The National grid of Britain has announced that it will now be paying customers to use less power. The body has asked for three coal-powered generators to be prepared in any case that those are needed if the country faces harsh conditions due to the cold weather.
It will also be activating a new scheme- the Demand Flexibility Service. Customers entitled to this scheme will receive incentives if they do so agree to use lesser power during the critical times.
This service has had a trial run but has not yet had run in a live situation before. It is said to run from 5 PM to 6 PM on Monday, stating that this move will not risk any electricity supplies and the body has told the people to not worry.
“We have announced these measures to ensure that everyone will get the electricity they need.”, said Craig Dyke, the Head of National Control at National Grid ESO.
He also said that the board has signed up 26 suppliers for this scheme.
Extremely low temperatures have been recorded across the country in recent days. The Met Office last week had also issued a severe weather warning for snow and ice.
Dyke also stated that the impending electricity crisis could be avoided if customers made small changes to make money by reducing and limiting their energy usage, like delaying cooking or even putting the use of washing machine until after 6 PM.
In December, when the scheme was put on papers, over a million British households had signed up for it, said Dyke.