’s Eve with the British Gas discount.
Customers could also save £4.52 by washing their clothes on Sundays, and another £5.37 if they use a tumble dryer.
Natalie Mathie, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: ‘Any scheme that helps households reduce their energy bills is good news, as even though prices have fallen, they are still high.
‘British Gas customers with a smart meter could save money on their energy bills if they are able to shift some of their usage over to a Sunday under the PeakSave scheme.
‘Big household appliances often use the most energy and can be a significant contributor to bills.
‘A washing machine used three times a week costs households around 57p. If those washes were all swapped to a Sunday, households would save 29p a week, and £1.14 over the course of a month.
‘Using a tumble dryer is even more expensive, costing around £2.04 for three cycles. Under this scheme, households would save £1.02 by drying clothes on a Sunday, and £4.08 over a month.’
