Octopus is handing energy customers a share of £500,000 payments

Octopus has its Octoplus Free Electricity Sessions for smart meter users and the energy supplier says it saw nearly 750,000 participants take advantage.

Octopus Energy has handed 750,000 customers £500,000 in bill savings, the energy firm says. Octopus has its Octoplus Free Electricity Sessions for smart meter users and the energy supplier says it saw nearly 750,000 participants take advantage.

Over the course of the first six sessions, the top five per cent of customers managed to save £9.42 on average, which breaks down to £1.57 per session. Kieron Stopforth, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy, told the Express: "With nearly 750,000 customers plugging into free electricity that would otherwise go to waste, we’re witnessing a game-changing shift toward a cleaner, smarter grid.

“By embracing renewable energy when it's abundant, our customers aren’t just reducing their bills, they’re actively driving the energy transition the UK desperately needs. It's proof that the future of energy is green, decentralised, and customer-driven."

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To get involved, sign up and Octopus will then email you about any upcoming Free Electricity times.The day before the Free Electricity session, the firm - which is rivalled by OVO, EDF, E ON and British Gas - will email you to let you know what time it’ll happen: generally an hour-long slot between 1-2pm.

When the time comes, use more electricity to maximise the freeness: do the vacuuming, turn the dishwasher or washing machine on, make lunch (or an early dinner), charge your EV, run your heat pump or immersion heater, you name it.

Within a week of the session, Octopus will then email you to let you know how you did; i.e. how much extra power you used compared to normal. Within two weeks, it will pay you that amount into your account as a bill credit.

Occasionally there’s a glitch in the matrix, and we don’t receive your electricity meter readings. If that happens, the firm will credit you the average amount of Free Electricity used by customers in that session.