Northern Powergrid partners with app provider to entice domestic flexibility

Northern Powergrid has partnered with Equiwatt to enable households to participate in its flexibility tenders.

Equiwatt’s smart phone app rewards customers for reducing their consumption during periods of peak demand with points that can be redeemed for high street vouchers or donated to charity.

Users are aggregated together into a “virtual power plant”, which Equiwatt will enter into Northern Powergrid’s flexibility tenders as part of a new trial.

Equiwatt said customers in Northern Powergrid’s licence areas in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire will be rewarded for reducing their consumption during “powerDOWN” events each day between 4.30pm and 7pm, and could earn up to £35 of points during the trial period.

Maurice Lynch, head of system Flexibility, Northern Powergrid said: “The start of a new year brings exciting opportunities for our customers to help shape and be part of our drive towards a smarter and more flexible net zero energy system.

“We’re proud to announce our flexibility service partnership with Equiwatt which will see customers being rewarded for reducing demand on the network during peak times. This will help us to manage the network in a smarter and more efficient way that maximises cost efficiency for our customers.”

Johnson Fernandes, founder and chief executive of Equiwatt, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Northern Powergrid and help empower its 8 million customers to save energy when it matters most.

“Our powerDOWN scheme is accessed via a free and easy to use app and invites customers to register for peak-time notifications. Households can then reduce their energy usage during powerDOWN events and earn points, in exchange for rewards in our app gift store.

“Put simply, our smart technology enables customers to tailor their energy usage and helps reduce their carbon footprint.”

Scottish Power launched a white-labelled version of Equiwatt’s app in December to enable its customers to participate in the Electricity System Operator’s Demand Flexibility Service this winter.

In June, Northern Powergrid signed a two-year deal with Piclo to use its Piclo Flex marketplace to procure flexibility services.