equiwatt and ScottishPower team up to unlock benefits for customers

Pictured left to right: Paul Fensom - Programme Manager at equiwatt, Rob McGaughey - Head of Smart Heat and Cities at ScottishPower, Johnson Fernandes - Founder and CEO at equiwatt, Chris Carberry - Smart Solutions Director at ScottishPower,  Danny Jennings - Chief Revenue Officer at equiwatt.

For those of you who have been following the equiwatt story for a while, you will know that the past few months have been an extremely busy and exciting time for us, with new staff joining and a move into a bigger office all taking place. 

However, there has been one piece of news that we have been waiting to share with the world that we are beyond excited to be able to finally announce - our collaboration with ScottishPower!

Part of the Iberdrola Group, one of the world’s largest integrated utility companies and a leader in wind energy, ScottishPower is one of the six largest energy companies in the UK and our partnership marks a big milestone for all of us at equiwatt. So what is this partnership all about? 

What does this look like?

The partnership aims to transform how ScottishPower customers manage their electricity consumption through our innovative and market-leading ‘virtual power plant’ technology. We have also developed the cutting-edge Power Saver App in partnership with them.

By downloading the Power Saver App, ScottishPower customers can seamlessly connect their smart meters, providing an effortless way to participate in peak time energy events including the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) by National Grid ESO and the EQUINOX Project. 

Much like the equiwatt app, the Power Saver App makes it easy for ScottishPower customers to collectively shift their electricity usage away from times of peak demand by notifying them of peak time energy events thanks to our proprietary and innovative technology.

How does it work?

Once set up, we will use the Power Saver App to notify ScottishPower customers that they can take part in peak time energy events. By performing simple actions such as turning off or avoiding the use of household appliances, for the duration of these peak time energy events, customers are rewarded for their energy and CO2 reductions with points which can be redeemed for a range of rewards including high street shopping vouchers or charity donations via the app.

What are the benefits?

For ScottishPower customers, the Power Saver App not only helps them to get rewarded for reducing their energy usage but by making them more aware of their energy usage it has the potential to help them make longer-term changes that will enable them to lower their energy bill and their homes carbon footprint. 

However, as well as providing benefits to households, the Power Saver App is also designed to help play an important role in improving the management and balancing of the UK’s electricity demand, something that has been a core focus of ours from equiwatt’s conception. This is because just as with the equiwatt community, the collective effort of ScottishPower customers, contributes to a more balanced electricity demand, reducing the need for traditional carbon-emitting power stations to be used to meet demand at peak times as well as enabling the UK to make the most of it renewable energy resources.

We are delighted that this is something that ScottishPower is aligned with us on as Rob McGaughey, Head of Smart Heat and Cities at ScottishPower highlighted in our joint press release announcing our partnership. 

Pictured: Rob McGaughey, Head of Smart Heat and Cities at ScottishPower

“We are delighted to join forces with equiwatt to offer our customers the ability to unlock the additional benefits of flexibility. As a leading renewable energy company, ScottishPower is helping quicken the pace of decarbonisation in communities and homes up and down the UK. 

“Greener technologies such as heat pumps will play a massive role in that, but just as important is providing our customers with ways to save, manage and take more control over their energy usage. However, our Power Saver App and events are more than just a way for ScottishPower customers to earn rewards. By harnessing flexibility, we are making the best use of green energy available to us and reducing the Grid’s reliance on fossil fuel sources.”

What does this mean for equiwatt?

For the past 3 years, we have been successfully running our own peak time electricity reduction events, known as ‘powerDOWN’ events. These have delivered vital experience in helping us in our partnership with ScottishPower and we will continue to run these events for our own users.

As well as supporting ScottishPower and their customers to participate in National Grid ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service events this winter, equiwatt will continue to operate as an independent provider, supporting those non-ScottishPower households that wish to take part and benefit from our innovative, gamified market leading app and rewards. We will also continue to innovate and add new features to our own app to make taking part in events as easy and rewarding as possible. So, if you are already an existing equiwatt app user then, don’t worry we are not making any changes to how we run our service for you!

This partnership with ScottishPower marks a significant step forward for all of us at equiwatt. Not only does it help advance the UK toward a sustainable and energy-efficient future by growing the size of our managed virtual power plant technology but by empowering ScottishPower customers with the Power Saver app, the partnership unlocks the benefits for individual households to unleash the full potential of their smart meters, helping them to use their electricity more efficiently and get rewarded at the same time. Through simple actions and collective efforts, ScottishPower customers can now join our existing equiwatt users in playing an active role in shaping the future of energy consumption.

Own a smart meter but not yet an equiwatt app user?

Download our free app today to start getting rewarded for doing your bit to help the grid and the planet!