British Gas to slash energy prices for thousands of customers this weekend – see if you can save
THOUSANDS of lucky customers will have their electricity slashed by 50 per cent this weekend.
British Gas will be be offering customers half price electricity at 11:30 and 1:30 on Saturday and Sunday with its Green Flex event.
With Green Flex events, customers get half-price electricity when it is very sunny or windy and there is lots of renewable energy available.
This is in addition to its usual half price electricity on Sunday between 11am and 4pm for qualifying customers.
The scheme first launched in December 2022 but has been extended multiple times since.
British Gas uses its own forecasting to set the events to test the potential savings and impact on the grid with this scheme.
The discount is available to new and existing PeakSave customers, and all savings will appear as a credit on customers’ energy bills.
So far, British Gas has paid over £13 million to more than 650,000 customers taking part in the scheme.
Crucially, you can only sign up to the scheme if you have a smart meter that can send half-hourly meter readings.
Smart meters come with a display that shows your gas and electricity use in pounds and pence in real-time.
Their major advantage is that they let you more accurately track how your household habits affect your energy usage.
British Gas says if you don’t have a smart meter, it will install one for free in your home.
Other help to pay for energy bills
If you’re not with British Gas, Ovo Energy has a similar scheme which rewards customers for reducing their energy consumption during peak times.
Power Move offers customers up to £10 a month if they cut their usage between 6-9pm, Monday to Friday.
For example, by using the dishwasher in the morning or waiting until after 9pm in the evening to catch up on TV.
You might be able to get free home insulation or have other energy-saving measures installed in your property through the Energy Company Obligation.
The scheme is designed to help low-income households on certain benefits such as Universal Credit, Child Benefit and Housing Benefit.
The Government previously told The Sun households eligible for the scheme save around £600 to £700 on their bills each year after having energy-saving measures put in place.
You can find out more on the scheme via the Government’s website.
You might also be able to get help via the Household Support Fund which has been extended by six months until the end of September.
The fund has been shared between councils in England who then allocate their portion to those in need.
That means what you can get depends on where you live and can be a bit of a postcode lottery.
However, the help is usually dished out to those on a low income or benefits.
You should contact your local council to see what help is available.
You can find your nearest council by using the Government’s council locator tool.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.