Utilita's Power Payback service started on 30 October 2023, according to the invitation email the supplier sent to customers. The email, reproduced in a Nesta report on smart prepayment customers and the Demand Flexibility Service, told recipients the service would begin on that date and invited them to sign up at any time1.
Under the scheme, customers are asked to reduce electricity usage during a specific event, which the email says "might happen multiple times in a day". Utilita sends an individual opt-in SMS when an event is coming, which "could be one day prior or on the day of the event", and customers choose which opportunities to accept. Payment is credited to the meter: "If you successfully reduce your electricity usage, we'll credit your meter. The more you reduce your usage, the more you can earn."1
The email states that the money is paid by the National Grid, described as "a reward for reducing usage during busy times" when demand is high1. The opt-in message quoted in the report gives the shape of an event: "Utilita Power Payback! Reduce your electricity usage [DAY] between [TIME_1] and [TIME_2] and we'll pay you up to £[AMOUNT] per kWh." A confirmation message thanks customers for opting in and repeats the rate per kWh earned1. The report does not give the rates Utilita actually paid, and no figure for typical earnings appears in it.
"Fancy reducing your usage and get paid? We'd love you to take part in our Power Payback service where you'll be asked to reduce your electricity usage during a specific event, and we'll pay you."
Nesta's research, published on 7 October 2024, drew on interviews with smart prepayment customers. It found the most common motivating factor for signing up was the potential to save on electricity bills, with participants comfortable that savings might be small. Other motivations included interest and fun, environmental benefit and reducing strain on the grid. Participants "tended to opt in to events almost by default", and were "generally not very clear on the central reason for the existence of the DFS", rarely mentioning peak management despite its inclusion in the invitation email. Forum analysis found approval for WhatsApp-based notification but "some dissatisfaction with delayed or missed notifications in general"1.
Why it matters for households
Power Payback is a demand flexibility scheme: a household is paid for shifting electricity use away from a notified window rather than for using less overall. For a home, that means the value depends on being able to move a flexible load, such as a wash cycle or charging, out of the event period, and on receiving and acting on the notification in time. Payment goes to the meter rather than as cash, so it shows up as credit against electricity used. The report records that participants often accepted events without weighing each one, and that some notifications arrived late or not at all, which limits what a household can realistically earn. The scheme sits alongside other supplier reward arrangements, and the mechanics of the payments are set out in our guide to what Power Payback is and whether it is worth it. Households comparing offers across suppliers can look at energy supplier rewards, referral offers and loyalty schemes.
What happens next
The invitation email says customers can sign up at any time, and that Utilita will confirm the result of each event and whether anything was earned1. No end date for the service, and no further event dates, have been reported.