People paid to use less electricity in January & February to reduce coal power station usage

Up to a million households in England, Scotland and Wales were been paid to use less electricity during the evenings of the last weeks of January as part of a scheme to avoid blackouts.

National Grid said its Demand Flexibility Service, which has only been used in tests so far, would continue to be run into February on certain days between 17:00 and 18:00.

Those who have signed up will get discounts on their bills if they do things like delay using their oven.

The cold snap has seen energy use rise as more people turn on the heating.

It is also uncertain whether the UK will be able to import the power it needs via undersea cables from Europe.

The scheme is only available to homes with smart meters.