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Octopus Energy Doubles Payments for Households Exporting Solar Energy Back to the Grid

Octopus Energy Doubles Payments for Households Exporting Solar Energy Back to the Grid

Octopus Energy, the UK’s fourth biggest energy supplier has increased the incentive for homes to install solar panels in a move to tackle soaring energy bills this winter.

Across the UK thousands of homes already exporting solar power will soon receive double the amount of money they earn today.

Octopus Energy announced that it was doubling payments for households which send excess power generated from their own solar panels back to the grid with immediate effect, in a bid to help lower people’s energy bills this winter.

This means that Octopus Energy is now paying their self-generating energy customers three times more than any other UK energy supplier for energy exported back to the grid.

Octopus Energy’s customers who are on the ‘Fixed Outgoing’ tariff will see an increase in payments from 7.5p/kWh to 15/kWh. Currently the next best available offer from other energy suppliers is 5p/kWh. Octopus Energy’s existing solar panel customers will automatically be moved onto the new rates. The new tariff is also available to new customers.

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Though the majority of Octopus Energy’s customers have solar panels the tariff will also apply to those customers who employ other means to export renewable energy such as customers who use solar batteries to store energy and those who have small wind turbines.

Customers will feel the benefit of this price change as wholesale energy costs continue to rise.

Back in February Octopus Energy increased the rates on its fixed export tariffs by 36% from 3p to 4.1p which they said made it the highest paying energy supplier for self-generated power in the UK.

Octopus Energy has continued to offer the best export rate in the market of any large energy supplier since February 2022 when it last raised payments on its fixed export tariffs.

Octopus Energy said that customers on its unique smart export tariff, which is known as ‘Agile Outgoing’ were now beginning to benefit from much higher rates due to the tariffs dynamic pricing which tracks wholesale power prices. This method can see rates on the tariff changing as often as every 30 minutes or 48 times a day with rates rising significantly at times of peak demand on the grid.

On average customers on this tariff were paid 34p/kWh over the last 12 months. Earlier on in the year, customers in London were paid as much as £1.29 for every kWh they sent back to the grid.

Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Product Officer at Octopus Energy Group, said:

“We are always looking at ways to put money back in people’s pockets. By doubling the payments to customers helping to grow the UK’s renewables footprint, we are doing just that. It has become abundantly clear that we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and become energy independent as a nation. While export tariffs are incredibly cost-intensive for energy suppliers, we still choose to give these best-in-market rates to turbocharge the rollout of renewables, accelerating the shift to a cheaper, cleaner energy future.”

Octopus Energy Group was the first company in the UK to launch a solar export tariff back in 2019 when the government-subsidised Feed-in Tariff incentive scheme came to an end. To ensure customers who exported energy back to the grid were paid for their excess energy, the government backed an initiative that launched in 2020 called the Smart Export Guarantee which was designed to ensure small-scale generators are paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid. Energy suppliers with more than 150,000 domestic electricity customers are required to offer SEG payments to eligible Generators and cannot opt-out.

The announcement to double the ‘Fixed Outgoing’ tariff comes as Octopus Energy rolls out their £40million support package for customers, including standing charge reductions to all households on its Flexible Octopus tariff.

All customers on this tariff will automatically get a 4% discount on their energy bills compared to Ofgem’s price cap from 1st October.

A standing charge is a daily amount that customers must pay how ever much energy they use, to be connected to the grid.

Up to 100,000 Octopus Energy customers will also be able to apply for ‘standing charge holidays’ of up to 6 months with this package.

The company has also absorbed £150million worth of energy bills increases on behalf of its customers so their bills wouldn’t rise as high as the Ofgem price cap.

Moreover, Octopus Energy has also recently doubled its Octo Assist financial hardship fund in size to help customers who are struggling or worrying about how they are going to pay for energy over the winter.

Support includes access to existing schemes, monetary support from the fund, and payment holidays.

According to the company, the Octo Assist fund has already helped over 55,000 people.



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RICHARD BURDETT-GARDINER

Richard is a seasoned director and a respected authority in the field of renewable energy, leveraging his extensive experience working with and for large PLC's in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) industry.

He has worked on hundreds of projects across the United Kingdom like HS2 and other major critical highways and infrastructure projects, both for the public and private sectors.

He is one of the chief driving forces behind the creation, development, and management of The Renewable Energy Hub, your premier online destination for sustainable energy knowledge and resources.

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