AN electricity provider is targeting firms across Bolton with an opportunity to earn a share of £350,000 additional income.

A total of 37 locations across the region, including Bolton, Salford and Stockport, are being targeted by Electricity North West which hopes to entice companies to apply for the funds in return for using their energy more flexibly.

Companies can do so by either reducing the amount of electricity they use or increasing what they generate at peak times and then applying for the utility company’s flexibility service tender.

Electricity North West DSO commercial lead Lois Clark said: “We continue to support the North West’s commitment to reaching net zero carbon and recognise the contribution that flexibility services makes by helping to unlock capacity on the network.

“We are also delighted to have opened our flexibility service tender process to energy efficiency schemes, which we believe have a huge part to play in facilitating this change and help to finance our net zero goals.

“We realise that not every business is familiar with flexibility services and what this means to them, as this is still a relatively new area, so encourage anyone who wants to find out more to come and talk to us, so they can benefit from financial opportunities while also doing their bit for net zero targets.”

In total, Electricity North West hopes to save 50megawatts in Greater Manchester and 259megawatts in the North West as a whole.

Companies can save energy by changing their operations, installing more energy-efficient equipment such as LED lighting, or by installing solar panels.

Doing this reduces overall demand on the network and increases the amount of capacity available for electric vehicles, heat pumps and other low carbon technologies.

Electricity North West will be hosting a webinar on December 3 to explain the process and how businesses can get involved.

To find out more, visit the flexibility services section of Electricity North West’s website.