Intelligent Octopus Go speeds past 1GW of shiftable energy

• 150,000 electric cars now on Intelligent Octopus Go tariff, offering the grid 1 GW of shiftable electricity capacity
• Over 250,000 EVs registered in the UK are now on Octopus smart tariffs, helping reduce demand on the grid at peak times
• Smart tariff can save average customer £600 a year compared to a standard variable tariff and save over £1600 compared to petrol

London, 14th May 2024 – Octopus Energy today announces that the UK’s most popular electric vehicle (EV) tariff, Intelligent Octopus Go, now manages a combined 1 gigawatt (GW) worth of EV batteries.

150,000 EV batteries are combined into a virtual power plant via Octopus Energy’s proprietary technology platform, Kraken. This enables them to automatically shift their charging to greener and cheaper times to benefit the grid and EV owners.

1 GW of capacity is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power both Birmingham and Leeds on a typical evening.

Launched in early 2022, Intelligent Octopus Go takes smart charging to the next level, and is the UK’s first 100% flexible charging tariff - providing drivers with six hours of low cost charging each night.

The number of customers on the tariff has increased five-fold in the last year alone - with over 150,000 drivers now choosing it. It is one of the UK’s cheapest EV tariffs and can save customers £600 per year when compared to charging on a standard variable tariff, or £1660 per year versus a petrol car.

Intelligent Octopus Go customers can use the Octopus Energy app to set the time they want their vehicle ready and what the level of charge should be. Kraken then works in the background to charge up when it's best for the energy system - when there is abundant, low cost, low carbon energy, and when the grid is less busy.

Intelligent Octopus Go is just one of many ways that customers are rewarded for helping to balance the grid. Octopus customers have now saved around £100 million with their smart meters through our smart tariffs and initiatives like ‘Saving Sessions’.

According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Britain has recently hit a milestone of 1 million electric vehicles registered in the country. Over 250,000 EVs are now on Octopus smart tariffs, helping to move energy out of peak times, saving both the owners and every other bill payer money by lowering system costs.

Alex Schoch, Head of Flexibility at Octopus Energy, said: “We’re seeing a paradigm shift in global energy - moving from dumb to smart systems that dynamically manage energy demand and supply in an Uber-style fashion. Now being able to manage a virtual power plant of 150,000 EVs has massive benefits for not only our future green grid, but every person that pays an energy bill too. We’re excited to see it grow even more from here.”

Lesley, an Intelligent Octopus Go customer from Derby, said: “We've just been really pleased that Intelligent Octopus is working for us, not only saving us money with the car charging, [but also] helping to balance out the grid. We feel good knowing that we are doing our little bit to help make our power consumption greener.”

-ENDS-

Press Contacts

Octopus Energy Group

Press team

press@octoenergy.com

+44 (0)20 4530 8369

About Kraken

Kraken Technologies offers a best-in-class end-to-end platform for energy supply, and is operating in the UK, Japan, US, New Zealand, Australia and most of mainland Europe. Kraken’s proprietary platform is contracted to serve 54 million customer accounts across the globe through licensees. Its first client was Octopus Energy where Kraken manages 7.7 million retail customers globally and over 60,000 business customers (the largest of which is Arsenal FC).

Based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralised, decarbonised energy system. Kraken’s flexibility arm is currently contracted to manage over 36 GW across 130,000 green energy assets in 12 countries.

Kraken Technologies is part of Octopus Energy Group and was developed to enable select third parties to take advantage of the technologies developed by Octopus Energy. It has already been licensed by major global players including Origin Energy, E.ON and EDF.

For more information, check out Kraken’s website.

About Octopus Energy

Octopus Energy is a global clean energy tech business, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Under its own retail brand, Octopus delivers world-class customer service and cutting edge energy products to 7.8 million households globally.

Its operations span 18 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £7 billion portfolio of projects – one of Europe’s largest.

Octopus has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support over 54 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with companies such as EDF, E.ON and Origin Energy.

Kraken enables Octopus to drive the electrification of heat and transport through smart tariffs and innovative cleantech. Backed by pension funds, investors and energy giants, Octopus Energy Group businesses deliver cheaper, greener energy and cutting-edge tech to countries and customers worldwide.

For more information, check out our website.