Energy provider makes huge bill change for 600,000 customers – you can cut costs in just HOURS without lifting a finger

A MAJOR energy provider has made a huge bill change to help 600,000 customers cut costs in hours.

British Gas will now allow those with a prepayment meter to sign up to a scheme that pays customers to cut their energy usage.

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Until yesterday, only those with a standard smart electricity meter could participate in the supplier’s Peak Save scheme.

British Gas’ “Peak Save” scheme is the name given to the supplier’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS).

The DFS pays those who take part for using less energy at the busiest times and is administered by the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO).

It means households that use less electricity than they normally do during certain allotted hours are paid for the savings.

And British Gas has today confirmed that customers can take part in a live event this evening.

Customers who sign up to participate in the scheme this evening can earn £3 per kwh of electricity saved between 5.30pm and 6.30pm this evening.

But families don’t have to switch off lights during a DFS period but are instead urged to switch off appliances such as washing machines.

And even if you sign up to participate in tonight’s event and don’t reduce your usage, you won’t be penalised – so it’s always worth getting involved.

The DFS scheme was first launched last winter in a bid to prevent potential blackouts and ease pressure on the UK’s energy network.

But the National Grid ESO has returned it despite the risk of blackouts being all but gone.

How do I sign up to Peak Save?

British Gas’ version of the DFS scheme is known as Peak Save and you need to be a British Gas customer to enrol.

Customers must also have a working smart meter which issues 30-minute meter readings to take part.

Whether you pay for your energy via direct debit or a prepayment meter doesn’t matter.

But you can’t take part if you don’t have a working smart meter.

Customers can sign up online by visiting https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/peak-save.html.

You’ll then be invited to participate in each event by email, either on the day or the day before.

Each event will last between 30 minutes and 4 hours, and they’re most likely to happen on weekday evenings between 4pm and 9pm, when the electricity demand is highest.

The credit will appear as “PeakSave Credit” on your bill or online statement.

How do I get paid?

If you pay by direct debit or when you receive your bill, British Gas will aim to credit your account within seven working days after any Peak Save event.

However, sometimes it may take up to two weeks depending how many customers take part.

Any savings made will show up on your bill as “PeakSave Winter Credit”, so there’s no need to contact us to arrange payment.

If you pay for your energy via a prepayment meter, any credit earned will normally be added to your smart pay-as-you go electricity meter within 10 working days after the end of each month.

Once added, British Gas will contact you each month to let you know how much you earned.

However, it’s important to note that if you’re repaying a debt balance through your smart pay-as-you-go meter, the credit will be used to reduce this balance first.

What is the Demand Flexibility Service?

The scheme was first launched last winter in a bid to prevent potential blackouts and ease pressure on the UK’s energy network.

But the National Grid ESO (Electricity System Operator), has brought it back again, despite the risk of blackouts all but gone.

It means households that use less electricity than they normally do during certain allotted hours are paid for the savings.

For each event, National Grid ESO decides how much you can earn per unit of electricity you save, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh).

You’ll usually save around £3 per kWh but it could be more if the electricity demand is particularly high at that time.

So, the amount you can earn per unit of electricity saved can vary between each live or test event.

Only those with a working smart meter can take part, as the device sends half-hourly readings about what power is being used.

Last year around 1.6million households and businesses were paid a total of just under £11million for taking part in the DFS.

The ESO said it will run 12 test events where households can make the savings irrespective of demand between November 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024.

There could also still be additional “live” events if the Grid decides that the country needs to reduce usage.

Each participating energy provider has its own eligibility criteria to take part in the scheme.

And the exact amount you’ll get will depend on who your supplier is.

We’ve previously listed all the energy firms paying customers to use less energy this winter.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk