Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson has issued an update after Martin Lewis warned an incoming change from May "didn't sound great."
Martin Lewis Sounds Alarm
BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis took to X to say: "Doesn't sound great, but just to be technical. Octopus Go is not a price capped tariff so it didn't move due to drop in Price Cap. It dropped due to the removal of some govt policy costs from energy bills (which is the same reason the cap moved but still they're separate). As its not priced capped and it is a variable tariff it is allowed to move the price as long as adequate notice is given. I'm afraid the only option is to ditch and switch elsewhere."
It came after a customer had posted: "octopus putting up their Octopus Go rates from 1st May even though they brought them down just weeks ago for the drop in the price cap? Doesn’t sound right."
Greg Jackson's Response
Mr Jackson replied: "Whilst rises are painful and we work very hard to avoid them (you can look back and see very few over the years on these tariffs) - these tariffs are still very cheap - typical users on this tariff will have a blended rate of around 18.3p/kWh - around 20% below the price cap, and the more they charge their car the bigger the saving."
He added: "You don't need to buy a charger from us, etc. The points about timing are well taken. In terms of 'reviewed every 3 months' - although the price was changed less than 3 months ago - that was simply passing through the govt cut, in full. We haven't changed the price ourselves for 4 months (Go) and longer (IOgo)- and in terms of notice period Ofgem removed the 30 days (we assume because it sometimes caused people to leave good value tariffs)."
"We aim for about 2 weeks - slightly less this time as we didn't want to email over the weekend when there'd be less support available. And perspective is important - an EV on these tariffs is about 5-8 times cheaper per mile than a petrol car, despite the fact the UK has such high electricity prices."
The exchange highlights the tension between energy suppliers and consumers over variable tariffs that can change with less notice, even as the price cap provides a benchmark for fixed deals.
