Families braved the freezing cold as they played board games, wrapped Christmas presents and did jigsaw puzzles by candlelight to help the country save energy.
Customers were asked to limit their electricity and gas usage for two hours on Monday evening, amid below freezing conditions across the country.
National Grid said they won’t know how many people took part in the latest of their 12 planned tests, and the first two-hour one, for at least two weeks.
But dozens of keen energy-savers have taken to social media to show how they donned head torches, lit candles and, for the lucky ones, started up their log-burning fires, as they switched off their lights and heating for two hours between 5pm and 7pm.
Families braved the freezing cold as they played board games, wrapped Christmas presents and did jigsaw puzzles by candle and torchlight to help the country save energy
Customers were asked to limit their electricity and gas usage for two hours on Monday evening, amid below freezing conditions across the country
Some parents looked on the bright side and commented on how it was a nice excuse to spend some time as a family, as children put down their electronic devices and instead joined their parents for games of Monopoly and snakes and ladders.
Others took the opportunity to get ahead with the Christmas wrapping, sit down with a good book or even enjoy some TV- for those who were savvy enough to make sure their laptops were fully charged before the clock struck 5.
But others complained that the test had fallen on one of the coldest evenings of the year so far, with temperatures expected to go as low as -17C in parts of Scotland tonight.
Dozens of keen energy-savers have taken to social media to show how they donned head torches, lit candles and, for the lucky ones, started up their log-burning fires, as they switched off their lights and heating for two hours between 5pm and 7pm
Some parents looked on the bright side and commented on how it was a nice excuse to spend some time as a family, as children put down their electronic devices and instead joined their parents for games of Monopoly and snakes and ladders
One woman said: ‘Energy saving sessions make me miserable. I sit in the dark with no power on for two hours so my mum can save about £1. I feel like a Victorian child.’
Another, who said it was -7C where she lives, shared a picture of her numb hands as she counted down the length of time left before she could turn her heating back on.
The National Grid tests encourage people to cut back on their energy use during peak demand hours- when prices reach record highs.
Octopus Energy, Drax and Eon are all taking part in the scheme, in a bid to avoid potential blackouts throughout the rest of the winter.
Some took the opportunity to get ahead with the Christmas wrapping, sit down with a good book or even enjoy some TV- for those who were savvy enough to make sure their laptops were fully charged before the clock struck 5
Some complained that the test had fallen on one of the coldest evenings of the year so far, with temperatures expected to go as low as -17C in parts of Scotland tonight
Households and businesses which reduce their electricity consumption earn money for every unit of power they don’t use, in comparison to their normal usage.
But some people have complained that for those who try to use as little energy as possible on a daily basis, there is less potential for them to earn money during these saving sessions.
One Octopus Energy customer said: ‘Just wondering… what do you turn off in these saving sessions if you already have the heating off all day ad night because your prices are so ridiculous?’
Another revealed that he has started charging his house battery during peak times so that he is able to make a profit on the days he is meant to cut back.
But some people have complained that for those who try to use as little energy as possible on a daily basis, there is less potential for them to earn money during these saving sessions
Octopus Energy said their customers were paid £1million for reducing their energy usage during the company’s first four ‘Saving Sessions’.
Over a quarter of a million customers took part in each of the hour-long sessions and in total nearly half a million customers have signed up to the scheme so far.
While £1million sounds like a lot, each customer can expect to only save a few pounds during each of the sessions.
Octopus said that the top 5 per cent of participants earned an average of £4.27 during each of the one-hour shifts.
A National Grid spokesperson told MailOnline it would not be able to tell how successful last night’s switch off was in comparison to the previous four sessions until it gets all the data in from the participating companies, which could take a few weeks.
Meanwhile, National Grid has stood down two coal plants that it had on standby to generate electricity in case supplies were disrupted last night.
Britain’s electricity grid operator said it had asked the winter ‘contingency’ plants to prepare for operation to ‘give the public confidence in Monday’s energy supply’.
It said the plans meant the coal-fired stations could be used as ‘tools for additional contingency’ as needed to allow the network to run as usual.
However, it said the units would not be needed as there was ‘adequate available contingency’ to power households across the country.
The UK faces its biggest energy test yet with the current cold snap – which has seen the country suffer freezing temperatures and snow in many areas – ramping up demand for power at a time when supplies are tight.
The grid had prepared two Drax stations in North Yorkshire for use this evening, which are among five put on standby under so-called winter contingency contracts, with others run by EDF and Uniper.
The two units are each said to be capable of generating around 570 megawatts – adding more than 1.1 gigawatts to the grid if used.
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