The British energy company asked consumers to turn off their lights for one hour and not make paid tea. The request is part of a wider plan to prevent blackouts. Not everyone can participate in the experiment and you can’t get rich from it, says British correspondent Lia van Bekhoven.

Requests are valid for Monday evenings between 17:00 and 18:00 and are part of the Request Flexibility Service. ‘If you turn off almost everything and therefore don’t do the laundry, don’t use the dishwasher and light a candle instead of lighting the light, then you can get 12 euros in the most favorable case,’ says Van Bekhoven. And that only applies to people who have a smart meter in their meter cupboard and have signed up for the project. “It won’t make you rich.”

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An experiment in which people were compensated when they used less energy was devised last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “One million customers and energy companies have now signed up for this,” said Van Bekhoven. This program was also attended by 26 suppliers, including British Gas, EoN, Octopus Energy and EDF.

The reason for doing this experiment today was the cold weather. In the UK code yellow applies to some parts of the country, many flights are now at Heathrow airport late.

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Wind energy

This experiment is seen more as a precautionary measure, and therefore not a long-term solution. ‘Every country is working on a structural solution to the energy crisis, the UK is investing heavily in wind energy and in 7 years the country wants to generate enough wind energy for all the households in the country,’ said Van Bekhoven.