Brits could be paid for not using electrical appliances in peak hours

Households with smart meters could be paid not to use their electrical appliances at peak times this winter.

Brits could end up making money from keeping certain devices switched off at certain times of what is expected to be a difficult winter.

People could be paid as much as £6 for every kilowatt per hour they save between 5pm and 8pm, which are thought of as peak times for Brits' energy usage.

Devices which people may be asked to avoid using if they can help it include games consoles, dishwashers and tumble dryers which all eat up quite a bit of energy while in use.

The National Grid Electricity System Operator are intending to apply to Ofgem for approval of the plan and hope it will be up and running by late October.

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A spokesperson for the National Grid said: "We are developing a new service that will be available for consumers to benefit from across this winter and will be announcing further information soon."

This scheme follows a trial for Octopus Energy customers earlier in the year who were paid 20p for every kilowatt-hour saved.

A range of prices are being considered for the scheme, so don't get too giddy about the possibility of being paid as much as £6 because it might end up being less.

This plan is being proposed to ward off the risk of blackouts this winter as 'planned blackouts' to cope with an electrical shortage in the winter are being touted as a 'reasonable worst case scenario'.

Reduced gas supplies caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have hit energy supplies, while hot weather has also hampered nuclear and hydroelectric power generation.

All this adds up to less electricity to go around, and during peak times in the winter when demand is greatest there might not be enough for everyone.

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For reference, a kilowatt-hour of energy would keep an electric shower going for a few minutes or have a dishwasher going for less than an hour.

Some of your household electrical appliances use up more energy than you think, especially ones which sit on standby mode for long periods of time.

Heating is one of the most expensive things to run, which is why winter is such a strain on thinly stretched energy supplies.

The average cost of energy bills for Brits stands at £1,971 per year right now, but that figure is set to rise sharply in October when the price cap rises.

It's currently forecast to almost double, potentially shooting up to £3,500 a year or more from October onwards and possibly going beyond £4,000 when the cap changes again in January.

Brits will get to know more on Friday (26 August) when Ofgem confirms what the price cap will be for October onwards.

Ofgem have also urged people not to stop paying their energy bills despite massive increases in prices which many cannot afford.

The government have insisted it would be unlikely for Brits to experience weather conditions as serious as rolling blackouts throughout the winter, so get prepared for the possibility of rolling blackouts throughout the winter.