Payments for businesss to switch off

A business electricity supplier has announced a programme that will reward customers for using less energy during peak times. SmartestEnergy has agreed to provide demand side response (DSR) capacity in […]

A business electricity supplier has announced a programme that will reward customers for using less energy during peak times.

SmartestEnergy has agreed to provide demand side response (DSR) capacity in the UK Government’s Capacity Market auction next year.

Those customers that sign up to its new service will receive payments for reducing energy use when demand on the grid is high.

Businesses can, for example, switch off refrigeration equipment in cold stores for several hours without temperature levels rising too high, it said.

Chief Executive Robert Groves added: “Demand side response offers an exciting opportunity for the businesses we work with to turn their energy use into an asset and make significant savings.

“At a time when larger businesses are increasingly looking to be more responsible over their energy use, it also has wider benefits in terms of making energy demand more responsive and sustainable, reducing CO2 emissions and helping the nation avoid the risk of blackouts.”

The company is licensing software from EnergyNOC to deliver the service, which includes technical set up, performance monitoring and payments.

Earlier this year National Grid told ELN it expects to invest up to £400 million by 2020 on DSR programmes.

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