Reduce and Earn sessions
What are Reduce and Earn sessions?
With our Power Hours scheme, you can access exclusive Reduce and Earn sessions. This replaces our previous Money Back sessions.
These sessions allow you to earn cash by using less electricity during specified hours – usually when the grid is at its busiest.
We'll pay you for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) you save compared to your normal usage, and you get to keep 100% of what you earn.
All you have to do is sign up in our app and join sessions when they pop up.
Run as part of the NESO Demand Flexibility Service.
How do I sign up to Reduce and Earn?
When you connect your smart meter to the Uswitch app and sign up for Power Hours, you'll be automatically enrolled. You will still need to join sessions when they're announced.
- Get notified about session times in advance
- Join each session in the app
- Take part by reducing your electricity usage in a safe and manageable way
- Your results will be calculated within a few days
Make sure to opt in to email or push notifications so you never miss a session!
How much can I earn?
NESO determines the earning amount per session and this can vary, but we’ll let you know this before you choose to opt in.
The amount you earn depends on your typical usage during the time periods when the sessions run and how much you reduce your usage by.
We don’t take a cut either – you’ll get the full amount awarded by the NESO.
What happened to Money Back?
Money Back sessions have been renamed Reduce and Earn sessions, and they now sit as part of our new Power Hours scheme.
With faster results and new ways to earn throughout the year, we want to help you get more from your smart meter.
If you're an existing Money Back customer, you'll be automatically enrolled in to Reduce and Earn sessions. You don’t need to sign up again.
Other FAQs
Learn more about Reduce and Earn sessions.
Who can sign up?
Anyone with a working electricity smart meter can sign up, regardless of which energy provider you're with. Just make sure you're not also registered with another version of the NESO Demand Flexibility Service e.g. with your own energy provider.
How do I connect my smart meter?
Connecting your smart meter is easy, secure and takes less than 2 minutes.
Use the code from your smart meter’s in-home display unit, or connect using your bank card number to instantly access Power Hours and other great offers and insights. Check out our smart meter connection guide for step-by-step instructions.
Do I need to join every session?
You need to join every Reduce and Earn sessions individually. We'll notify you about sessions as they come up so you can select the Join session button in the app.
If you don't join, you won't earn anything for that session.
Why do I have to join each session?
If we auto-opt customers into every session, NESO asks us to recoup earnings from customers that accidentally use more electricity (rather than less). To avoid any penalties, we ask you to join every session individually so we can submit any extra usage as a zero if that happens.
How do you calculate my earnings?
We use an Ofgem-approved methodology (P376) for calculating your 'typical' usage every 30 minutes each day, and we then use that to compare against what you used during a Reduce and Earn session. Typically this looks back at your electricity usage during that same time period over 10 previous similar days for weekdays, or 4 weekend days if a session falls on a weekend.
Can I join more than one of these schemes?
You can only be registered with one NESO Demand Flexibility Service scheme at a time.
If you’re registered with multiple schemes when a session takes place, there's a chance you'll be disqualified from earning money with either scheme until you have opted out of all but one scheme.
Once you opt-out of your other scheme, you should be able to rejoin Reduce and Earn sessions by the following day.
How long does it take to calculate session earnings?
We aim to show your results within 48 hours, but sometimes smart meter data can be delayed.
If there are technical issues and we can't receive your data, it may take several weeks to retrieve it. We'll do our best to get your results to you as soon as we can.
What happens to my data?
Your smart meter usage data will be processed by our technology partner to calculate how much you have reduced your consumption. It is also shared with NESO for audit purposes.
