TENS of thousands of households can get paid up to £45 to use their energy at off-peak times this winter.
Energy bills for the average family on a dual-fuel gas and electricity tariff currently stand at £1,834 a year.
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So you will want to do everything you can to cut back on costs and make your budget stretch.
Luckily, there are two firms offering customers the chance to be paid to use energy at off-peak times.
British Gas, which serves over 10million households, recently extended its PeakSave Sundays scheme until December 31.
Customers can get a 50% discount on electricity used each Sunday between 11am and 4pm.
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Meanwhile, Ovo Energy, with almost five million customers, is paying £15 a month to billpayers if they reduce their usage at certain times.
Here’s everything you need to know about the two schemes.
British Gas
Thousands of British Gas customers can get paid to use their energy on Sundays through the firm’s PeakSave scheme.
Between now and December 31, eligible customers can get a 50% discount on all electricity used between 11am and 4pm.
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Demand for electricity is low on Sundays so the firm is encouraging families to use what they want during these hours rather than at peak times.
Hundreds of households have signed up for the scheme, which began on June 25, so far.
Anyone keen can register their interest via the British Gas website.
You just have to give your full name, email address and customer reference number.
British Gas will then be in touch if your application is successful.
You only have to sign up once and will be credited half of what you spend each Sunday back to your account.
It will show up as “PeakSave Credit” on your bill or online statement.
Of course, how much you could save through the scheme varies depending on what you use.
However, based on figures provided by British Gas for the average monthly cost of electricity used by a household of up to five people, you could save around £20 between now and December 31.
It might not seem like a lot, but if you are someone who uses the bulk of your energy on a Sunday, you could save even more.
Ovo Energy
Ovo Energy is paying eligible households £15 a month to reduce their energy consumption during peak times until December 31.
Those taking part in its Power Move scheme have to slash their usage between 4-7pm to less than 13.5%.
The average household uses 18% of its electricity at peak times, according to Ovo.
That means you shouldn’t have to drop your usage too much to qualify for the £15 payment.
You can sign up to the scheme via Ovo’s website, but only if you pay for your energy monthly and are an on demand customer with a smart meter that sends half-hourly readings.
You can switch to half-hourly reads through your online account.
If you signed up now, you could get paid up to £45 before the scheme closes at the end of the year.
How else to save money on energy bills
If you’re not with Ovo or British Gas, or are just looking for other ways to save money on your bills, you’ve got some options.
A number of firms offer customers grants worth up to £1,500 if they’re struggling to cover bills, including British Gas, Scottish Power and E.On.
But how much you can get will often depend on your circumstances and what firm you’re with.
It’s worth getting in touch with yours to see what help is available.
Meanwhile, you might be in line for either or both cost of living payments worth £599 or up to £300 – £899 in total.
Plus, it’s worth looking into if you can get help via the Household Support Fund (HSF), worth £842million.
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You should contact your local council to see what help is available.
You can find what council area you fall under by using the Government’s locator tool on its website.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
