Octopus Energy completes migration of Bulb customers in record time

• All 1.5 million Bulb customers now moved onto Octopus’ systems
• Migration was completed in just under six months, a new industry record
• 94% of Bulb employees moved over to Octopus Energy
• 75% of Bulb customers were satisfied with how the move had been handled

London, 30th June 2023 - Octopus Energy, the UK’s second largest energy supplier, has completed the transfer of Bulb customers to its systems. 

The migration started on 23rd December 2022, just two days after the official completion date of the Bulb acquisition. Less than six months later, Bulb’s 1.5 million customers were set up with Octopus Energy accounts.

Further polling from YouGov found that, of the British adults who were with Bulb when they went out of business, nearly 8 out of 10 (75%) were satisfied with how the move from Bulb to their new energy supplier had been handled*.

Amongst those who were satisfied, the main reason for this (selected by 44% of respondents) was that ‘It all just happened in the background’, owing to Octopus’ seamless transfer process.

This significant milestone marks a pivotal moment in the energy crisis, and the end of a long period of uncertainty for Bulb’s customers and team members alike. 

Every Bulb employee was offered a role at Octopus, and almost all (94%) chose to stay. 

Former Bulb customers now benefit from Octopus’ industry-leading technology Kraken, transparent pricing, and exceptional customer service. 

Octopus retained its 4.7 star Trustpilot rating throughout the migration process, and took the number 1 spot in the Citizens Advice rankings. It even improved its customer service metrics through implementation of cutting-edge generative AI.

Octopus’ acquisition of Bulb from the UK Government protected 650 green jobs and will provide a boost for taxpayers. The government is set to make a profit of £1.21 billion from this deal.**

Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy, said: "This outcome has been the best case scenario for taxpayers, customers and Bulb’s team after the torrid period of uncertainty and risk prior to Octopus’s acquisition. Thanks to our experience, technology and a phenomenal effort by both teams, we delivered this transfer seamlessly and in record time, with barely any disruption to customers.”

In a tweet, MoneySavingExpert.com founder, Martin Lewis, claimed Octopus’ purchase of Bulb was a “decent outcome for Bulb customers”. Going on to say that “Octopus customer service is strongly rated and in our surveys it was the most painless firm in transferring customers over”.***

Former Bulb customers that have moved to Octopus have taken to Twitter to express how impressed they have been with the ‘seamless’ and ‘straightforward’ migration (see examples here, here and here).

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

* All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 4277 adults, of which 386 were with Bulb when they went out of business. Fieldwork was undertaken between 26th - 28th June 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

** Financial components of hedging support agreed between the government and Octopus Energy:

Amount (£bn)

Total hedging support received by Octopus Energy

1.63

Amount Octopus will pay back to government

2.84

Government profit from wholesale amount

1.21

*** MoneySavingExpert.com survey on energy customer migrations through the ‘Supplier of Last Resort’ process, 7th March 2022 

Media contacts

Octopus Energy Press office

press@octoenergy.com

+44 2045308369

About Octopus Energy Group

Octopus Energy is a global energy and technology group, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Its operations span 14 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £6 billion portfolio of projects – one of Europe’s largest.

Octopus serves 5.5 million customers through its retail arm, and has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support 30 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with energy companies, including 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.