Could you be paid to sit in the dark?

A couple of years ago, when we were all ordered to stay at home to avoid spreading the Covid virus, it was feared that the UK public’s demand for electricity would be more than the National Grid could cope with. Comparisons to 1978/79’s winter of discontent were made, in which some companies were forced to adapt to a limited supply of electricity, by working a three-day week.

We haven’t seen this scenario repeated…yet. However, the National Grid have recently taken steps to negate such a situation, i.e. demand for electricity outstripping supply.

The Energy Saving Scheme was introduced in 2022, aimed at households with smart meters—households that would receive a discount on their energy bills if their consumption was significantly less during periods of great demand. For example, if they run their washing machine or dishwasher during the early hours or cook their evening meal later than the norm during a savings session.

Though the scheme has been publicised for quite a while now, the first session was on Monday January 23, between 5pm and 6pm, with a second on Tuesday January 24, between 4.30pm – 6pm. Designed to relieve pressure on the grid, the scheme hopes that a significant number of households that signed up to the scheme will take part, as doing so remains voluntary.

Whilst this seems a good idea for households that are happy to delay/rearrange their routine to incorporate these energy sessions, it may not be as good a deal as it sounds. One person repeated what her energy supplier told her, that if she was able to reduce her consumption by 20%, she would qualify for a 5p discount on her bill. As you’d imagine, she wasn’t sure the sacrifice would be worth it.

There’s little doubt that a lot of households will be coping with the wintry weather very differently this year, compared to previous ones. In my house, my eldest daughter and I always feel the cold, whereas my youngest and her dad could walk round in T-shirts amid the same temperature. In previous years, I would absent-mindedly turn the thermostat up if I felt cold (despite already wearing a couple of fluffy layers and a bodywarmer), not that our central heating system made things feel that much warner. I’d then stick the gas fire on too, before diving under a woolly throw. By this point, I’d feel relatively warm.

Now that the price of energy has shot up, this practice had to stop. Overnight, our central heating thermostat used to be set at 19 degrees and put to a constant 23 degrees during the day, whether we were at home or at work. Now, it’s set at 19 degrees during the day, only if we’re going to be in the house; otherwise, it’s set at a constant 16 degrees.

I’ve made a couple of purchases this year that have been worth their weight in gold. Firstly, a special belt, which straps a hot water bottle to my body, and also two electric blankets (we save the blankets for the evening as we’re typically moving about during the daytime at home). I’m amazed at how good these £18 items have proved. Costing 3p an hour to run, the electric blankets are effective enough that we don’t need any other heating on when we’re under them. I’m spoilt in that I have a heavy duvet, so I’m sorted when in bed, but my daughter takes one of the electric blankets up with her when she goes to bed (to be fair, her bedroom is the coldest in the house).

My bills have remained, more or less, at the same level as any other winter, though I know that, without these energy-saving initiatives, they would have been much, much higher. That said, in return for my money, I haven’t felt warm and snug much this winter…the colder months have, so far, just been an active exercise in not freezing to death. I do think that the situation has made me a little hardier to a cooler temperature, but it’s not a nice feeling or an achievement to celebrate, in my eyes. My husband and I work damn hard, and to not even be able to properly meet one of our basic human needs when all our other bills are paid is, frankly, pants. I hate this government. I hate the people who couldn’t give a toss about how the average person is coping whilst they fill their boots with gold (Nadhim Zahawi…this week, I’m looking at you. You’re at least in good company with the rest of the scummy ‘elite’ you’re surrounded by. You’re all lower than a snake’s belly, you pathetic, immoral, gluttonous scoundrels.)

I’m actually feeling a little warmer, now that adrenalin and my hatred for the Tories are coursing through my veins.

The Energy Saving Scheme sounds good in principle, but it must reward people better, given what they have to go without to ensure the grid can meet continuous demand. If any of them were, like me, forced to go without any source of heating for even an hour, they’d be as stiff as a board by the time it would be switched back on—and all for 5p! Wow!

Get real.