Octopus Energy asks UK customers to cut power use during solar eclipse

Britain's largest household energy supplier, Octopus Energy, is asking its customers to conserve electricity this Wednesday evening during the deepest solar eclipse in nearly 30 years. The company advises customers to avoid using high-demand appliances like washing machines and dishwashers between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The eclipse is expected to significantly reduce solar power generation just as a heatwave is likely to drive up electricity demand for cooling systems. This combination could strain the national power grid.

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Household flexibility is one of Britain’s biggest untapped energy resources.

Octopus Energy is incentivizing participation by offering customers on its rewards program two free hours of electricity the following weekend. The company believes that widespread voluntary reduction in electricity use could prevent the need for the grid operator to activate additional gas-fired power stations to compensate for the lost solar energy.

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Octopus estimates homes could provide a whopping 13 gigawatts of flexible capacity to support the electricity system – particularly through smart appliances, EVs and home batteries – yet only a fraction of this potential is currently being used.

"Household flexibility is one of Britain’s biggest untapped energy resources," Octopus stated. The supplier estimates that homes could collectively provide 13 gigawatts of flexible capacity through smart appliances, electric vehicles, and home batteries, but only a small portion of this potential is currently utilized. This initiative comes after the National Energy System Operator issued a warning notice in late June due to soaring temperatures increasing demand and disrupting supplies.

Across Europe, the solar eclipse is projected to eliminate 9.7 gigawatts of power production. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets noted that Europe's power system is already under pressure from heatwaves, which have forced some nuclear and coal plants to reduce output or shut down due to low river water levels needed for cooling. Hydropower in Norway has also been affected, reaching its lowest levels in three decades.

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Europe’s electricity supply is already tight amidst the heatwave, with power plants forced to shut down or reduce production as high temperatures have reduced hydro levels as well as the need to cool nuclear and coal plants.