Who asked Santa for half-price electricity this Christmas?

British Gas is offering money back to customers who use electricity between 11am and 4pm on Christmas Day.

As part of its PeakSave scheme, the supplier is rewarding people who use electricity at off-peak times when lower demand means there is less need to power up fossil-fuel generators.

There are currently sessions between 11am and 4pm every Sunday, and this has now been widened to include Christmas Day (which falls on a Monday this year).

Previously, British Gas said its Sunday-saving scheme would end on 31 December, but it has now been extended until the end of February.

Do you qualify?

If you’re a British Gas customer, you can take part in the Christmas Day session if you:

• have a smart meter than sends up to half hourly readings
• sign up on the British Gas website by 17 December

How will I get my money?

Once you've signed up, if you use electricity between 11am and 4pm on Christmas Day, you’ll have money credited to your account afterwards.

The payment reference will be “PeakSave Credit”.

Other schemes

Ovo’s Power Move scheme pays customers £15 a month if they reduce their energy consumption between 4pm and 7pm to less than 13.5%. The scheme ends on 31 December.

Various providers are also offering cash to customers to reduce their electricity use as part of the National Grid’s Live Demand Flexibility Service.