Octopus Energy claims around a quarter of the households taking advantage of its ‘Saving Sessions’ flex scheme will escape the effects of this month’s rise in Ofgem’s retail price cap.
Customers that turn down their usage an average of 0.7kWh per session across all sessions will earn back enough to offset the £24 price cap rise, the supplier asserts.
Over 313,000 ‘Saving Sessions’ customers are expected to earn this amount before the end of this year’s demand flexibility service on March 31.
‘Saving Sessions’ was the first consumer flexibility project to be announced after National Grid’s Demand Flexibility Scheme launched in November 2022.
In 2023 more than 700,000 of Octopus’ smart meter customers signed up to turn down their energy usage, earning a combined £5.3 million over the course of last winter.
This year’s ‘Saving Sessions’ has already eclipsed the last. Over 1.2 million customers are now signed up and have already earnt £4m in just 10 possible hours of activity. Analysis as as below.
| SAVING SESSIONS RESULTS | Winter 22/23 | Winter 23/24 (so far) |
| Number of windows | 13 | 9 |
| Total hours | 14.5 | 10 |
| Customers signed up | >700,000 | >1,200,000 |
| Average opt-ins per session (customers that say they want to reduce energy during a session) | 342,272 | 397,000 |
| Total paid out | £5.3m | £4m |
| Accumulative average earning of top 5% | >£41 | >£60 |
| CO2 savings | 430,000 kgs | 355,000 kgs |
| Energy turned down | 1.86 GWh | 1.41 GWh |
This year, customers are rewarded with ‘Octopoints’ as part of its recently announced rewards scheme, ‘Octoplus’. The number of ‘Octopoints’ earned varies based on the specific event, and streak bonuses and prize draws are up for grabs for those participating in multiple sessions in a row.
Octopus is now extending versions of the UK scheme to its French and American customers.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, the supplier’s chief product officer, commented: “With millions of our savvy customers enjoying cashback for reducing energy usage, more and more can beat the price cap in the depths of winter – while also helping the grid!
“Through ‘Saving Sessions’, smart tariffs and demand flexibility, we’re creating a brand new energy system that has customers benefiting at the heart. We’re imploring as many customers as possible to get involved and turn down as much as possible so that the price cap rising won’t seem so daunting.”
