We're hearing from Bob, who we introduced in an earlier post. He says he made himself a cup of tea just before the energy-saving session began at 17:00 GMT.

He says this is his and wife Margaret's seventh time partaking in such a scheme, as they've been on some of the trials.

"We have reduced the electric every time," he says, adding the savings may not be significant - but the "bigger principal aim is to be greener".

"As a retired couple, rearranging our usage is easy," he tells us, "we do not switch everything off, but today we had our main meal at lunchtime so no oven tonight, an easy change."

Stay tuned for more.

It's now just past 17:00 GMT, which means hundreds of thousands of households across the UK have entered their energy-saving hour to get a discount on their next bill.

We've heard from dozens of you - some taking part, some frustrated that you can't get involved due to not having a smart meter.

Stay with us as we hear how people are getting on.

Tonight will be the third time that Tara Pownall, 50, from Doncaster, will be taking part in the energy-saving scheme with her supplier British Gas.

The other two have been trials, though.

She has saved around £13 so far, which she’s “quite happy” about having noticed her gas and electricity bill rise from £66 to £180 last year.

“Between 5pm and 6pm, I’d usually get home from work and be putting a load of washing on or cooking tea," she tells us.

“Tonight... it’s only an hour, so I’ll just wait. It’s little sacrifices you’re making, they’re not too much for me," she adds.

Tara's going to let us know how she gets on with today's reduced activity window - stay with us.

Sam Hancock
BBC News Live reporter

Image source, Robert Chalk

Bob Chalk, a 73-year-old retiree who lives in Manchester, is among those talking part in the scheme this evening and will be letting us know how it's going over the next hour.

He says his age means the scheme is easier for him to use than it might be for others "getting in from work... wanting to put the oven on".

He tells us that global warming isn't something that's going to effect him in his lifetime - but he's aware that it will have an impact on his grandchildren's lives.

"This scheme is forward thinking," he says, adding that it's "obviously the way forward".

He'll let us know how the hour of reduced energy activity plays out at home.

Can all British Gas customers take part?published at 16:48 Greenwich Mean Time 23 January 2023

16:48 GMT 23 January 2023

Theo Leggett
BBC Business Correspondent

Matt is a British Gas customer who is confused by the scheme. He asks if it's open to all customers with a smart meter or only the customers British Gas has selected for the trial?

British Gas is taking part in the scheme – its version is called Peak Save.

At the moment it is considered to be a trial, and is only open to people who have been specifically invited by the company.

So far about 100,000 customers have been recruited. All of them have smart meters, and have agreed to have their meters read remotely every half hour – so that their usage can be precisely monitored.

Other suppliers have different rules; Octopus Energy says any of its customers who are on smart meters are eligible.

Smart meters are obviously vital, as they allow your energy consumption to be monitored through the day.

What has happened to Economy 7?published at 16:39 Greenwich Mean Time 23 January 2023

16:39 GMT 23 January 2023

Theo Leggett
BBC Business Correspondent

Here is another question we've received, this time from a reader who asked to remain anonymous. They ask: "Given the crisis in electricity consumption at peak hours, why have suppliers all but abandoned Economy 7?"

Economy 7 tariffs are meant to give consumers access to much cheaper electricity at night, when demand on the grid is low.

The downside is that the price you pay in the daytime can be a lot higher.

They can be an advantage if you have storage heaters and have a hot water tank heated by electricity.

Economy 7 tariffs have been around for years and are still quite widely used – about 2.5 million people are on them.

They are only really worthwhile if you are able to use a significant portion of your energy at night – more than 40%, according to the Centre for Sustainable Energy – and to do so permanently.

But Economy 7 tariffs are designed largely to prevent energy generated overnight from going to waste.

The Demand Flexibility Scheme , externalhas a different purpose – it is meant to smooth out peaks in demand during the day and evening. So it is a very different tool.

Why should I bother?published at 16:27 Greenwich Mean Time 23 January 2023

16:27 GMT 23 January 2023

Theo Leggett
BBC Business Correspondent

Image source, EPA

The first question comes from Alistair MacDonald in South Lanarkshire, who says his energy provider offered him a rebate of £0.30 to use less energy today between 5pm and 6pm. Why should he bother?

National Grid says this evening it will be paying suppliers between £3 and £6 for every kilowatt hour of energy saved between 5pm and 6pm.

How much is passed on to consumers will depend on the supplier.

As a rule of thumb, the more energy you would normally use at that time, the more you can save by turning your appliances on later.

In general, households involved in the scheme can expect to save between £2 and £20 depending on their usage.

Octopus Energy says that during trials of the scheme typical bill payers received well over £1 for just one hour’s shift (as well as saving on their energy costs), the top 5% of participants earned an average of £4.27.

You've been asking our business correspondent Theo Leggett about energy saving and the National Grid scheme.

He'll be answering them right here shortly. Stay with us.

Lots of our readers who are taking part in today's energy saving scheme have been in touch to share what they're planning to do during that hour.

Amanda, 49, says she and her family are happy to be participating. They're supplied by Octopus and were invited to take part this morning, via email.

Image source, Amanda Boorah

"We've decided to all go out on a bike ride for the hour and switch everything off in our home," she tells us, adding that she's hopeful it'll save them some money.

Amanda's going to send us updates and let us know how she found it later on. We'll bring you those when we get them.

Image source, Getty Images

Let's get back to basics. To be eligible to take part in the scheme, customers must have a smart meter installed in their home.

They've also got to live in either England, Scotland or Wales.

Essentially, you save by receiving a discount on your bill if you reduce your electricity use between the times decided by National Grid. Today the scheme runs between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT.

You can save as much as £20, according to National Grid, by doing things like delaying using your washing machine or tumble dryer, or charging your electric vehicle.

To register, you'll first need to check whether your supplier is one of the 26 that has signed up to the scheme, external.

You'll get a notification that it starts today.

Hello - thanks for joining us as hundreds of thousands of households in England, Scotland and Wales get ready to earn money by using less electricity.

It's part of an energy saving scheme, which National Grid says will run today between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT. The aim is to avoid resorting to energy blackouts as supplies run low during the cold weather.

Those who have signed up to the scheme will get discounts on their bills if they do things like delay using their oven or washing machine.

Stay with us for live updates, reaction and analysis - including some readers who'll keep us up to date during their hour of using less energy.

Our correspondent Theo Leggett will also be answering some of your questions about the scheme.