Coronavirus-related industrial slowdowns have seen electricity demand plummet throughout the world as grids struggle to handle the suddenly excessive supply of power.

In the U.K. — where electrical demand is expected to drop by a fifth this summer as shops and factories remain closed — there have been worries that the unused power could overwhelm the grid and cause blackouts. In response, operators are contemplating shutting down some renewable generation sources.

That’s going to be an even more pressing problem over the upcoming bank holiday weekend that marks the start of the summer season, when electricity consumption tends to drop.

In order to prevent grid instability, Octopus Energy, which buys power generated from renewables on the wholesale market, made its customers an usual offer this Friday — the company will pay people to use power.

“We will pay over 100,000 of our customers with smart meters to run the dishwasher, use their oven or watch TV this weekend,” Octopus CEO Greg Jackson told POLITICO. “If they were to charge an electric car, for instance, they’d make 35 pence and be able to travel 50 miles, which is great because traveling the same distance in a petrol car you’d pay about £6 to fuel up.”

The grid-based problems being experienced by the U.K. are likely to become increasingly common as power generation becomes greener.

Jackson explained that the first-of-its-kind scheme was seeking to find alternative ways to balance a sensitive power grid while also rewarding customers equipped with smart meters, which allows them to control their energy use. About 4 million smart meters have been installed in the U.K. and the goal is to have 85 percent of power customers equipped with them by 2024.

“With the smart meter technology we’re able to better manage power and empower customers to benefit from incentives available at specific hours, making the most of domestic household consumption at a moment when fewer factories and commercial surfaces are operating,” he said.

Jackson argued that if wind and solar farms were shut off due to power oversupply, that could end up spooking investors and harm future investments in Britain’s clean energy transition. “If we start wasting electrons, that transition will become more complicated.”

Julian Leslie, head of networks for the U.K.’s National Grid, said that the drop in demand caused by the pandemic had raised concerns about the stability of the grid.

While he said the electric power transmission network had “mechanisms in place to avoid emergency restrictions or system disturbances,” he added that customer-driven approaches like the one taken by Octopus could help soak up surplus power.

“As we roll out smart meters in the U.K., time of use tariffs that incentivize the use of low-carbon energy at off-peak hours could prove to be a useful tool if they’re used at a wide, predictable scale,” he said.

Depending on the success of the scheme, similar initiatives could be feasible in other energy markets that use smart meters, which would lead to a more efficient use of renewable power.

The grid-based problems being experienced by the U.K. are likely to become increasingly common as power generation becomes greener.

A study published by Imperial College London and electric utility Drax on Thursday showed that during the first three months of the year renewable energy sources provided more electricity than fossil fuels. Those findings line up with National Grid data — Leslie said there has been no coal-generated power since April 10, something that hasn’t happened since the Industrial Revolution.

Leslie said that solar and wind penetration had contributed to a “mindset shift” in Britain, where he said that after decades considering coal as a base load for power output, renewables were now being considered the base source to be “topped up.”

“There’s no reason why we as a system operator need to buy coal, and it doesn’t look like we’ll need to until the winter, when demand will likely rise again,” he said.

A trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine developed in China has indicated that it’s safe and produces virus-specific antibodies and T cells.

However, the authors warn that the results, published in the Lancet, must be “interpreted cautiously.”

“The challenges in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine are unprecedented, and the ability to trigger these immune responses does not necessarily indicate that the vaccine will protect humans from COVID-19,” said Wei Chen of the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, who is responsible for the study.

The trial is the first human trial of a potential vaccine to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Earlier this week, Moderna reported on positive interim data from its human trial, but these results have yet to be peer-reviewed.

The Chinese phase 1 clinical trial was carried out on 108 adults who didn’t have coronavirus. The vaccine was well tolerated, with most negative reactions being classified as mild or moderate. Participants either received a low, middle or high dose of the vaccine.

After 28 days, half of those receiving the low and middle dose had neutralizing antibodies, compared with three-quarters of those in the high dose group — meaning that they blocked the infection from the virus. The majority of participants also had a rapid T cell response to the vaccine.

While the phase 1 trial didn’t have a randomized control group, a randomized phase 2 trial with 500 participants is underway. It will observe them up to six months after receiving the vaccine.

The study was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China and National Science and Technology Major Project — both government-funded projects — as well as the Chinese pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologic.

PARIS — Ten European signatories of the Open Skies Treaty, including France and Germany, expressed regret Friday over the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the pact, which was set up to bring more transparency to military activities.

“We regret the announcement by the government of the United States of its intention to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, even though we share its preoccupations about the implementation of the treaty’s provisions by the Russian Federation,” a statement from the foreign ministries of France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden said.

Open Skies went into effect in 2002 and has been signed by more than 30 countries, allowing signatories to conduct observation flights over each other’s military facilities. It has been especially useful to European nations since it has allowed them to observe Russian military movements without the need for spy satellites or other high-tech means.

The United States has accused Russia of violating the treaty and cited this as its main reason for giving six months’ notice that it plans to withdraw. In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. may reconsider “should Russia return to full compliance with the Treaty.”

After a meeting of NATO members on Friday, alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg placed the blame for the treaty’s current difficulties squarely with Moscow.

“Russia has for many years imposed flight restrictions inconsistent with the Treaty, including flight limitations over Kaliningrad, and restricting flights in Russia near its border with Georgia. Russia’s ongoing selective implementation of its obligations under the Open Skies Treaty has undermined the contribution of this important Treaty to security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region,” he said.

“Russia’s return to compliance is the best way to preserve the benefits of the Treaty,” Stoltenberg said.

The treaty is the third building block in international arms control structures that Trump has withdrawn from since taking office, following on from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty in 2019.

European officials have also expressed fears over the renewal of the New Start treaty, the last agreement limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapons, which is due to expire next February.

Calling the Open Skies Treaty “crucial,” the 10 countries that signed Friday’s joint statement said they would continue implementing the pact and that it “remains functional and useful.”

“We will continue implementing the Open Skies Treaty which has an obvious added value for our conventional arms control architecture and our shared security,” the statement said.

The Europeans also said they would “continue talking with Russia as previously decided among NATO Allies and other European partners in order to settle the outstanding issues such as the unwarranted restrictions imposed on flights over Kaliningrad,” and called on Russia to lift them.

Russia reacted on Friday through its Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who said the U.S. withdrawal undermines international security, and that Washington had not provided evidence that Moscow is violating the treaty’s provisions, according to Reuters.

This article has been updated with comments from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.