Power Move Plus

We want to reward our customers for taking positive actions to reduce their carbon footprint this winter. 

When you sign up to Power Move Plus, you’ll receive email notifications letting you know when the UK’s grid has the highest demand for electricity over a specific time period. We’ll then ask you to switch your non-essential electricity use to another time when the grid has less demand. 

For each Power Move Plus event, we’ll send you a personal target. You’ll need to reduce non-essential electricity use to below your personal target and away from peak times. This target will be different for each individual event.

If you reduce your electricity use below this personal target for each Power Move Plus event then you’ll receive a reward based on the amount of electricity you’ve shifted below your personal target. The amount of the reward you’ll receive will depend on the level of demand on the grid and how much non-essential electricity you can shift. You can opt in to as many events as you want to.

If you don’t reduce your electricity use below your personal target then you won’t receive a reward for that event.

We want you to move your non-essential electricity use to a time that’s convenient and safe, so please don’t leave washing machines, tumble dryers or dishwashers running overnight, or when you’re out. You can find out more about electrical safety here.

Power Move Plus is an additional benefit of Power Move, allowing you to unlock more savings off your energy bill by shifting your electricity use to greener times.

You are able to sign up to Power Move Plus alongside Power Move, either participating in both schemes or only in one. Any credit earned from Power Move Plus will be in addition to the monthly credit earned by meeting the Monthly Target for a specific Power Move challenge.

Power Move Plus events may occur at any time of the day, even outside of the 4-7pm peak window. If this happens, remember to still avoid using electricity between 4-7pm on weekdays as this will impact your progress towards the Power Move Monthly Target.

The Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) is currently running a Demand Flexibility Service (DFS). This is in collaboration with energy suppliers to help customers reduce their bills this winter and reduce demand on the grid at peak times.

Power Move Plus encompasses the ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service with notifications you’ll receive being triggered by ESO. 

For more information on the ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service and how it links with Power Move Plus please see here.

You’re only able to sign up to the DFS with one provider. If you’re signed up to Power Move Plus that means that you’re registered for the DFS with OVO Energy. You can’t be registered for the DFS with another provider.

ESO will let us know if you’re signed up with another provider. If this is the case, you’ll be registered with the provider you signed up to most recently. For example if you sign up to Power Move Plus in November, but sign up to another provider in December - you’ll technically be only signed up to the other provider. We’ll contact you to let you know you’ve been removed from Power Move Plus.

When everyone’s using power, and demand on the UK’s energy grid is high, there’s less renewable power (such as solar or wind) to go around. This means dirty fossil fuel generators need to be switched on to fill the gap to keep the lights on in the UK.

By shifting your non-essential electricity use away from peak times, you’re reducing the demand on the grid and our dependence on fossil fuels. You’ll be using electricity at times where the grid is likely to be greener.

Generating renewable energy releases less carbon into the atmosphere than burning fossil fuels. But did you know that, even though you’re on a greener energy plan, more or less carbon is released depending on what time you use the energy?

Here’s how:

When it’s windy or sunny, renewable power is pumped into the energy grid and used in homes across the UK. But if we need more energy than the wind or sun can supply, we have to top up with fossil fuel power.

At times, lots of energy is being used by a lot of people at the same time. During those peak times or days, it's more likely we'll need to top up the system with fossil fuel energy, and it’s expensive to turn on fossil fuel generators. So it’s kinder to the planet to shift our non-essential energy use away from times of high demand, even if we’re on a green energy plan. This helps the country avoid having to top up with fossil fuels.

We’ll email you a notification to tell you when the grid is going to be in high demand. We will send you an email notification to let you know a time period during a specific day (e.g. between 5pm and 6pm) when ESO thinks the grid is likely to see the highest demand.

You’ll have to opt in to each individual event to take part in it. If you don’t opt-in you won’t receive a reward for that event even if you hit your personal target so keep checking your inbox for those notifications!

We calculate your personal target using ESO’s methodology. For more information see DFS Participation Guidance Document. 

For working days – Your personal target is calculated using the half hourly electricity usage data taken from your smart meter over the last 10 working days (Mon - Fri excluding bank holidays) before an event. Days where there’s been a Power Move Plus event will not count towards the target. You must have at least 5 working days worth of data for a target to be calculated.

For non-working days (Saturday, Sunday & bank holidays) – Your personal target is calculated using the half hourly electricity usage data taken from your smart meter over the last 4 non-working days. Days where there’s been a Power Move Plus event will not count towards the target. You must have at least 4 non-working days worth of data for a target to be calculated.

This means, as your usage changes over the course of winter, so does your personal target.

• Moving your washing machine loads to another time of day or or different day 
• Carefully choosing what cooking equipment you use during the event time (with ovens and kettles using the most electricity compared to a microwave) 
• Changing when you put your dishwasher on 
• Putting your tumble dryer on at a different time of day
• Turning off devices on standby at the plug, such as games consoles, laptop monitors and chargers
• Utilising smart plugs to time devices to switch off between 4-7pm
• Switching off lights if you leave the room

To find out more information about how much electricity you could be using, please click here.

