The firm claims the programme has already generated £5.2million in bill reductions
The firm claims the programme has already generated £5.2million in bill reductions(Image: coldsnowstorm via Getty Images)
A power company is tempting cash-strapped families with the prospect of free electricity hours, meaning energy bills could be slashed this winter. EDF has extended an existing scheme in a bid to help more customers with their outgoings.
EDF will run its Sunday Saver throughout until February, positioning itself as the sole major provider granting consumers complimentary power across four distinct Sundays in the forthcoming weeks. However, households must slash their electricity consumption during weekday prime time between 4pm and 7pm to be eligible. Achieve this, and EDF will compensate customers with anywhere from four to 16 hours of complimentary electricity the subsequent Sunday.
The firm claims the programme has already generated £5.2million in bill reductions for over 260,000 customers, distributing more than 17.5million hours of complimentary electricity since its 2024 launch.
How the free electricity works
Customers who slash their weekday peak consumption by:
- 5% receive four hours of complimentary electricity.
- 20% receive eight hours.
- 35% receive 12 hours.
- 50% receive the complete 16 hours.
The complimentary electricity can subsequently be used on Sundays – ideal, EDF suggests, for power-intensive activities such as laundry, cleaning and batch cooking. EDF reports that over 100,000 households gained from a festive complimentary-power distribution in December, when customers obtained eight hours of complimentary electricity on Christmas Day alone. That distribution represented 910,536 complimentary hours of power.
Who benefits most?
The South East of England topped the savings charts last year, with punters clocking up over one million complimentary hours of electricity combined – working out at roughly 25 free hours monthly per home.
One customer, Natasha Shields from Barnsley, has earned more than 680 free hours of electricity since signing up.
She said: “The Sunday Saver challenge is brilliant – and has helped us with the cost of living which is getting more expensive by the day. We switch off everything we can between 4–7pm, leaving cooking and showers until after this time.
“During those hours, we use a battery-powered light and play board games together, which has brought us closer as a family. We use the free electricity we’ve earned for cleaning, meal prep and laundry on Sunday, which is helpful.”
EDF insists the scheme is about easing pressure on household budgets while also helping the grid. Jon Perks, Sales & Marketing Director at EDF, said: “With winter bills at their highest, Sunday Saver continues to give customers a simple, practical way to cut costs when they need it most.
“Households can track their usage through our Energy Hub, and spot opportunities to save electricity across their home, reducing their carbon footprint at the same time. It’s a straightforward way to ease pressure on bills while supporting a more sustainable electricity grid.”
Who can sign up?
Customers must have a working smart meter sending readings every 30 minutes Sign-up is open until Sunday, February 1, at 11.59pm The challenge runs from Monday, February 2.
Free electricity can be used on February 15 and 22, and March 1 and 8. EDF customers can track their progress via the Energy Hub in their online account.
