News story

UK’s first ever auction to reduce demand on electricity takes place today

The UK’s first ever Electricity Demand Reduction (EDR) auction is taking place today.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

This will give organisations the chance to bid for government funding to reduce their energy demand.

The funding available will go towards energy saving schemes, this could include replacing light bulbs with more efficient LED bulbs, for example.

The scheme will test whether organisations can provide lasting electricity savings at peak times of demand. This is typically during the winter when the evenings get darker quicker, so more electricity is being used as more lights are switched on in offices and at home. It is hoped that in the long term these organisations could compete in the Capacity Market, acting to reduce the need for extra electricity generation at peak times which is when the capacity market comes into effect.

There is up to £10m of funding available for organisations to bid for through this auction with a further auction expected next year when more money will be available.

The winners of the auction will be announced on Wednesday 4th February.

The auction process is being observed by an independent, external monitor who will verify the auction process and the results.

Published 29 January 2015