The big six supplier said the ‘FreeTime’ tariff, which will be fixed until 2018, is its cheapest dual-fuel offering.
It said it has trialled the tariff with thousands of customers who reported changing their behaviour as a result of the switch. On average participants shaved £60 off their annual bills by shifting their energy use.
Managing director of UK home at British Gas Sarwjit Sambhi said: “FreeTime is an industry first and will give our customers greater control of their energy use. British Gas is leading the nationwide rollout of smart meters, and now we’re the first to launch a smart plan that offers free electricity at weekends.
“This will be the first of many smart meter innovations from British Gas which will also contribute to managing the country’s demand for power from the national grid.”
So far British Gas has installed 2.4 million smart meters in customers’ homes.
Energy bills could rise by as much as £265 per year as a number of duel fuel tariffs end this summer, price comparison website GoCompare said last month.