Cheaper than the 'Big Six'

After the announcement from the energy regulator, Ofgem, that they will be raising the Energy Price Cap by £96, most large domestic energy suppliers are announcing that they will increase the cost of their standard variable tariff (SVT) to the maximum amount they legally can.

At Octopus Energy we set our prices below the price cap.

The SVT is the default variable tariff that loyal customers are rolled onto once their introductory offer has expired. Some energy companies choose to overcharge loyal customers to subsidise the cost of cheaper tariffs for new customers. Octopus Energy doesn't follow this practice.

Data from Ofgem shows that the majority of households in the UK (56%) are on a default variable tariff. This majority of the UK could lower their energy bills by switching to Octopus Energy, not just for a fixed term but for the long term too since our variable tariffs don't match the price cap.

If we compare (using average prices across regions):

1. A dual fuel customer joining Octopus on a fixed tariff in Aug 2016 and assume they rolled onto Octopus' variable Flex tariff.

vs

2. A dual fuel customer on the cheapest Big Six 12 month fixed tariff in Aug 2016 and assume they rolled onto the cheapest Big Six standard variable tariff.

The customer who stayed with Octopus Energy (from August 2016 - July 2021) would have saved £916 vs the customer who stayed with the Big Six.

The above costs are published by Ofgem https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-data-and-research/data-portal/retail-market-indicators

This is a conservative view in the Big Six's favour since the supplier offering the cheapest variable tariff and the supplier offering the cheapest fixed tariff are not the same suppliers. Customers who have stayed with the same Big Six supplier since 2016 would have likely paid upwards of £1,000 more than customers with Octopus Energy.