This column appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter.

Octopus is encouraging its customers to switch off their washing machines, dishwashers and other high consumption devices, during the eclipse.

That’s not because of the risk of black-out – though you only have to look back to 2024 to see some panic in the United States about whether and how an eclipse could bring on a major outage, most of it dismissed by experts as a minor issue in the balancing of a grid.

Rather, it’s because when the solar eclipse comes on Wednesday, beginning at 6.08pm and reaching its maximum at 7.05pm in my home city of Edinburgh, the moon will be blocking the sun in the last hours of solar power generation.

To meet demand in this lull, gas-fired generators will likely have to be switched on, ramping up the carbon emissions that cause climate change and also the cost of electricity.

As a result, in return for avoiding unnecessary electricity use during the eclipse, the supplier is offering customers who are signed up to its rewards programme a free hour of electricity to use the next weekend.

What about in Scotland?

But, if I switch off my washing machine in Edinburgh, or decide not to start the dishwasher just before I head out to take in the eclipse in the park, is it going to make any difference to emissions?

We’re in Scotland and not only do we have less solar, but more wind – and, with Scotland already producing more energy than it can export and a limit to how much we can transmit over a grid pinch point to England, what difference is a bunch of north-of-the-border washing machines going to make?

Octopus told me: “Any turn down actions help reduce the cost of energy and take the strain off of the grid........

© Herald Scotland