As Octopus Energy customers prepared for a ‘saving session’ at 5pm on 12 December – the first to last for two hours – Octopus said it has paid out over £1 million to energy-conscious customers for just four hours of flexibility service
In each of the supplier’s first four test sessions, which lasted one hour, 250,000 customers took part. The top 5% of savers earned almost £20 across all test sessions so far and the average saving was £4. In total the participating customers have been paid £1 million for reducing their energy usage. The customers lowered the energy demand on the grid during each of these peak periods by over 100MW and across all four sessions customers moved almost 450MWh of energy consumption out of peak times.
The Octopus Energy ‘saving sessions’ have been made possible by Ngeso’s new ‘Demand Flexibility Service’ which allows households to get paid for shifting their energy usage out of peak times. Nearly half a million customers have signed up to the scheme and can ‘opt in’ when the saving sessions are announced.
Alex Schoch, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy Group, said: “We are proud to have pioneered this trailblazing scheme, which is paving the way towards a smarter, greener and cheaper grid for all. And we’re glad that other energy suppliers are now getting involved, allowing even more people to grab a bargain and lower bills for everyone.”