Even the Daily Mail has come round to Demand Response.
Now they praise the power cutters that are shaking up Britain’s energy market. Is the time ripe for Demand Response?
A recent report by the National Infrastructure Commission says consumers can save £8bn if we all make our electricity consumption flexible — you get paid to sometimes not use electricity. These schemes, called Demand Response, have been around in industry for many years. They are now also becoming accessible for small businesses and households.
Last year the idea of paying large power users to temporarily switch off was bonkers.
But earlier this year this formidable paper published a more nuanced view of the market.
UK energy doesn’t always generate positive headlines. Every winter we have warnings about blackouts, as old power plants are being retired. At the same time, it becomes harder to adjust power generation to demand as we move away from fossil fuels — the wind blows when it blows, the sun shines when it shines.
As a result, The National Grid pays users to lower their electricity consumption when there’s too much strain on the system. That’s called Demand Response. Large power users, the steel plants, flour mills, refrigerated warehouses and office parks are already getting paid millions to temporarily switch off in order to avoid blackouts.
The kit to do this has in the past been very expensive. But new technologies, such as wireless smart plugs and switches, now make it possible for smaller loads to be connected.
There are 2.5m homes in the UK with electric heating. They could earn up to £100 per year. A restaurant would be a £1,000 better off, and a supermarket £5,000. That’s about 10% off your electricity bill.
Looking at it another way — if all 20m household fridges were connected, we would not need the new Hinkley Point C.
The government says that if we all signed up, together we could save up to £300m in costs and 1m tonnes of CO2 per year.
And now The Daily Mail is not against it anymore. Which must make it a really good idea.
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