In order to be eligible for Power Move Plus you must meet the following criteria:

• have a communicating electricity smart meter that is a credit meter
• have a smart meter that is single rate (meaning you only pay a single, flat rate for your electricity) or economy-7 
• opt in to half-hourly meter readings (you can opt in to half-hourly readings via your online account)
• have an active email address
• have OVO as your energy provider

You can choose which events to opt in to. Sometimes it might not be possible to shift your usage to meet your target. If that’s the case then you don’t need to take part in that event. If you do want to take part, then you’ll need to opt in to each individual event.If you don’t opt in you won’t receive a reward for that event even if you hit your personal target.

The number of notifications you’ll receive will depend on whether ESO think there will be high demand on the grid on the same or next day. You’ll only ever receive a maximum of one email per day from us.

We’ll only be notifying you via emails for Power Move Plus events – so keep an eye out on your emails.

You’ll need to opt in at least 30 minutes before the start of the event in order to be eligible for the reward. If you opt in after this time, you won’t be eligible to receive any reward. Even if you make any changes to your electricity usage.

You must meet all the eligibility criteria for Power Move Plus at all times. If, at any time you don’t meet the eligibility criteria, including opting in to half-hourly meter reads, you won’t be able to continue taking part in Power Move Plus. You’ll receive a reward for any event you’ve participated in up until the point you became ineligible.

If you're able to reduce your electricity usage to below your personal target for each event, we’ll reward you with energy credit. You’ll earn credit for every kWh of electricity usage you shift below your target. This price will vary per event and you’ll be told what the value is on your email before you opt in. This will be paid to you in the form of a credit to your bill.

For example, the average customer uses ~10 kWh of electricity per day.

During a one hour Power Move Plus event (e.g 5-6pm) your personal target may be 0.75 kWh during this time period. The price set for that event is £3/kWh.

If you only used 0.3 kWh during this time period - you’ve successfully shifted 0.45 kWh. You’ll get a reward of £1.35. 

You can opt in to as many events as you like, so the rewards can add up.

The amount of the reward you’ll receive will depend on the level of demand on the grid and how much non-essential electricity you can shift. You can opt in to as many events as you want.

We’ll reward you with energy credit for every kWh of electricity you shift below your target. This price will vary per event and you will be told what the value is on your email before you opt in. This will be paid to you in the form of a credit to your bill.

For example, the average customer uses ~10 kWh of electricity per day.

During a one hour Power Move Plus event (e.g 5-6pm) your personal target may be 1.2 kWh during this time period.

If you only used 0.6 kWh during this time period, you’ve successfully shifted 0.6 kWh. You’ll get a reward of £1.80. The price set for that event is £3/kWh.

You can opt in to as many events as you like, so the rewards can add up.

If you don’t reduce your usage below your target then you won’t receive a reward for that event, even if you’re opted in to it.

Each month the bill credit you get as reward will vary depending on:

• The number of Power Move Plus events you’ve opted in to
• The reward value of the events you’ve opted in to
• If you’ve reduced your electricity use below your target

We’ll email you after every event to let you know how well you did and include any savings you may have made.

You’ll only receive a reward for events where you’ve reduced your usage below your personal target. If you don’t achieve this, you won’t receive any reward for that event.

You have the opportunity to be rewarded for each individual event you opt into.

The reward is applied as a credit directly to your bill. You’ll be credited each month with the sum of all rewards earned in the previous month. For example, for any rewards earned in November, you will receive an energy credit in December. Any reward earned in October will also be credited in December, alongside any credit earned in November.

There is no cash alternative. The energy credit will show as a separate line item on your bill.

We’ll let you know how you’ve done after each individual event. This will include whether you’ve earned a reward. This will be credited onto your next month’s bill.

Your Direct Debit will be unaffected by Power Move Plus rewards. We encourage you to not amend your Direct Debit as we cannot guarantee how regularly you’ll be receiving Power Move Plus notifications or the savings you’ll make.

We understand that sometimes technical issues beyond your control can happen. If we can’t get meter readings from your smart meter despite making all reasonable efforts to do so and this continues for more than 7 days, we reserve the right to remove you from Power Move Plus.

As long as you stay with OVO, you’ll need to opt in to Power Move Plus again with your new account details. You’ll need to let us know your new account details by calling 0330 303 5063.

You won’t be able to continue with Power Move Plus if you switch suppliers. We need to continuously monitor your electricity use and won’t be able to do this if you switch.

Power Move Plus is only measuring your electricity use, meaning you only need to reduce your electricity use to below your personal target on a nominated day or time period.

We don't receive readings on the hour or half-hour from smart meters. We receive readings in bulk at the end of each day which has each reading timestamped.

You can opt out at any time by pressing the opt out button on any Power Move Plus email you’ve received.

If you have any more questions about Power Move Plus, please get in touch with us by calling 0330 303 5063 to chat with one of our team.