Octo Assist: our customer help fund
Energy costs remain incredibly high across the board and we know how much pressure that puts on households. Please don't struggle in silence: we genuinely want to help our customers.
That’s why we created our Octo Assist fund. It's a dedicated £40m support package designed to help those who need it most keep on top of their bills and stay warm without worrying.
This includes practical help like free electric blankets, standing charge waivers, and more.
The fund is designed to target those in the greatest need. This often includes families who struggled to afford the bills even before the energy crisis and those whose health and safety relies on heat and power.
This means that when you apply, we'll ask you to fill in a few details about your household finances. Don't worry: it won't take long and it's all secure. Find out more
What help is available?
Support from the Octo Assist fund is tailored to each customer, but might include:
Standing charge holidays: We can waive the payment over winter
Direct financial support We offer grants to offset high energy bills for customers in the greatest need
Personalised account help We can sort out a long-term payment plan or agree a payment holiday
Free electric blankets A heated blanket can cut hundreds of pounds a year off your heating bills by keeping you warm without needing to heat the whole home.
What if I’m not eligible for help from Octo Assist?
Octo Assist sadly won’t be able to give absolutely everyone extra support: we wish we could. But we do still want to help.
We've created a page explaining everything you need to know about taking control of your bills, which has lots of useful information.
And please, please, reach out if you're struggling. Your call or email will be answered by a warm, compassionate Energy Specialist who can discuss your individual circumstances and suggest different ways we can help.
Here's some extra things we’re doing that aren’t limited to the most vulnerable:
Weekend Happy Hours
Get FREE power at the weekend when you cut down your power use during weekday evenings.
Energy-saving tips
Read our round-up of simple ways to save energy that could cut your bills by hundreds every year.
Why did we start the Octo Assist fund?
From day one, our goal has been to pass the fairest possible prices on to our customers. But where our cost to buy a years’ worth of energy for customers would usually be around £1 billion, it's now more like £9 billion.
We’ve absorbed what we can of that — spending £150 million from our own reserves to keep high energy costs off bills, including £40 million to keep standing charges lower. We've also invested in innovative programs like Saving Sessions, where we provide customers with the ability to optimise their energy usage during specific times, ensuring they benefit from cheaper rates.
We think the best way we can help is by pumping additional efforts and resources into specific schemes designed to support our very most vulnerable customers – so we created Octo Assist, initially with £2.5 million funding, which has been increased to £40 million since the October 2025 price cap, to support even more customers this winter.
We'll keep doing absolutely everything we can to help our customers. If you need help, please, please talk to us.
Updated on
Pete Miller
Head of Customer Experience
Published on 9th October 2022