A thousand homeowners in London are taking part in a trial where they get alerts about day-ahead electricity prices.

The aim of the trial is to find out if households are prepared to do their washing, baking and other electricity-intensive tasks when green electricity is plentiful and cheap – for example when the wind is blowing.

The 1,100 of supplier EDF Energy’s customers who have smart meters will receive variable day-ahead electricity prices through text or a small in-home display linked to their smart meter.

The prices trial which was designed by UK Power Networks, EDF Energy and Imperial College London could help manage electricity network constraints such as a fault or maintenance. It could also let customers benefit from lower prices.

Professor Goran Strbac, from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial said: “It is crucial that we understand the role that residential consumers can play in the development of smarter electricity systems that will facilitate cost-effective evolution to a low carbon future.”