GET PAID TO USE LESS POWER! OVO offers 1.5 million customers payment for using less power in peak times

• OVO launches Power Move to pay customers for using less power between peak hours of 4 and 7pm
• In one month alone, customers could collectively earn *£15 million by completing the challenge
• The launch makes OVO the first and only provider to commit to consistently paying customers all-year-round for shifting energy use out of peak hours to times when the grid is greener
• And it follows successful trials over winter, where OVO paid customers almost £150,000 and delivered carbon savings of 22.3 tonnes
• Shifting energy consumption out of peak times will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels, this winter

22nd August 2023, London: Today, OVO announces the launch of Power Move, rewarding customers for shifting electricity usage out of peak times (4-7pm) to times when the grid is greener.

More than 1.5 million customers could collectively earn £15 million per month by completing the summer challenge. Customers will be rewarded £10 per month for reducing electricity consumption to 12.5% of their daily usage, between 4 and 7pm. 

This reduction is roughly equivalent to an **average household moving one of the following activities from peak to off-peak:

• Cooking one meal in the oven for an hour, per week
• Three dishwasher loads per week 
• Four loads of washing per week 

The Power Move challenges and rewards will be adjusted each season, based on the time of year and average consumption rates, to maximise rewards for customers. 

OVO trialled Power Move over the winter period and paid customers almost £150,000 for shifting 164,179 kWh out of peak time. The trial also delivered carbon savings of 22.3 tonnes by moving energy usage to times of day when the grid is greener.

Data from OVO shows that demand on the energy grid is highest between 4 and 7pm each day, when households use a fifth (19%) of their daily total usage. At these times of peak demand, there’s often not enough renewable energy to go around, meaning dirtier, carbon-heavy power fires up to fill the gap. 

Natalie Harris, 52 years old, from Bristol, took part in the trial and commented: “ OVO paid me £80 last winter for making simple changes that reduced demand on the grid.  This meant I was able to treat myself when I did my weekly shop. I’ve tried to keep up the good habits I made, for example I’m more conscious of when I run the washing machine and I try not to put the oven on during peak hours. I would definitely sign up to Power Move again because I like to do my bit for the planet and the savings are a lot of money for me.”

Mat Moakes, Chief Commercial Officer, OVO, said: 

“Changing what time of day you put the washing machine on might seem small, but our Power Move trials showed these small acts can make a massive impact. That’s why we’re paying customers to move their energy use out of peak times, to times of day when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. This is all part of our commitment to help make our customers’ homes, as well as the energy system, greener.”

END

Notes to Editors

*£10 monthly reward x 1.5 million customers,

** Based on a reduction of peak usage from 18.1%-12.5%, Ofgem’s typical annual electricity use for a 2-3 bed house 2900 kWh, and: 

• A washing machine using 0.8kWh per cycle. Equates to 3.38 kWh per week = 4 washing machine loads
• A dishwasher using 1.04kWh per cycle. Equates to 3.38 kWh per week = 3 dishwasher loads
• An oven using 3kWh. Equates to 3.38 kWh per week = 1 dinner cooked in the oven for one hour per week

Customer information:

• Please find more information on the website here. 
• And full T&Cs can be found here.

About OVO

OVO was founded in 2009 and redesigned the energy experience to be fair, effortless, green and simple for all customers. OVO was awarded Company of the Decade at the BusinessGreen Leaders’ Awards and has won multiple awards, including Innovation Project of the Year, for investing in the market leading technology, customer service operations and digital products to help customers cut their carbon emissions. OVO won the award for Best Place to Work for Women and came Top 10 for Very Big Organisation in The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Work 2023 for offering forward thinking policies and better flexibility for everyone to balance work with life. OVO is on a mission through its sustainability strategy Plan Zero to tackle the most important issue of our time; the climate crisis, by bringing our customers with us on the journey towards zero carbon living. OVO has committed to being a net zero carbon business and achieve bold science-based carbon reduction targets, while helping customers reduce their household emissions at the same time.