The National Grid energy company wants people to turn off electric appliances such as washing machines and video game consoles at peak usage times, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., the newspaper said on Sunday citing sources.
"It is definitely not about people sitting in the dark, or volunteering to be cold. It is about doing the washing at a different time of day," one source said.
National Grid could pay people up to 6 pounds (7$) per kWh if their household cuts electricity use in the busiest three-hour slot.
"We are developing a new service that will be available for consumers to benefit from across this winter and will be announcing further information soon," a National Grid spokesman said as quoted by the Daily Express.
The company is aiming to introduce the new scheme by late October, to avoid blackouts during the fall and winter, but the plan still needs to be approved by the UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the British regulator for companies which run the gas and electricity networks.