We have been doing it and over the last 3 sessions I have been credited with £7.97. This time I doubt if we will save much as we don't normally use much electricty between 5-6pm.
According to my supplier, Octopus,
Quote:
First, we need to work out your ‘normal energy use’ at the time of each Saving Session - so we can then compare it to what you use during the Session to work out your saving. There’s a strict formula we have to follow set by the National Grid.
We first look at your meter readings from the same time as the Session over the past 10 weekdays (excluding any days with a Saving Session). We use those to find the average amount of electricity you typically use then.
One final step: we have to adjust for your energy use on the day of the Session. This adjustment is a check to make sure you actually used some power at other times that day. It works by weighting your ‘normal energy use’ figure based on your readings from earlier in the day. If you use energy as normal, your normal use figure should stay the same.
But if, say, you switch off every plug on the morning of the Session and don’t get back til after its finished, your readings for the day of the Session will be unusually low, bringing your normal energy use down.
So even though your energy use during the Session is much lower than what you used at that time in the past 10 days, it’s not really lower than the energy you used during the day.
This means that some people who prepare for their Saving Session by switching off hours in advance might end up earning slightly less during their Sessions. We can’t change how we calculate this (it’s a requirement to be part of the grid’s project!) But, we have asked National Grid to consider changing the in-day adjustment calculation so it doesn’t negatively impact the Savers that prepare further in advance.
+The money customers can earn in this project is paid by National Grid – it’s a reward for helping to keep the energy grid in balance by switching off at the busiest times. Which makes sense: when energy demand is high, it’s much cheaper to pay people to use a bit less power than it is to pay fossil fuel generators to switch on at short notice!
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