A MAJOR energy supplier is giving thousands of customers half-price electricity this month.
Selected British Gas customers can get 50% off all electricity used each Sunday between 11am and 4pm until September 24.
AlamyBritish Gas is giving customers 50% off their bills to use energy during off-peak times[/caption]
The Summer Sundays scheme which was launched in June forms part of its Peak Save programme.
The scheme rewards customers for their energy consumption at times when demand is lower.
Demand for electricity is particularly low on Sundays, so it is encouraging customers to use as much as they need during these hours rather than at peak times.
The scheme, which began on June 25, launched to around 150,000 households – but you can still sign up if you haven’t already.
You can register your interest on the British Gas website by giving your full name, email address and customer reference number.
British Gas will then get in touch if you’re accepted on the scheme.
You’ll then be able to use as much electricity as you want at a discounted rate over the five-hour window on Sundays.
How much can I save?
While there is no obligation to shift your normal activities on the scheme, households can save more by doing more energy-intensive tasks on a Sunday
For example, British Gas said households using an electric oven for two hours each Sunday could save £8.90 in total over the summer.
Meanwhile, customers can save around £5.37 over the same timeframe if they use a tumble dryer for one hour a week.
The full list of activities and the estimated savings are:
Watching television – £1.27Drinking 10 cups of tea/coffee – 99pTwo hours using electric oven – £8.90One hour using electric hob – £4.24One hour spent vacuuming £2.97One hour using washing machine – £4.52One hour using tumble dryer – £5.37Two hours playing video games – 99p
What do other energy suppliers offer?
Ovo Energy will pay eligible customers £10 a month if they reduce their energy consumption during peak times.
Those taking part in its Power Move scheme will need to cut their usage between the peak hours of 4pm-7pm to less than 12.5%.
That’s the equivalent of moving four loads of washing each week from on-peak to off-peak hours.
Or three dishwasher loads later on in the evening.
The average household uses 18% of its electricity at peak times so by reducing this to 12.5% or below, over one million eligible Ovo Energy customers can be credited £10 a month.
You can join a Power Move challenge if you’re an Ovo pay monthly and on-demand customer with a smart meter that’s sending half-hourly readings.
Octopus Energy customers who signed up for the supplier’s “Power-ups” scheme were paid to use as much electricity as they wanted to during a two-hour window on August 18.
Some customers earned upwards of £17 and the top 5% earned at least £4.80 during the period.
The savings are paid to customers as energy credits and applied directly to their bills.
The scheme, which is open to customers living in specific postcodes, provides participants with free electricity when there is excess renewable energy on the grid.
Based on UK Power Networks’ forecasts, Octopus sends customers a notification of the times they can “Power-up” their homes for free a day in advance.
Customers are then rewarded with a refund on the typical cost of this energy during the free usage time period.