UK Plans to Encourage Households to Shift Electricity Usage During Renewable Energy Surpluses

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:17:00 +0200

The UK government plans to ask households to increase their electricity consumption during periods of surplus renewable energy this summer. The initiative aims to balance the national power grid and reduce energy costs by encouraging activities such as running dishwashers, washing machines, or charging electric vehicles when wind and solar output exceeds demand. Energy suppliers may support this effort by offering discounted or even free electricity during these periods. While some suppliers already provide off-peak pricing to over 2 million households, this marks the first coordinated effort by the system operator to use consumer behavior to manage grid load. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) hopes this approach will prevent expensive curtailment payments for turning off wind and solar farms when demand is low. Discussions among energy experts highlight the need for large-scale battery storage to make the system more resilient. Some households have already participated in sim