Business
National Grid to pay Britons to reduce electricity usage this winter | Personal Finance | Finance

Britons are to be paid by National Grid for reducing their electricity usage during peak times this winter.
People signed up to the demand flexibility service will be paid to curb their usage from November to March.
Test runs will take place in November and December with consumers to be paid a maximum of £3 per kilowatt hour.
Households with Octopus Energy who took part last winter slashed their bills by up to £40.
The National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) said there will be at least 12 hour-long tests for the service including six within the first two months.
The group expects the service will mostly be used on weekdays evenings. A household will need a smart meter to use the service.
A person can sign up throguh their supplier if they are taking part in the scheme. The customer will need to have a smart meter that can take half-hourly readings.
They will also need to give their consent for their readings to be used for the service, and will need to opt in to receive messages of when demand flexibility service event is coming up.
Jake Rigg, corporate affairs director at National Grid ESO, said: “The ESO will be reintroducing the demand flexibility service for this winter and is keen for more consumers, both large and small, to get involved.
“We want to work with industry to build on the past success of this new and innovative service. Across last winter the demand flexibility service successfully demonstrated the interest of consumers and businesses in playing a more active role in balancing our electricity needs and to be rewarded with savings for their action in the process.”
When the service was used for the first time this year on a Monday and Tuesday, data from Octopus Energy, OVO and EDF indicated enough electricity was saved to power 654,000 homes for an hour.
Millions of Britons will soon see their energy bills fall as the Ofgem price cap is set to fall from October.
A typical dual fuel household paying by direct debit will see their bills fall from £2,074 a year to £1,923 a year.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, warned consumers to be aware the cap applies to the unit price of energy and does not limit how much a household pays.
He said: “Half of consumers wrongly believe the cap is the maximum amount you can pay for your yearly energy bill.
“However, this is not a cap on bills and usage varies by household – the more you use, the more you pay.”
Richard Neudegg, director of regulation at Uswitch.com, warned consumers their bills will likely go up again in January.
He explained: “Rates for the average home will be seven percent lower from October to December, but energy prices remain volatile and are predicted to rise again in January.
“Despite lower unit rates, energy use will be higher, so the average household may only save around £47 next quarter compared to current rates.
“When we also consider that there is no universal Government bill support this winter, the average household will actually be paying more than they were over the same period last year.”
For the latest personal finance news, follow us on Twitter at @ExpressMoney_.
Business
Sensex Jumps 1,000 Points, Nifty Breaches 25,000 After Trading Flat Till Noon

New Delhi:
Sensex jumped past 1,000 points today after trading flat till noon. Nifty too soared by rising over 1.5 per cent and breached 25,000 for the first time since October 17 in 2024.
Sensex was up 1,260.14 points at 1:55 pm while Nifty was up 396.55 points at 25,063.45.
Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade in the morning, dragged down by blue-chip bank stocks and weak trends in Asian markets.
The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex declined 106.78 points to 81,223.78 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 38.45 points to 24,628.45.
Later, the BSE benchmark traded 247.22 points lower at 81,082.80, and the Nifty quoted 67.15 points down at 24,599.75.
From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading lower.
US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 2.10 per cent to USD 64.70 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 931.80 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex climbed 182.34 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,330.56. The Nifty rose by 88.55 points or 0.36 per cent to 24,666.90.
Business
Sensex Up 281 Points As Retail Inflation Drops To 6-Year Low In April

Mumbai:
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Wednesday as retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.
Also, a cooling US April inflation data added to the positive trend in the equity markets.
The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex climbed 281.43 points to 81,429.65 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 96.65 points to 24,675.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel climbed over 2 per cent after it posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits.
However, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Nestle and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.
Tata Motors dipped over 1 per cent after the firm reported a 51 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,556 crore for the March quarter, hit by lower volumes and operating leverage.
“A strong tailwind for the Indian market is the sharp dip in April CPI inflation to 3.16 per cent. This leaves enough room for the MPC to cut rates thrice more in this cutting cycle. This is positive for the market in general and rate sensitives in particular,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April mainly due to subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 3.34 per cent in March and 4.83 per cent in April 2024. It was 3.15 per cent in July 2019.
“These developments (India, US inflation data) are likely to boost investor sentiment. In addition, easing trade tensions between the US and China, as well as a reduction in geopolitical frictions between India and Pakistan, are supportive of a favorable market environment,” Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said in his pre-open market quote.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading higher while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted lower.
US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.57 per cent to USD 66.25 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 476.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
On Tuesday, the Sensex tanked 1,281.68 points or 1.55 per cent to settle at 81,148.22. The broader Nifty of NSE dropped 346.35 points or 1.39 per cent to 24,578.35.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Business
Wholesale Inflation Falls To 0.85% In April

New Delhi:
Wholesale price inflation dropped to 0.85 per cent in April as prices of food articles, manufactured products, and fuel eased, government data showed on Wednesday.
WPI-based inflation was 2.05 per cent in March. It was 1.19 per cent in April last year. ” Positive rate of inflation in April, 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of other transport equipment and manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc,” the industry ministry said in a statement.
As per the WPI (Wholesale price index ) data, food articles saw a deflation of 0.86 per cent in April from an inflation of 1.57 per cent in March, with vegetables seeing a sharp drop. Deflation in vegetables was 18.26 per cent during April compared to deflation of 15.88 per cent in March. In onion, inflation eased to 0.20 per cent in April, as against 26.65 per cent in March.
Manufactured products, however, saw inflation at 2.62 per cent in April, compared to 3.07 per cent in March.
Fuel and power too saw a deflation of 2.18 per cent in April, compared to 0.20 per cent in March.
The RBI mainly takes into account retail inflation while formulating monetary policy. Data released on Tuesday showed, retail inflation eased to 3.16 per cent in April mainly due subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items. This is the lowest level of inflation since July 2019.
Easing of inflation would create enough room for the Reserve Bank to go in for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.
In April, the RBI cut the benchmark policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent. This is the second cut during the year to stimulate the economy, facing the threat of US reciprocal tariffs. The RBI sees retail inflation averaging 4 per cent in the current fiscal from the previous estimate of 4.2 per cent.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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