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Rank 2
Nash98
Rank 2
November 10, 2024
Solved

Are the Power Move Flex trial event times achievable?

  • November 10, 2024
  • 24 replies
  • 661 views

Honestly, are they people who set the Power up/down times serious?  Today we were asked to power down from 12 noon to 2pm!  I am certain that the majority of people are cooking their Sunday lunch over this time period, so how can we use less? i am certainly not going to move my lunch!  Quite frankly I have given up trying, as all I seem to get is 4p, maximum 10p.  It is not worth the hassle.

Best answer by Peter E

Updated on 21/01/26 by Chris_OVO

 

Over the 18 months, Power Move Flex (as part of CrowdFlex) has shifted 864,700 kWh's and paid out over £1.02 million in bill credits.

We've had over 100,000 customers take part over the 3 trials in which Power Move Flex helped match the demand to the power being generated. So homed used cleaner, greener energy.

The trials were aimed at understanding how households can contribute to a greener electricity grid. The learnings we gathered from being part of these trials will be essential for the Electricity System Operator to plan for the future of the electricity grid, and how our customers can play a role in this. Together we've been making energy better for people and the planet. 

 

Our current trials are now closed, and we'd like to thank our users for their participation.

You can find more information Power Move can be found here:

 

Honestly, are they people who set the Power up/down times serious?  Today we were asked to power down from 12 noon to 2pm!  I am certain that the majority of people are cooking their Sunday lunch over this time period, so how can we use less? i am certainly not going to move my lunch!  Quite frankly I have given up trying, as all I seem to get is 4p, maximum 10p.  It is not worth the hassle.

 

To be honest most of the Power Down events are going to be peak times and most Power Up is going to be when there is little load on the grid. It comes as no surprise that they are most likely to ask for a Power Down when most people are likely to want to use power the most. The only exception could be those who happen to have a heavy load on at that time, like charging a car, where delaying the power use is not critical. Personally I found the monthly Power Move challenges much easier to meet as you can plan your life around them and get a greater reward.

24 replies

Show previous replies
juliamc
Rank 20
juliamc
Rank 20
November 10, 2024

Are the power up/down events dependant on where you live ?

D
Rank 9
DuncanL
Rank 9
November 10, 2024

I suppose it’s possible but I’ve seen no previous evidence of that.  

Shads_OVO
Retired Moderator
Shads_OVO
Retired Moderator
November 11, 2024

Hi @juliamc,

 

I’ve checked this with the team who’ve responded saying they can be dependent on where you live. There are some events where Scotland will power up and the rest of the country will power down.

 

Hope this helps.

    D
    Newcomer
    DGHooke
    Newcomer
    April 17, 2025

    Would it possible for OVO to come up with a plan that offered lower rates at off peak times and higher rates at high peak times rather like Octopus enery? The power down events jsy seem like a gimmick for those who have plenty of time on their hands. 

      P
      Newcomer
      pamcollie
      Newcomer
      April 17, 2025

      What would be really good would be if OVO could offer their customers who have a smart meter that doesn't work due to "no signal" some kind of lower rates. It's really annoying when they push you to get a smart meter so you can access the best deals/off peak prices/EV charging etc and the smart meter will not work. Spoke with OVO and no help in the foreseeable future. Frustrated!!

        E
        Newcomer
        EasyLiving
        Newcomer
        April 17, 2025

        Presumably the peak and off-peak times are different for many areas, situations and populations of UK. The OVO method may be tuned into that, so the it can be more effective ?

        Peter E
        Super User
        Peter ESuper User
        Super User
        April 17, 2025

        ​@DGHooke 

        Unfortunately OVO don't offer a tariff like Octopus at the moment but energy suppliers do change what they offer over time. They have an Add On called Charge Anytime for EV drivers but no use if you don't have one of those. There are also E7 etc tariffs that give a cheaper rate for certain hours but balance that with a more expensive rate for the rest of the time. Good for storage heaters.

         

        It's simply a question of looking at tariffs which are available now I'm afraid. I'm sure it will happen at some time in the future but not now.

         

        Peter

         

         

        Reducing my yearly fossil fuel usage with an EV (-900 litres petrol), A2AHP (-8,700 kWh gas) and Timed Immersion heater (-1,500 kWh gas)
        BPLightlog
        Super User
        BPLightlogSuper User
        Super User
        April 17, 2025

        As Peter mentioned, there are various ‘economy’ tariffs which can be checked for your own location 

        Some will depend on your payment method and existing meter setup but they could offer some peak and off-peak options 

        Others also have some lower cost slots for EV’s and Solar but there are specific requirements for these.

        Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
        F
        Rank 5
        fancyabrew
        Rank 5
        April 17, 2025

        What would be really good would be if OVO could offer their customers who have a smart meter that doesn't work due to "no signal" some kind of lower rates. It's really annoying when they push you to get a smart meter so you can access the best deals/off peak prices/EV charging etc and the smart meter will not work. Spoke with OVO and no help in the foreseeable future. Frustrated!!

        Yep people are discriminated against through no fault of their own. We had an utter shambles of a smart meter install (not ovo) which resulted in a non-working smart meter for 3 years, a year of which we had an EV so I think it cost us at least £1k that year as we couldn't get any ev tarrifs as we didn't have a working smart meter. Lucky for us I had a new meter installed by shell and when it was installed I was able to get a MESH connection, still no WAN so the meter now works, touch wood! 

        Jasmin10
        Rank 4
        Jasmin10
        Rank 4
        April 17, 2025

        ​@DGHooke I agree. I don’t know statistically, but I would have thought Octopus are one of OVO’s main competitors so you’d have thought they (OVO) would have a similarly competitive tariff. I’m with OVO but would consider switching to Octopus as don’t feel OVO’s customer service is great.

        However, I have my solar panel Feed-In Tariff with OVO and fear trouble if I switched my fuel supplier to a different company, due to afore mentioned problems with OVO.

        I would like to hear if anyone on here has different companies to supply their fuel and provide their Feed-In Tariff, and if it works smoothly.

        Thanks,

        Jasmin

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