Blackout Busters: Octopus Energy customers could make £100 whilst helping end power cuts

• Octopus Energy announces new ‘Saving Sessions’ scheme this winter
• New energy flexibility scheme to make blackouts a thing of the past
• Customers could save around £100 by taking part in the programme

October 7th 2022, London - Octopus Energy, the UK’s 4th largest energy supplier, is announcing a new energy reduction scheme whilst calling to end the prospect of electricity blackouts.

‘Saving Sessions’, as the new scheme is called, will allow Octopus’ 1.4 million smart meter customers and around 5,000 of its business customers to reduce their usage during times of peak demand and get paid to do so.

For every unit of energy customers save compared to their normal usage during a specific timeframe, Octopus expects to pay customers £4 on average, potentially saving customers around £100* over the course of the winter. The scheme will run between November 2022 and March 2023.

The scheme is enabled by a new flexibility service National Grid ESO is launching this winter which gives all UK energy suppliers the option to financially reward customers who reduce their electricity usage during times of peak demand. The service, which aims to help balance the grid and lower the UK’s dependence on gas, is the largest of its kind in the world.

The service has been tested in the UK already. Between February and March 2022, together with National Grid ESO, Octopus ran the country’s largest household flexibility trial, with over 100,000 of Octopus’ smart meter customers signing up.

The trial proved that households will use less energy at times of high demand for relatively small financial incentives. Customers were emailed and texted in advance to let them know the two-hour slot to ‘turn down’.

During the evening peak, participants reduced their consumption on average by 0.7kWh. The average saving for households per trial window was £0.23, with some participants saving up to £4.35 per ‘turn down’ event.

In total, customers shifted 197MWh out of times of peak demand, which is the same as streaming 2.5 million hours on Netflix.

Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy Group, comments: “Let’s be very clear: this is a historic moment – we’re entering a new era of energy in which households are moving from passive offtakers to active enablers of a smarter, greener and cheaper grid.

“Instead of cutting off whole chunks of the country if we are short of gas, we can reward people for using less energy at times of peak demand. We were the first energy supplier to offer this service to our customers, and we hope others will follow our lead. By doing so, we can make blackouts a thing of the past, and bring costs down for everyone.”

Smart meter customers who are interested in the scheme can sign up here. Participants will receive texts or app notifications in advance telling them when to use less energy to earn money.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

*based on a customer who turns down 1kWh in ~25 events (1-2 per week) at an average £4/kWh

Press Contact

Octopus Energy

Christina Hess

T: +44 (0)20 45308369

E: christina.hess@octoenergy.com

About Octopus Energy Group

Octopus Energy Group is a global energy tech pioneer, launched in 2016 to use technology to unlock a customer focused and affordable green energy revolution. It is part of Octopus Group, which is a certified BCorp. With operations in 13 countries, Octopus Energy Group's mission is going global.

Octopus’s domestic energy arm already serves 3.4 million customers with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, M&S Energy, Affect Energy, Ebico, London Power and Co-op Energy. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes. Octopus Energy Generation is one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, managing a £4 billion portfolio of renewable energy assets throughout the continent.

All of these are made possible by Octopus’s tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform 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. This technology has been licensed to support over 20 million customer accounts worldwide, through deals with EDF Energy, Good Energy, E.ON energy and Origin Energy.

In December 2021, Octopus Energy Group was valued at approximately $5 billion following a $600 million investment from Generation Investment Management and a $300 million investment from Canada Pensions Plan Investments Board. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. It was the company’s third major investment round since launching to the market.

For more information, check out our website.