Renewable power generation reached a record 65 per cent of UK electricity in March 2026, the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) has reported. The charity, which advises households on energy use, said the figure was achieved as the generation mix has changed since 2010, when almost all electricity came from coal, gas or nuclear power stations1.
The CSE said the shift brings lower carbon emissions but creates a matching problem, because solar and wind farms are spread across the UK and generation in one place does not always coincide with demand elsewhere. It said the highest demand for electricity falls between 4pm and 8pm each day, when most households are home from school and work, and that gas-fired power stations are started up to meet it, which it described as expensive and high in carbon emissions1.
"record levels of renewable power generation were achieved, 65% in March 2026"
To reduce demand at peak times, the CSE said the National Grid created the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), which rewards people for changing when they use the most electricity1. It also pointed to time-of-use tariffs such as Economy 7, which has a cheap off-peak night rate and a higher standard day rate, and to smart meters, which it said provide up-to-date information on a home's gas and electricity consumption and send accurate readings to suppliers so households are billed for exactly what they have used1.
The CSE said smart plugs monitor a device's current, voltage and energy consumption and provide real-time reports through a phone app, and that power from solar panels can be fed into the grid or stored in a household battery so electricity generated during the day can be used at night. It said households with a battery system or an electric car battery can draw cheap electricity from the grid when renewable generation is high or demand is low, and that batteries providing this shifting service help balance the grid, reduce network costs for all consumers and reduce household bills1.
The CSE said more household activities will use electricity in the years to come as heating and transport move away from fossil fuels, through heat pumps, electric cars and ebikes, making the balancing of supply and demand more crucial. It said not everyone can shift the time they use appliances, giving the example of households with young children who may need to cook at peak times, and that some smart appliances may be costly to buy1.
Why it matters for households
A grid running on a high share of renewables does not deliver the same power at the same price at every hour. The CSE's account sets out a system where the cost and carbon content of a unit of electricity depend on when it is used, with 4pm to 8pm the most expensive and most carbon-intensive window because gas plants are running to cover it1. For a home, that changes the value of the timing of demand, not just the total amount used.
The CSE describes several ways a household's use can be moved or managed: time-of-use tariffs, smart meters, smart plugs, home batteries and solar generation, and the Demand Flexibility Service1. Each depends on information about when electricity is cheap and on equipment that can act on it. Households that cannot move their usage, or for whom smart appliances are too costly, are less able to capture those savings, the CSE said1.
The wider effect the CSE describes is that shifting when electricity is used allows more renewable generation to be absorbed and helps prevent demand exceeding supply1. That links household behaviour to the security of the national supply rather than only to the size of an individual bill.
What happens next
The CSE gives no dates for future changes to the Demand Flexibility Service or to tariffs. Its advice page was reviewed in July 20261.