Use more at lunch, use less by teatime: households asked to do both on the same day, as requests to change electricity use hit a record
Requests to cut evening use went out on 59 of the last 92 days, the busiest stretch on record. On eight days, households were asked to use more power in the afternoon and less the same evening.
Households taking part in the national grid operator's flexibility scheme were asked to cut their evening electricity use on 59 of the 92 days between 29 June and 28 September. That is the busiest three months since the scheme began in 2022, according to new analysis of grid operator data by home battery company Juicy (juicy.energy).
Since April, households can also be asked to increase their use when there is surplus power. On eight days, including Saturday 5 September, they were asked to use more in the afternoon and cut back the same evening.
The requests are issued by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) through its Demand Flexibility Service. Around 20 energy suppliers and aggregators pass them on to customers who have signed up, usually as short sessions in their energy app with a reward for taking part. Not every household receives every request, and taking part is voluntary.
Too much for a busy household to manage
On sunny, windy afternoons Britain can have more electricity than it needs. By early evening, as the sun sets and demand peaks, supply is tight again. The Demand Flexibility Service asks households to help balance that swing, and those requests have gone from occasional to near daily.
The evening sessions fall just as people get home, cook dinner and look after their families. Responding means watching for notifications, then remembering to switch appliances on in the afternoon and off again a few hours later, day after day.
Olly Jones, co-founder and chief executive of Juicy, said:
"Households are now being asked to change how they use electricity almost every day, and sometimes twice in the same day. Using more at lunchtime and less by teatime makes sense for the grid, but busy families can't keep checking an app and switching things on and off around their day."
Key findings (29 June to 28 September 2026)
Two days in three: requests to cut back went out on 59 days. The previous high for any three-month period was 49, and the same period in 2025 had 42.
Use more, then use less: households were asked to increase their use on 36 days since April. On eight of them, they were asked to use more in the afternoon and cut back the same evening.
Record months: September had requests on 25 days by the 28th, the most of any month since the scheme launched. August had 20.
No let-up: requests to cut back went out every day from 13 to 22 September, equalling the longest unbroken run on record.
Taking the burden off households
The technology to respond automatically already exists. A home battery can charge when power is plentiful and run the house through the evening peak, answering both kinds of request in the background. The household earns the rewards without changing when it cooks, washes or charges the car.
Olly Jones added:
"The grid needs households to be flexible, and it's willing to reward them for it. But that shouldn't mean living by an app. With the price cap rising again this month, households need smarter and easier ways to save, not more chores. The answer is to let technology do the work, so households get the benefit without the hassle. That's possible in homes today.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Methodology. Juicy analysed public data from NESO, Britain's grid operator, published on the NESO Data Portal under its Open Data Licence. The period is 29 June to 28 September 2026, compared with the same dates in 2025.
Figures cover Demand Flexibility Service live events only, excluding tests. A "day with requests" is any day with at least one event.
NESO issues each request, and around 20 energy suppliers and aggregators pass it on to customers who have signed up. Not every household receives every request.
Record comparisons use DFS data from the service's launch in winter 2022/23. Requests to increase use began in April 2026.
The Demand Flexibility Service is voluntary. Households are rewarded for taking part and are not penalised for not doing so.
Sources.
NESO Demand Flexibility Service data: https://www.neso.energy/data-portal/demand-flexibility
NESO: new-look Demand Flexibility Service, April 2026: https://www.neso.energy/neso-announces-shakeup-new-look-demand-flexibility-service
Media contact. Andrew Brown, [email], [phone]. Charts and full data tables are available on request.
About Juicy
Juicy installs and manages home batteries across the UK. Its software charges the battery when electricity is cheap or plentiful and powers the home at peak times. The batteries also provide flexibility services to the grid. juicy.energy