Octopus Energy Calls for Evening Energy Reduction Amid Heatwave
Octopus Energy has issued a heatwave update to its customers, urging 1.2 million households to reduce energy usage between 7:30pm and 8:30pm. This comes after 1.8 million smart meter customers helped balance the national grid during previous peak periods. The company is offering incentives for participation, with customers earning 415 OctoPoints (equivalent to 52p) per kilowatt hour (kWh) turned down during the Saving Session.
Second Saving Session This Week
This marks the second Saving Session of the week for Octopus Energy, as the UK faces the threat of 40°C temperatures. Customers who shift their energy consumption away from the dinner-time window can help lessen the strain on the grid. Octopus expects participants to provide up to 4.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of demand shifting through its network of 440,000 connected devices, including home batteries and electric vehicles, as well as other smart tariffs.
Smart Tariffs Automate Grid Support
Customers on tariffs such as Intelligent Octopus Go, Intelligent Octopus Flux, and Octopus Agile are automatically helping the grid without changing their daily habits. These smart tariffs incentivise moving home energy usage outside peak electricity periods, making it easier for households to contribute during extreme weather events. The flexibility of British households is increasingly helping to manage energy costs during heatwaves.
Saving Sessions Evolve for Summer Use
Originally designed as a winter grid-balancing tool during the energy crisis, Saving Sessions have now been adopted for summer peaks. Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy Group, praised customers for their role in building a flexible green grid. "Our customers are proving that a modern, flexible green grid is happening right now," he said. "Faced with a heatwave and unexpected grid constraints, over a million British homes are happy to shift their usage, move their charging to different times, and get paid for doing so."
Jackson added that market reforms like zonal pricing and greater use of flexibility could largely eliminate periodic grid issues more cheaply than building new infrastructure.
