Ovo offers £20 a month to customers who cut energy use between 4pm and 7pm

Ovo customers will be awarded up to £100 this winter if they curb their peak energy consumption as part of a new trial launching today.

The energy supplier has launched the ‘Power Move’ trial in an effort to reduce grid demand in winter over fears of nationwide power outages.

The National Grid recently warned that if Britain experiences a cold snap this winter, households could face a series of three-hour blackouts.

A survey commissioned by Ovo shows that 83 percent of households would be willing to reduce their energy consumption between 4 and 7 p.m. for possible cashback.

This rises to 90 per cent for those earning less than £20,000 a year, it said.

The trial, which runs until March 2023, will reward households up to £100 – or £20 a month – for moving ‘non-essential’ energy consumption to off-peak hours outside the hours of 4 and 7 p.m.

The money is credited monthly to the customer’s Ovo account if they achieve the target.

A household with typical energy consumption at the current rate with a maximum rate of £2,500 per year will pay just over £208 per month for their electricity and gas, so the incentive could potentially save them 10 per cent of their bill.

It’s because UK households are concerned about their ability to pay their energy bills this winter.

A new comprehensive survey from the Financial Conduct Authority finds that six out of ten people struggle to keep track of their accounts.

The survey found that paying bills was a “heavy” burden for 7.8 million people, an additional 2.5 million people since 2020.

And there could be even more pain in the bills, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in October that the energy price guarantee that locks the price cap at £2,500 for the average household would end in April, instead of lasting two years.

Households can already reduce the cost of using appliances by switching to an Economy 7 fare, which charges different energy rates depending on the time of day.

If you use more power at night than during the day, you can save a lot.

However, the daily rate is usually higher than average, so the savings can be negated if you use too much power during peak times.

Ovo has reduced its peak demand to between 4 and 7 p.m. The data shows that the average household uses 19 percent of the daily total consumption during these times.

“In these times of peak demand, there is often not enough renewable energy to get by, and so a dirtier carbon-heavy flow comes in to fill the gap,” Ovo said.

Raman Bhatia, chief executive of OVO, added: “We are entering a critical moment for the UK energy sector and we need a resilient grid to support households this winter.

“It’s a testament to our customers’ willingness to support new trials and engage with their use that we’ve surpassed the target of test subjects.

“We hope the results of this trial will give customers a deeper understanding of how to support the wider system, with potential savings to help over the winter.”