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British Homes to Receive Payment for Use of Green Electricity during Lockdown

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Thousands of homes in Britain will be paid in order to use power during the daytime as electricity produced by solar and wind power surges during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Windfarms accounted for almost 40% of the electricity produced in the UK on Sunday morning, with solar plants contributing almost 20%. In contrast, fossil fuel-based electricity accounted for less than 15% of power, with 1.1% coming from coal-fired plants.

The demand for electricity in the UK has dropped by around 10% during the lockdown, leading to the lowest market prices for electricity for the last decade. This is due to restaurants, pubs, factories, and companies being shut down across the country.

Households on a particular energy tariff will be paid for their electricity usage on Sunday as the breeze and sunny weather generated an abundance of green energy.

These ‘negative electricity prices’ are usually only available overnight, which is when demand tends to be at its lowest. However, the changes to supply and demand as a result of the coronavirus lockdown has meant that some homes will actually be able to make money during the day for using clean electricity.

Customers on Octopus Energy’s Agile Octopus tariff were notified on Saturday that they would actually be paid for their electricity usage during the sunny hours of Sunday afternoon.

The company said that households would earn between 0.22p and 3.3p per kilowatt hour they used between the hours of 11am and 4pm in order to encourage them to utilise the abundance of clean energy in the UK.

Analysts at Cornwall Insight claim that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the UK experiencing a fall in electricity demand of between 9 and 13 percent.

Home energy usage has increased as more people stay at home, however there has been a reduced demand for services which typically have a ‘large electrical load’. This includes railways, shops, and factories.

Those with variable energy deals that track wholesale energy markets also stand to make some savings on their energy bills over this time period.

The lockdown, combined with a dip in the global market price of gas over the last year, has caused the wholesale price of UK electricity to fall by a third since January to just £28 per megawatt hour last week. This is also significantly lower than the £44 per megawatt hour recorded this time 12 months ago.

Harry Pererra
Harry Pererra

Harry turns on his experience in journalism and programming to write about the latest news in the world of tech and the environemtn. When he isn’t writing for usave he is working towards his Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and prefers dogs to cats.

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