The ground-breaking Smart Street scheme sees the operator reduce the voltage supplied to homes by a few per cent at times of high energy consumption, making homes and businesses more energy efficient.

Doing this ensures appliances operate at their most efficient level, saving North West residents money and reducing carbon emissions through reduced energy use.

A successful four-year trial found a household’s electricity consumption was cut by between five and eight per cent, saving householders up to £60 a year on their electricity bills and cutting carbon emissions by between seven and 10 per cent.

Now, Stockport is the first area in the region to be able to benefit from the scheme after Electricity North West installed a new transformer at the Alfreton Road distribution substation in Offerton.

The network operator will be rolling out the technology to the other areas in the region over the next two years.

Dan Randles, Head of Innovation, said: “We’re starting in Stockport but our aim is to roll out Smart Street across the North West so we can help thousands of our customers to reduce the amount of energy they use and cut their electricity bills.

“In doing so, we’re creating the UK's first actively optimised network. Not only will it save money and reduce carbon emissions, but it will make the network more flexible and improve capacity so we can connect new technologies like electric cars and solar panels on a large scale.

“By 2050 – the date when the UK has committed to achieve net-zero carbon – the energy savings generated by Smart Street here in the North West will be the equivalent of taking 2,570 polluting cars off the road every year.”