My energy use for the entire month averages only £20-25 excluding the standing charge - less than a pound a day. At that time not usually watching TV, cooking or using cleaning appliances. The only things likely to be on are a lamp, the radio, my laptop and router, the fridge and a kettle for a hot drink. A kettle is the highest energy user among those things. I already have a vacuum kettle which keeps boiled water hot enough for drinks for up to four hours so I could time not switching that on to fit around the scheme.
The terms of the scheme say whatever you earn, we'll double it! And, if you only save a little electricity, we'll make sure you earn at least £1 for every session you save. If I were with BG and was asked to participate, that would probably be me as there's not much saving I could make based on how little I already use.
BG make it clear:
We don’t want you to sit in the dark, let the freezer defrost or do anything unsafe like turning off any medical equipment. It’s all about the little things we can do to use less electricity at peak times.
They say households could save up to £100:
£100 saving uses the same assumptions as above [re how to save energy], but assumes you’re a household with high annual electricity usage and on average use 1.5kWh of electricity between 5pm to 7pm; you take part in 25 turn-down events; you reduce your consumption by 80%; you earn £4/kWh per event.
I am all for energy saving initiatives, for people to be more aware of how much energy they use. I can see how a household with children could save but equally I can’t see many families committing to 25 events and that amount of change to their normal routines at any time of day but especially the times when most are coming in after a busy day at work and school.
