Octopus Energy paid more than £1m to customers in its latest energy challenge.

The energy supplier said more than 400,000 customers cut down their energy usage between 4.30pm and 6pm on Tuesday.

The scheme is designed to help reduce strain on the power grid by paying customers to switch off appliances.

The average customer was paid £2.50 in special points, which entitles them to rewards, for reducing their demand by around 60% on average.

The top 5% were paid an average of £15 in points.

Customers were paid 3,200 OctoPoints per kWh reduced, the equivalent of £4.

Read more:
I tried being paid to use less electricity four times – but how much did I earn?
What is the Demand Flexibility Service and how can I save £100 off my energy bill?

Octopus said the initial data showed it had reduced the UK’s energy usage by around 250MWh – the same as the city of Liverpool going off grid for an hour.

The company said participation on Tuesday was similar to Monday, but as Tuesday’s event was higher paying and there was 30% more energy reduced than the night before, less than £1m was paid out on Monday.

The so-called Demand Flexibility Service was launched by National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) to help reduce peak demand during times when supplies are tighter than normal.

Octopus is the most active in the new scheme, though several other energy suppliers also took part in the system, which went live for the first time on Monday evening after being tested on several occasions previously.

By asking households to use electricity at slightly different times than usual, the grid does not have to pay very expensive power plants to come online and produce more power.

Experts consider it a first step towards a system where smart technology in people’s homes helps to switch usage to off-peak times, saving households money and taking pressure off the power grid.

Related posts:

Airline industry chief lashes out at EU and UK over travel restart UK must avoid inflation spike ‘like the plague’, says Bank of England’s chief economist Home sales slump in July after stamp duty holiday deadline passes ‘I can’t sleep at night’: How looming energy bill rise and Universal Credit cut hit Britain’s poorest Look past the headlines and Bank of England’s governor seems ready to flex his eyebrows Barclays lines up Cross as first female finance chief Impossible to imagine boss of P&O isn’t worried after mauling by MPs Sunak admits going to bed ‘every night’ knowing he ‘can’t solve all the problems’ people have P&O boss denies breaking law to remaining staff in leaked email Could you be replaced by a robot? ‘One in three’ businesses investing in automation amid staffing shortages ‘Strong argument’ interest rates should have been hiked sooner, business secretary says Workers at UK’s biggest container port to strike for eight days